MacBook Pro 14 vs iMac 24 & MacBook Air for final cut

[pookitoo]

Hello, I’m hesitant! Don’t know what to choose between a new 14 MacBook Pro entry level and add a “crappy” external display (yes because it’s so hard to have a beautiful screen and plug it to the actual external display with mat screen ) and the other choice for the same price : iMac 24 + MacBook Air M1 for portability (yes I need to have a laptop 25 % of the time).

In my work I use traditional tool like office, teams etc but my main problem is about Final Cut : I want a very smooth experience (don’t matter if export time are long). I have a Sony A7C and my footage are in 4K with some luts and maybe a bit of color grading, some transition, some mask and things like that for short film.

in the first place I want to run for an entry level MacBook Pro 14 but after some review about the performances, i don’t know if I will have a much more smooth experience in Final Cut than a iMac 24 ?

1 - so gorgeous screen and clean desktop with an iMac but need to manage 2 computers (with the air) and for now only 24” a bit little

2 - with the new MacBook Pro 14 : so good performances but with a monitor like the lg ultra wide 35” and maybe an external keyboard and mouse.

what is your thoughts ? (And thanks

 

[Bearxor]

If you’re looking for an opinion, I go with the 14“ MBP and if you’re only gonna hook it up to one monitor buy yourself a dock like this.

4URPC USB C Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor Computer Peripheral Devices

4URPC USB C Laptop Docking Station Dual Monitor, 10-Port Dual HDMI Monitor USB C Dock Stand with 2 HDMI, 3 USB, SD/TF, USB C 87W Charging, RJ45 Ethernet, 3.5mm Audio, USB C Docking Station for USB C Laptops USB C Docking Station Dual Monitor 2 HDMI for Dell HP Lenovo Laptop/Steam deck.

www.amazon.com

You come home, plug in one cable, and slide it in to the stand.

 

[slowloris615]

the 14 will be very good for you

 

[yoak]

My "heavy" app is FCP. I bought a base M1 air just to try the M1 Mac last winter, and I was amazed that I could (for the first time on any Mac) view and edit the footage from my camera.
I couldn't believe a MacBook Air (8Gb RAM!!) could edit (only tried short projects) the 8K .R3D files from my Red Helium 8K. I did sell the Air though, and recently bought the new 14" 16gb ram, 1TB HD. Main reason was the additional ports, and I felt the 8GB ram was a limitation.
I would have liked more RAM for peace of mind, but not sure I need it. I'm a DoP, and most of the time I hand off my footage to a post house, so I seldom need fast export times. I mostly need it to review what I shoot.
Only you can decide, but the iMac and Air is a bit crippled with only 2 ports IMHO

 

[pookitoo]

Thanks for your reply. My biggest concern is about drop frame and freeze when I edit. I don’t like the external display, I tried several external display like LG 4K and other and the mat display and the brightness are far behind the display quality of an iMac .

+ for what I seen the performances of the new entry level MacBook pro 14 M1 pro vs a m1 :
- the same in single core
- 25 % more multi core
- 85 % more in GPU
- twice fast SSD
+ to plug an external display take some GPU performances

(and port is not a big concern, the only things I plug are usb c sd card reader and an external ssd)

my project in Final Cut are with title, transition, mask, some luts and color grading and little effect. Very often less than 25 minutes and it’s for work. I don’t understand why all the test are about rendering time and 5 minutes less time to export, I don’t care to have 5 minutes more , I want a smooth experience to edit in Final Cut)

I prefer the convenience to have only 1 computer with card reader and 1 to ssd with 16 go of ram but don’t like the external display experience rather than a beautiful iMac on my desk. (And I work 75% of my time to my desk)

if I don’t have a really better experience in Final Cut when I edit I prefer to work on a iMac. but If the experience is better with the new MacBook Pro, maybe I can manage with an external display.
i don’t want to have a bad experience when I edit just to have a beautiful desk .

and all this because in France I can have :
- entry level MacBook Pro 14 M1 pro with 16 go ram : 2479 € + external display like the ultra wide LG 35 “ (2k) : 439 € = 2918 €
- or entry level MacBook Air M1 refurbish: 939 € + iMac 24 M1 with 4 ports refurbish : 1239 € + 1 to external ssd : 139 € = 2317 €

 

[yoak]

Agree that editing experience within FCP is way more important than 5 minutes shorter export time. Sounds like your best bet (if you can wait) is maybe buying a an Air now and add the 27" iMac that is rumoured to start at $2000.
I did see the beachball (on the Air) after a while when I did a 10 min 4K project that was shot on the DJI Magic 2 Pro and various action cams (Gopro and Dji) all in 4K. I did not make proxies, and those codecs are heavy to edit. I haven't tried A7 footage, I do own a FS7 as well, but I haven't tried to edit footage from that on then Air

 

[pookitoo]

and did you tried this edit from the DJI Mavic 2 pro on your new MacBook Pro 14 ? no beachball ?

 

[yoak]

Sorry, haven’t tried. Just got the 14”. I’ll probably try tomorrow

 

[pookitoo]

Sorry, haven’t tried. Just got the 14”. I’ll probably try tomorrow

Ok thanks again for your reply

 

[profcutter]

Yeah I second the idea of waiting for the big iMac for FCP. Even a recent 27 inch model would handle your edits fine, but if you want apple silicon, then go for the big one when it arrives. The 24 inch is a nice machine, but no more powerful than any other M1 device, so you could get a M1 air (I’d do 16gb RAM) while you wait for the big machine.

 

[yoak]

Been playing around with 4K 25P material form the Mavic 2 Pro in FCP now. Just a 10 min timeline, and editing a bit for fun. It seems butter smooth, even when I set it to best quality

 

[pookitoo]

hum, so performances maybe worth it , I tried a timeline in FCPX on a M1 MacBook Air and it’s pretty impressive but i started to have dropframe and memory issue with some of my biggest project , hope everything will be smooth on à M1 pro

Been playing around with 4K 25P material form the Mavic 2 Pro in FCP now. Just a 10 min timeline, and editing a bit for fun. It seems butter smooth, even when I set it to best quality