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Question to PB owners

actripxl

actripxl

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 24, 2002
314
80
Chicago, IL
Ok guys I need some info on which PB I should buy and DV camcorder if you have any recommendations. Now my story to give an idea of my situation. I am a Dental student who's about to graduate and do a thesis and presentation. Right now I have an ibook 800 but doubt it will be sufficient for what I need to do. See I plan to take stills and video(DV Cam that can do both well) from patients. For the still's I plan to morph between before and after shot's and for the video to be able and blurry out the patients face and possibly alter voice to keep the anonymous as my selection will be most likely of individuals with some risky behavior that hey might not divulge otherwise. I estimate about 50 individuals so I will need to us a good amount of images and video. Is the 17' worth the extra price as as far as speed is concerned. Money is no problem as I will need to purchase software as well so any recommendations welcomed since I don't think I movie will cut it for me. The Cam will be purchased in Aug. and the PB at most by Dec. Any help is appreciated especially those that use their Mac's for media.
 
Hey if moneys no problem, get the 17" with FCP4 and all the bells and whistles. I don't see why you can't do all that with imovie or an ibook for that matter though. Even a 12" PB could handle it too.
 
12 inch powerbook is a great choice. and i highly recommend buying keynote for your presentation. and get an isight because it looks good on top of your powerbook and makes you look cool (ok you dont need it)

iJon
 
Man, this is not about the powerbook, it is about yourself. I'm here writing in one of my Powerbooks G3 500 (the old black ones) while I'm doing a render in After Effects in my other Powerbook G3 500 too (with 256MB of Ram) and after I finished the render (that is already done) I'm going to edit a 8 minutes movie in Final Cut Pro.

I'm doing a new intro in AF for a movie I did a week ago and drop that in to a VCR to show it tomorrow.

My point is that, my only concern for your problem would be the screen size of your iBook, you already have the processor, the ports, you only need more HD capacity and a bigger screen would help.

I would recomend you to get a 12" Powerbook + a 17" flat screen, you can use booth monitors for your soft and you can take the Powerbook with you because it is way too small.

The 17" Powerbook it is almost like a piece of furniture, it is good but it is way too big and I saw it and we all came to the conclution that a 15" is enough and 14" is aceptable.

About the video camera, get a Sony with DV in/out, I mean Firewire. You can get a Digital 8 but those tapes will destroy your camera if they get a bit old. I rather recomend a Mini DV tape/camera.

That is my advice, I'm a VJ, that mean that I'm dealing 100% of my day for the last 2 years with powerbooks and video, trust me, I'm always thinking in getting the 200% from my equipment.
 
I've got the 17, the extra screen size is very handy for stuff like editing and DVD authoring, but I used to do the same on a 400 Ti Book, which was slower but worked just fine. It's the render times that kill you, FCP 4 and Express use real-time rendering under faster processors like the 1ghz, but will not operate it under slower machines, which means you spend a lot of time waiting for clips to render.

The other consideration of course is HD size, at 1gig per 4 minutes of DV footage, having large HD's pays, I have 80gig in the 17 and a 120gig external firewire drive, and it works out well enough.

Older machines are slower and have smaller drives.
 
Your a student, so i would take advantage of the 15" Powerbook 1Ghz firesale going on now through your campus reseller. I got one in May for $800 of retail, and now the discount is even more in some places. Read where one school was doing the top 15" with AppleCare and more memory for $1950. !!

Just FYI, there are specials on the 12" PB too, but that 1MB of L3 cache can help out, especially with DV and graphics.
 
Render Times

Yes render times is what worries, again its a pretty big sample book for just one student and I will be morphing before and after effects as this has to be as professionally done as possible since those that have heard my topic are already talking about it possibly being published. So my real dilema is the difference between 15" and 17" in terms of speed. Again I am a senior and who not only has to produce it by myself but, I have to spend a GREAT deal of time in the clinic with my requirements so any time saved on this project is the essence of what I am trying to accomplish. Thanks for the recommendations on software.
 
Get what you really need...

I would say this.

If this is a project that could make or not make your near-term career, spend the money, somehow, and get the 15" 1ghz or better, the 17" just for the added screen real estate.

I understand your delima, I am a Graphic Design MFA student, and what my thesis may turn into will require buku processing. I would get the G5, but portability is an imeasurably useful feature.

So in that light, money becomes the lesser of the deciding factors, to me at least.

i hope we are helping you out. :)
 
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