Which mac for video editing?

[tgynther]

I am bored to my iBook perfomance and I want to upgrade it to new mac but I don't know which model is good for me. Here is a list what I do/need with/for my computer:

- Video editing with iMovie and Final Cut Express
- DVD-Burning with iDVD
- Photo editing and archiving with iPhoto and Photoshop Elements
- Word processing with Office.X
- Mail and Internet browsing and other general stuff (OS X only)
- Airport

First at all, I need mac with superdrive and big hard disk. I am going to buy external fw harddisk for storage.

Powermac G4/1.25/256/80/Superdrive/Airport card for 1800 euros
+ Price
+ There must be some other good things in this model
- Old techonology
- Noisy?
- No display

Powermac G5/1.6/256/80/Superdrive/Airport for 2400 euros
+ New technology
- Price!!!
- No display

iMac G4 1.25/256/80/Superdrive/Airport for 2100 euros
+ Includes 17" tft display
+ Silent
- Can't be upgraded

Powerbook G4/867/256/40/Superdrive/Airport for 2300 euros
+ Small (I have small table for computer)
+ Portable
- Old technology
- Small hard disk
- Only one FW, can I connect hard disk and camera at the same time?

I am really confused with all of those specs so I need your help. Please suggest which model is good for me

 

[caveman_uk]

Powermac G4 or imac will be fine. See if you can get any deals on dual powermacs....

 

[Waluigi]

Get the iMac, and up the ram to 512 or 1GB. It is the cheapest of them all, and has a widescreen display, which is fantastic for video editing.

--Waluigi

 

[irmongoose]

Get the iMac, but make sure you get 768 MB RAM. I have 512 and now I think it could use the extra 256. Whenever I edit video at school it's on the 17", and it's great for Final Cut... it doesn't help much with iMovie though.



irmongoose

 

[patrick0brien]

-tgynther

I use a 12PB for what you say all the time. With the addition of an OWC Mercury firewire drive - it's always a good idea to edit video on an auxillary drive away from the apps and OS.

Yes, you can connect a camera and drive at the same time by daisy-chaining the camera through the drive.

 

[tgynther]

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-tgynther

I use a 12PB for what you say all the time. With the addition of an OWC Mercury firewire drive - it's always a good idea to edit video on an auxillary drive away from the apps and OS.

Yes, you can connect a camera and drive at the same time by daisy-chaining the camera through the drive.

Is there any perfomance problems when camera is connected through fw hardisk?

How about 12" display. Is it too small for Final Cut?

 

[patrick0brien]

Originally posted by tgynther
Is there any perfomance problems when camera is connected through fw hardisk?

-tgynther

I dare say the performance is better with daisy chaining rather than using more common star method as the video is direct from camera through disk - well at least monitoring is smooth.

Originally posted by tgynther
How about 12" display. Is it too small for Final Cut?

Not too small for Final Cut, but for your eyes..?

I find myself hunching with the 12" and I'll get sore. This is still true with the 17" but only slightly less so, although I cant push the 17's screen as far back as I can the 12 (advantages to being a thicker machine)

Generaly, I only edit with a laptop when I need to. It's just too hard on my shoulders.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

the imac is a good choice, but the powermac rules. noise issue has been if not fixed lowered, upgrade ,upgrade, upgrade,- imac is the imac. powermac can grow. a display can be bought at lower costs,used ,refurb or new. then when you are ready to grow you can. cant say this enough, i gave my 333imac to the stepson, bought one for my wife(500crt and had a nonupgradable performa years ago. The powermac is the best,g4 or g5 if you can afford it.

 

[bennetsaysargh]

am i the only one who thinks the emac is an option? i come with a 17 inch display, 2 FW and a superdrive for 1299.

it's just another option, although i',m not sure how FCP would do, iMovie should run great because that is what my school does with the eMacs.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by tgynther
Is there any perfomance problems when camera is connected through fw hardisk?

How about 12" display. Is it too small for Final Cut?

Give the camera it's own FW port. Connecting the camera to the FW HDD usually causes problems.

As others have said a Tower or an iMac will do fine. What you might consider is looking at a refurbished dual proc G4. A refurbished unit is treated like a new computer when it comes to warrenties and support and because of the G5 releases the G4 tower prices have dropped. But the G4's will sell out fast though.


Lethal

 

[Jerry Spoon]

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-tgynther

I use a 12PB for what you say all the time. With the addition of an OWC Mercury firewire drive - it's always a good idea to edit video on an auxillary drive away from the apps and OS.

Yes, you can connect a camera and drive at the same time by daisy-chaining the camera through the drive.

I've got a friend with a 12"pb and I wasn't at all impressed with it being used for video editing. This person wasn't using a fw hard drive though, and that shoud make a difference. That 12" screen is a little tight though, especially for large projects.

 

[actionslacks]

Try to get a dual 1.25 Powermac. It is the best option for a desktop in your price range and it will offer the most expandability. I havge two in my office - 1 for rendering and 1 to work on, and they are really great machines. Solid. They benefit from many revisions of the G4 Powermac.

I can't speak for the G5 yet, but I bet it would also be great. If you go G5 though, spend the extra money on at least the 1.8 if you can.

Only consider the Powerbook if you really need to work mobile.