[Ryan Holmes]

What Eric is proposing is a build-your-own system approach or DIY (do-it-yourself). That has it’s pros and cons. You can typically purchase the components you want, but support/troubleshooting is entirely on your own. You’ll need to consider your chassis, power requirements, and cooling needs if you go this route. Additionally, raw clock speed isn’t the only measure of performance when dealing with a CPU. Things to also look at are cache size, QPI links, QPI speed, etc.

The benefits of a pre-configured system from HP or Apple is typically time and ease of use (i.e. support). But you’re also getting components in those computers that are geared specifically at audio, video, and graphics professionals. The 4790K and the 4930K, while theoretically capable, are not technically designed for heavy lifting. In fact HP still uses older chipsets in the Z-series specifically because of how they were engineered for heavy lifting applications – Avid, FCPX, Nuke, Premiere, After Effects, Resolve, etc.

I’m not against building your own system, because it is fun and you can learn quite a bit. But it’s not just a walk in the park either. I think you should investigate further if that’s a route you want to go down.

[Peter Chamberlain] “Jordan, you might wish to consider the top of he line iMac as I listed in the config guide.”

I think Peter is exactly right. That may be a better compromise for your needs…

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Jordan White] “A decent system for home use, my Dad says, would cost around $2,500 or less, so yes, this computer stuff is not cheap”

A decent system that runs 4K in realtime for $2.5K or less…?!! If you find it sign me up. You also haven’t mentioned how you plan to store all your data? The internal drive on a Mac Pro is fast, but it won’t store much 4K footage. The reason the Mac Pro’s and Z820’s cost so much is because they’re built to move data and move a lot of it. Yes, the base system will probably work for 4K provided you have fast storage (RAID). But next year there will be new cameras with new formats, and the year after that, and the year after that and on and on….So my advice is to always buy the most computer you can possibly afford…..even if that means waiting a little longer while you save. That will serve you better in the long run.

If you have clients today that are demanding this, then do what you have to do. But it sounds like from this post and other posts you’ve made that you’re thinking about building something up. Save your money up and get a system that will last you for several years, not just a couple.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

I’m assuming you already fast storage of some sort?

If realtime is your concern, why are looking at the base model of either line – Mac Pro or Z820? While capable today, by tomorrow (i.e. in a few years) those will be struggling. If you’re clients demand realtime 4K and you already have the storage, and I/O to back those speeds up then why not spend the money on a higher end Mac Pro or Z820? Guarantee performance for today and tomorrow….

You also didn’t mention what type of 4K you’ll be dealing with? Blackmagic 4K ProRes? Blackmagic 4K RAW? RED? Canon C500? Arri Alexa? Panasonic GH4?

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Jared Morgan] “Am I missing something?”

Unfortunately, no….you’re not missing anything. Those are 2 drawbacks of AME: no copy/paste, and manually redirect the path. I would recommend creating Presets as they are the fastest way to work in AME. The path has to be manually changed though even on a preset, as far as I can tell (I’m happy to be corrected here though!).

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Bill Bruner] “Although the GH4 is a large sensor interchangeable lens camera, it is not a DSLR,”

Bill a GH4 is essentially a DSLR. Yes, it’s technically mirrorless so it’s not strictly a DSLR by definition. But all the practical problems that come with DSLR style shooting are present and accounted for on the GH4 – poor ergonomics, poor audio (unless you add the XLR grip which doubles the cameras price), poor lens selection (unless you buy an adapter to cross mount different types of lenses), etc. I agree with you that for the price nobody can touch the resolution of the camera. It shoots a nice 4K image, but the camera would struggle in a run-and-gun situation (as any DSLR does). And according to Sarah’s original post:
[sarah febbraro] “I want to be able to pick up my camera and start shooting without worrying about lenses,extra mics etc… “

She has to worry about all of those things if she buys a Panasonic GH4, Canon 6D, t5i, 5D Mark 3, etc. The rub is her last statement:
[sarah febbraro] “but also want a really high quality image.”

