[Ryan Holmes]

[Omar Ayoub] “”PP doesn’t support DNxHD in an MXF wrapper”. If, as per your recommendation”

You can also wrap DNxHD in a Quicktime .mov format. That would play fine in PPro. But see Ann’s post first as you should be able to play MXF files from your Canon natively (without transcoded) in CS6. I play files from the Canon C300 natively in CS6 routinely without problems, and that format is nearly identical to your XF105 camera.

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

[Ryan Holmes]

[Omar Ayoub] “I found out that MPEG-2 was the best for editing in Premiere Pro CS6.”

Where did you learn this? The MXF files you shot originally should work fine in CS6. Then you wouldn’t have to transcode or degreade your quality at all (MPEG-2 being a lossy codec that throws away information – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-2

If you want to transcode the footage to something intermediate I would recommend DNxHD (if on a PC) or ProRes (if you’re on a Mac). Those two codecs are good mezzanine codecs that handle recompression well and standup well in other areas of post-production (color grading, graphics, compositing, etc.).I would not transcode your MXF files to MPEG-2.

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

[Ryan Holmes]

I run Blu-Ray burners from Lacie on 2 of my Mac Pros at the shop. They come bundled with Toast software for burning (or we use Adobe CS6 to author a Blu-ray).

https://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10058

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

[Ryan Holmes]

The only port you have on a DSLR is the mini-HDMI port. So you’ll have to run your monitor through there. If you still want to have your EVF then you could use a monitor that has a HDMI loop-through. Monitor plugs into camera and EVF plugs into monitor.

I really like the equipment (and people) over at SmallHD. The gear is well built, accurate, and affordable. I have 3 of their monitors for my team. everybody loves them. Something like the DP4 they sell may be exactly what you’re looking for: https://www.smallhd.com/products/dp4/index.html

You can also check out Delvcam or Marshall for other monitoring solutions for DSLR’s.

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

[Ryan Holmes]

What’s your original material format? What format are you exporting to?

Are you editing in ProRes and exporting the exact same sequence settings (frame size, resolution, codec) just with a watermark?

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

[Ryan Holmes]

The 4000 has about twice as many CUDA cores as the 4800. Between those 2 cards I’d go with a 4000.

If I had to pick a card right now to add to my Mac it would be the GTX 680 as it has about 12X as many CUDA cores as a 4800 and about 6x as many as a 4000.

https://www.evga.com/products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-3682-KR

COW thread talking it being installed:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/3/938566
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/277/15855

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

[Ryan Holmes]

[Dave LaRonde] “Many people before you have tried to sidestep the all-important step of transcoding, and many have lived to regret it… typically near the end of the project, when it’s too late to turn back.

Now it IS your project, and you can do what you want. But if it was my project, I would want to know that I had done everything possible at the beginning to make the project as painless as possible at the end.”

Very, very well said!

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

[Ryan Holmes]

Use Quicktime 7 to view your footage. Quicktime X is terrible for color accuracy.

That said let me quote from a post on RedUser.net “There is no such thing as “accurate” in the world of Quicktime. There is only the values you’re getting passed to whatever delivery and display format you’re using. If your delivery format is HD video, you must look at it on an HD monitor through a proper video output card (Kona 3, Blackmagic, etc.). If your deliver format is the Web, you must look at it fully encoded to whatever codec you’re going to deliver it in, hopefully in a Web browser enabled player. The only thing that’s really accurate is a histogram, which will tell you without question where your digital image levels are. Video scopes will also do this, but only if you place them on the monitor path, external to the computer.”
https://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?53148-Gamma-Shift-when-outputting-to-ProRes-(422)

Just do a Google search for this (or COW search) – https://bit.ly/11ynUTx

You’ll see this as a common issue that Apple has never really addressed well.

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

[Ryan Holmes]

I’m a big fan of SmallHD. Their monitors are rock solid, accurate and affordable. I have 3 of them (DP4, DP6, and AC7). If you’re looking for a 7″ screen you’d be looking at their AC7 line:
https://smallhd.com/products/ac7/

You can run them off their own battery or from DSLR batteries (Canon/Nikon mounts sold separately).

Two thumbs up for them.

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

[Ryan Holmes]

What’s the model identifier of the Mac Pro that’s giving you trouble? Is that Model supported by the FX 4800 card? If so, are the appropriate drivers installed for it (the latest and greatest may not be suitable for that model).

If it’s an older Mac Pro, it may not be able to accept the 4800.

Click on the Apple (upper left corner of your screen)–>About This Mac –> More Info –> System Report

In there you can see the Model Identifier number (1,1 or 2,1 or 3,1 etc)

Your Mac Pro needs to be a 3,1 or later for the Quadro FX 4800 to work.

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