Video editing

[Asmoday]

So I was wondering, with the new skylake MBA around the corner, wether or not i could use an MBA( all highest specs ) for video editing. Anyone has experience with that, or do i really need a rMBP for that?

Videos will be 1080p/60fps, and maybe in the near future when GoPro release a new cam, ill do 4K videos.

Asking this because im a vlogger, most of the times i edit at home on my Imac, but im planning on doing some trips, where i need to edit on location and bringing an Imac isnt going to work

Hope you guys can help out.

 

[Boyd01]

I used to shoot a lot of video but don't do much these days. But I used my 2011 i5/4gb/256gb MBA to edit 1080p video in Final Cut Pro and was very pleased. I was coming from a 2008 15" MBP and the MBA just ran circles around that old core2duo machine.

Upgraded to a 2013 i7/8gb/512gb MBA and it works even better. Really, the only noticeable difference was rendering speed though. I shoot with a Sony XDCAM EX in 1080p24 at highest quality. Still running FCP6 however. I'm sure the MBA isn't the ideal machine to edit video, but it is more powerful than many people think and more than adequate for the amount of video I shoot. I have the 11" MBA and the size/weight is a real plus when you're also lugging around a pro tripod and camera with mattebox.

 

[Asmoday]

I used to shoot a lot of video but don't do much these days. But I used my 2011 i5/4gb/256gb MBA to edit 1080p video in Final Cut Pro and was very pleased. I was coming from a 2008 15" MBP and the MBA just ran circles around that old core2duo machine.

Upgraded to a 2013 i7/8gb/512gb MBA and it works even better. Really, the only noticeable difference was rendering speed though. I shoot with a Sony XDCAM EX in 1080p24 at highest quality. Still running FCP6 however. I'm sure the MBA isn't the ideal machine to edit video, but it is more powerful than many people think and more than adequate for the amount of video I shoot. I have the 11" MBA and the size/weight is a real plus when you're also lugging around a pro tripod and camera with mattebox.

Thanks for your reply. I agree that an MBA isnt ideal, as I use an Imac for editing at home. However I am planning multiple day trips for my vlog, so I would love the ability to edit during those trips, instead of when I het back home. So Im really curious as to, can it be done on a max spec MBA or am I forced to get a rMBP to take with me on my trips, which of course will set me back a lot more money...

My videos are always at least 1080p and 60fps, it must be able to handle this in a decent manner. Im not looking to top my Imac performances of course. It will probably be used 10 times a year for video editing, for the rest regular use.

 

[Boyd01]

So Im really curious as to, can it be done on a max spec MBA

Well my MBA is the max spec 11" model from 2013. The current version is only slightly faster, but the current 13" model has a faster SSD (my 512gb ssd clocks at over 700MB/sec, so that is no slouch either )

Have you compared the geekbench numbers for your iMac and the current MBA? That should give you some insight.

 

[motrek]

... So Im really curious as to, can it be done on a max spec MBA or am I forced to get a rMBP to take with me on my trips, which of course will set me back a lot more money...
...

Why do you think getting a max spec MBA is worthwhile and why do you think a rMBP would be much more powerful than a MBA?

I guess the 15" rMBP does have a quad core CPU...

 

[Canubis]

Believe it or not I use my MacBook Air 11 Inch (2011 model) from time to time to edit multi cam footage from professional filmed classical concerts for a customer (1080p ProRes footage). Also doing some interviews or short trailers on the same machine ocassionally. For rendering load distribution and DVD production (yep some customers still want this) I usually use my 2009 Mac Pro. If no 2nd screen is available, it even works on the built-in 11 inch one if you can adapt. I love this machine! Wouldn't bet on it handling multiple 4K cams at the same time so nicely though…

 

[chappel]

I've got a top-of-the-line 2013 13" MBA (2-core i7, 8G/512G) and *occasionally* (5-6x / year) edit video from my dslr (1080p / 24 fps) with final cut X, and it works fine - occasionally 2-angle multicam, some basic b-roll and effects - nothing fancy. I do a lot more photo editing (36 mp images, maybe 500-700/month on average, 2-3k when i occasionally go nuts?) with lightroom and photoshop, and it wades through that well, too. If I was a dedicated video pro I'm sure I'd want more horsepower, but for the way I use it (I carry it almost everywhere in my day job working lots of networking and wireless in several large manufacturing facilities / warehouses), I'm really happy with the power/size compromise - and it's held up fantastically for the number of miles I've put on it.

I'm currently working on a years worth of timelapse from stills out of two go-pros, made into standard 422 ProRes video using After Effects and edited in FCX at full still-image resolution (4000x3000 pixels, 30fps), and it's churning through it all OK, if not exactly blazingly fast - I would expect it could handle 4k as well.

 

[Asmoday]

I've got a top-of-the-line 2013 13" MBA (2-core i7, 8G/512G) and *occasionally* (5-6x / year) edit video from my dslr (1080p / 24 fps) with final cut X, and it works fine - occasionally 2-angle multicam, some basic b-roll and effects - nothing fancy. I do a lot more photo editing (36 mp images, maybe 500-700/month on average, 2-3k when i occasionally go nuts?) with lightroom and photoshop, and it wades through that well, too. If I was a dedicated video pro I'm sure I'd want more horsepower, but for the way I use it (I carry it almost everywhere in my day job working lots of networking and wireless in several large manufacturing facilities / warehouses), I'm really happy with the power/size compromise - and it's held up fantastically for the number of miles I've put on it.

I'm currently working on a years worth of timelapse from stills out of two go-pros, made into standard 422 ProRes video using After Effects and edited in FCX at full still-image resolution (4000x3000 pixels, 30fps), and it's churning through it all OK, if not exactly blazingly fast - I would expect it could handle 4k as well.

Thanks for your reply! Sounds good.

 

[yoak]

Thanks for your reply! Sounds good.

I have a 11" MBA 2012 and this spring I shot a corporate video using my Sony FS7. I shot 1080 25P and edited it on my MBA. Not very long films, but the MBA handled it amazingly well. FCX really shines on this kind of hardware I think. I would´t edit anything from my RED camera on this thing though.

I can play back 4K Gopro footage, but it stutters sometimes

 

[poematik13]

fcp x is tuned very well to work on macbooks, it would run great on the 2015 MBA's.