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Canon DSLR editing, optimal iMac set up?

F

flintspark

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 30, 2011
6
0
Central Virginia
Hello folks,

I have a Canon DSLR and a friend has asked me to choose some specs for a new iMac to produce some short videos.

Regarding the following post,
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1107229/
A user here zlaxberg has provided some good thoughts on what 'really' works.

My starting point is the 21.5 inch 2.7GHz
4gb memory (upgraded to 8 by me)
1 TB hard drive.

Questions:
1) Exactly what else hooks up with this 'Thunderbolt' cable?
2) Does the graphics card help render? (I don't think it does, I think it is all processor based.)
3) Can IMovie make short 5 minute videos with cuts, fades and basic stuff of that nature? Or, do I need to get Avid, Adobe, FCP or whatever?
4) Do I need to jump to a Mac Pro to do it 'right'? To future proof this, for example, making a 60 minute DVD project, would I NEED a Mac Pro?

I do quite a bit of editing on a PC but the Mac is for his work, my last Mac is 13 years old and I didn't know the best value for what I was trying to do.

Any thoughts are welcome, thank you,

Jer
 
1. External HDDs and external breakout boxes and many more, once they are available though. External displays.

2. Not in iMovie.

3. Yes to iMovie.

4. No.
 
Hi, I am just a novice user but thought I would share my own experiences. I have used iMovie and found it a little simple to achieve good results - for example it has limited functions for adding titles and text exactly where/how/when you want, and the music is very limited so I needed third party software for working with my MP3s before dropping into iMovie. I have just upgraded to a new camera and an iMac and I plan on getting Final Cut Pro X for video editing as it looks a lot more full featured. FCP X gets mixed reviews as it has ditched some features and hot keys from the older versions, but as a completely new user I don't think this is a problem for me.

For photo editing, I use Photoshop CS5. It is sometimes a little tricky to use but there are endless tutorials on YouTube which have helped me learn it bit by bit and if you have the time it is fine.

As for hardware, well I have just ordered a 27" iMac, standard 2.7ghz/4gb ram/1tb hd. I ordered a magic trackpad and also have a cheap USB mouse. I think the large screen is a huge benefit for photo editing and having a couple of different screens open together. It is also awesome for general browsing and watching movies in my room. The quad core processor is a benefit for Photoshop and something I wouldn't be without (coming from a Core 2 Duo). I may upgrade to 8Gb ram in future as it is cheap but I don't know if it'll make much difference as 4Gb should be adequate for multitasking. The Magic Trackpad is essential to get the most out of the new Lion gestures, but not great for Photoshop, so I have a cheap usb mouse in my drawer for that. Lastly, my Canon 60D uses SD cards, and the iMac has a built in reader, which is handy.

Rob
 
Good to know about iMovie

Thank you scrob, that is good info on the iMovie ins and outs. I too have a 60D and love it for the photos and videos.

Your insight is great for shaping the final 'feel' of what I am after. I think software is what I am going to need.

I have yet to try Final Cut, so I doubt the new one will bother me. I assume they will update it as time goes on the crowd gets louder.

Best of luck to you, thanks again,

Jer
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I have a 5 D Mark II and I plan to use final cut x pro also. The pro and cons are not a problem if u are a new to the software.
 
I agree Vanan

Thanks for the note Vanan, I am looking to get Final Cut X at this point.

If you don't want your camera, I'll take it. ;)

Thanks,

Jer
 
Ram:

In that iMac you would keep the factory 4gb and buy a 8gb kit. You then add the 8gb to the factory 4gb for a grand total of 12gb.
 
That iMac will be fine for editing DSLR footage. Here are three things I would recommend...

1. Buy FCP-X. It will give you many more tools to work with, plus it uses OpenCL to utilize your graphics card for rendering work.

2. More RAM. Its cheap and FCP-X is 64-bit, so it can make use of more than 4GB. 8GB is more than enough.

3. Get an external Firewire hard drive to us as a "scratch drive" in FCP-X and to store all your projects and media files. This will increase performance.

4. Get a cheap second monitor. Having two monitors will make it much easier to edit, especially since you are buying the 21" iMac. Use the cheap monitor for your toolbars and the timeline in FCP-X and the iMac display for viewing the footage.
 
Thanks folks!

Hello folks,

Thank you again for the tips and confirmations.

APW 100, thanks for the perspective. I like hearing peoples' setups for day to day operation.

I have a much better feel for what I am looking for. Best to you all.

Jer
 
The base iMac you have listed will be great for what you are wanting to do. The G-Skill RAM you linked to I had in my 2011 MBP 2.2GHZ and it worked flawlessly.

I have the base 21.5" iMac and threw in 8GB OWC RAM and NO MORE BEACHBALLS!! Thing is quick!
 
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