Can Macbook pros handle video editing

zoi · May 20, 2010

After switching to my first Mac a few months ago I'd now like to invest in a mac that I could use for image and video editing. Ideally i need a laptop, however I'm willing to sacrifice if there will be a big difference in how the macbook pro will handle videos. I'll be using final cut pro as well as after effects and photoshop. Could anyone guide me as to whther the macbook pro will be sufficient for video editing?

chscag · May 20, 2010

The 15" MacBook Pros with discrete graphics can easily handle video editing. It comes in three configurations depending on what you desire in the way of CPU speed, memory, and VRAM. Of course the 17" is even nicer, but more $$$.

Regards.

zoi · May 21, 2010

Thanks

Thanks chscag. I will be going for the top of the range 15" so i hope it works for me. The 17" is way too big. Now all I need to decide is what software to learn adobe premiere or final cut. I guess I'll ask about that in the relevant category.

True Bassist · May 21, 2010

I'd go for Abobe gear, mainly because you get more for your money's worth.

zoi · May 21, 2010

Money not an issue

Would you still go for Adobe if money wasn't an issue?

a2applegirl · May 21, 2010

I run final cut pro on my macbook 15" I7, I simply transferred it from older macbook pro which ran it well as well.

Both of my macbook pros (my old early 2008 one and my new one) had/have 512mb discrete graphics cards which is needed in my opinion for video editing. (256mb would probably be fine, but you need some sort of discrete graphics card)

Final cut is about to be redesigned and "dumbed down" for consumer editing. I prefer it to Adobe premiere but I think the Adobe product is more stable at this point in terms of longevity.

zoi · May 21, 2010

The Specs

Thanks for that.
These are the specs on the website, by the way do i need 8GB RAM or will 4GB be sufficient for video editing?

15-inch: 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 4-GB Memory 500-GB hard drive Intel HD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB SD card slot

codda · May 21, 2010

a2applegirl said:
I run final cut pro on my macbook 15" I7, I simply transferred it from older macbook pro which ran it well as well.

Both of my macbook pros (my old early 2008 one and my new one) had/have 512mb discrete graphics cards which is needed in my opinion for video editing. (256mb would probably be fine, but you need some sort of discrete graphics card)

Final cut is about to be redesigned and "dumbed down" for consumer editing. I prefer it to Adobe premiere but I think the Adobe product is more stable at this point in terms of longevity.

I'm on an imac ( 2009 ) with integrated graphics...see specs. I'm editing AVCHD Lite no sweat...and SD content obviously easily as well FWIW... Just composing vids 5 min. and under...but import and render with transitions is fine...

a2applegirl · May 21, 2010

zoi said:
Thanks for that.
These are the specs on the website, by the way do i need 8GB RAM or will 4GB be sufficient for video editing?

15-inch: 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 4-GB Memory 500-GB hard drive Intel HD Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB SD card slot

This is the exact macbookpro that I bought and it runs final cut pro really well.

I only have 4gb ram and I multitask and have had no spinning beachballs or slowness. You are better off upgrading the memory later to non-apple memory if you think you need 8gb for the types of video projects you are doing. You will save hundreds of dollars by upgrading the memory yourself. Try the 4 gb and see if your stuff is running slowly, and if you need 8gb upgrade with 3rd party ram later.

a2applegirl · May 21, 2010

codda said:
I'm on an imac ( 2009 ) with integrated graphics...see specs. I'm editing AVCHD Lite no sweat...and SD content obviously easily as well FWIW... Just composing vids 5 min. and under...but import and render with transitions is fine...

I agree that SD content can be edited easily with the newer imac integrated cards. (2009 or later), but editing HD content really will be easier with a discrete graphics card. Also if you were editing longer videos you would start to see hanging and other issues with an integrated card.

zoi · May 21, 2010

Thanks codda & a2applegirl. That's my mac problem solved, now I need to by a camcorder. What do you use?
My budget is about £800 which is about the same in euros and about $1300

a2applegirl · May 21, 2010

zoi said:
Thanks codda & a2applegirl. That's my mac problem solved, now I need to by a camcorder. What do you use?
My budget is about £800 which is about the same in euros and about $1300

I have a cannon HFS200 and I love it. It runs about $900 here. (it was more when I bought it last year, but that is how these things always go....)

It has a great lens and allows you to do Native 24p Mode, 24p Cinema Mode or 30p Frame Mode so you can really get a professional look to your film.

zoi · May 21, 2010

I need to do lots of green screen stuff so does your camcorder have lots of manual settings?
Also, do the files work in both adobe and fcp / windows/mac?

Can Macbook pros handle video editing

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