So Sarah, you’re going to have to define what that means. In some shooting environments you may only need a camcorder. For other shoots you may want a GH4. And like Warren says, other projects demand even higher-end equipment for various reasons. So if you want to have blurry backgrounds then you’ll need to start looking into cameras that allow you to change the lens (GH3, GH4, 6D, t5i, Blackmagic Pocket Camera, etc.). Those cameras typically have larger sensors allowing you to create that blurry background look among other things. If “high quality” means it’s all in focus and sharp in HD resolution then I’d steer towards a camcorder. There are plenty below $1K that work well. In fact, we have a small podcast that we produce using 4 Panasonic HC-V720’s….and that works for that production. So like Warren says:

[Warren Eig] “A DSLR is not better than a camcorder and a camcorder is not better than a DSLR. It all depends on your needs. If you are uncomfortable with technology, get a camcorder as it was built to shoot video and run and gun with built in mic, auto focus, etc.”

If you’re not technically inclined a DSLR (or mirrorless camera like the GH4) may be more hassle than it’s worth for your needs. Without knowing more about what you do, and your comfort level with cameras/tech we may have a hard time assisting you.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Alain Durocher] “So we seem to be stuck with manual filenaming after the fact?”

Yep. As far as I have been able to tell. And I’m completely sympathetic to your question because it would save me quite a bit of time if I could embed the naming structure needed in the Preset Setting in AME.

I would suggest submitting a Feature Request directly to Adobe in hopes they’ll address that in a future update:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

What is your renderer set to? The type of video card you have will determine this (ATI = OpenGL/CL, Nvidia = CUDA).

Your computer specs also bear on the discussion.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

If you’re using Quicktime mov as a wrapper you can’t set your data rate for video, just your overall quality (on a scale from 1-100). You also can’t set you audio data rate when using the Quicktime format.

If you want to control your data rate for video/audio, use the h.264 format (instead of Quicktime). That will make it a mp4 wrapper. If you have to have a mov wrapper you may need to look at something like Sorenson Squeeze or Telestream Episode to get what you want.

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Devinda Fernando] “The raw footage taken by the camera (1080p H.264 mp4) looks nothing like what is shown in the video, but the final output is fantastic, with really rich colors and detail… I’m wondering how this was achieved in post production? I’m assuming they converted the files to Apple ProRes and did a great job color grading it? Any idea?”

With the advent of the Hero2 camera, GoPro introduced a setting called ProTune that was aimed at professionals who wanted to use the camera but color grade the footage in post. Originally, the camera shot an image and you more or less got what you got. With the introduction of ProTune it was meant that post professionals would take it into a color correction app and adjust everything. So ProTune attempts to shoot a very flat image (low saturation, low contrast, etc) expecting that the end user will tweak everything.

Their demo video is a great example of what color grading professionals can do given an evenly exposed image. It also doesn’t hurt that they have steadicams, helicopter, etc to add motion to shots! 🙂 But as far as “the look” is concerned, this setting is available on Hero2 and Hero3 cameras, but requires post-production time and knowledge inside of a color grading app (DaVinci Resolve, Speedgrade, Apple Color, Smoke, etc.).

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost

[Ryan Holmes]

[Rev. Jay Cross] “SO, what would you guys recommend? Is there any reason to spend the extra $150?”

There’s plenty of reasons. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth it for you. Looking at “Body-Only” prices between the T3i and the T5i you’re only talking about $100 difference. With DSLR’s one of the biggest differentiating factors is the lens. Lenses tend to be expensive for good quality. Kit lenses that come standard on many DSLR’s (especially the entry level DSLR’s) tend to be cheaper lenses without the capabilities of their more expensive counterparts. But you asked about DSLR’s… 🙂

The biggest differences between the 2 cameras:
(1) Low light response (T5i being about twice as sensitive to light, meaning you can shoot in darker places and still have a usable image. This is what ISO refers to)
(2) Longer recording times

So if you only shoot in well-lit, staged environments and only need to record for 10 minutes or less at a time then the T3i would probably serve your needs. However, if your environments tend to not always be well lit and produced, and you need to record for up to 29 minutes continuously then the T5i is the winner.

Also keep in mind that audio on DSLR’s is a struggle to say the least. Most people who record on DSLR’s (myself included) use second-source audio. So the camera isn’t the primary source where you’re recording audio. Typically people will record to a dedicated audio device and then in post-production match that audio source up to their footage from a DSLR. Something like a TASCAM 60D seems to be pretty popular right now or second source audio.

Also keep in mind that you’ll need SD cards that are fast enough to record media on, batteries, different lenses for different focal lengths, etc. A DSLR is a versatile tool, but one that needs a lot of support in order to make it work for video. Remember that these are STILLS cameras first….video is a distant second!

Ryan Holmes
http://www.ryanholmes.me
@CutColorPost