Update G5 or buy MacBook Pro

[A B Hancock]

I have a 2004 Power Mac G5 with twin 2G processors and 2 G RAM. This unit is four years old and works perfectly; I replaced it this year with a new Mac Pro.

I'm doing a shoot in Florida that will require me to be down there for two or three weeks.

My question is, should I "gussie up" my G5, install Leopard, more RAM, new drives, and Final Cut Express and XDCAM File Transfer and take this to download my daily footage and view it or should I buy a MacBook Pro? I'll be renting a condo so moving the G5 and setting it up is no big deal. Portability is not a problem--dropping three grand right now is! I'll want to transfer my footage to my Mac Pro when I return.

Will Final Cut Express let me view my XDCAM footage and can I transfer it from FCE to my Mac Pro? Apple won't let me use my Final Cut Studio on my G5 (but I can install it on a laptop)!

Thanks for any suggestions. :)

Arthur

[soarprod]

Take your mac pro

[Spartacus]

If portabilty isn´t a problem, you could also look into a 20" iMac and sell it after the shoot...
BTW MBPs are rumored to be updated around the 14th...

[MattDavis]

Thanks for any suggestions. :)

For all the suggestions for big-iron horsepower, I just had to add a vote for a MacBook Pro.

I shoot and edit on location, and now use a MacBook Pro EXCLUSIVELY. Shooting at 720p, all editing is at DV speeds. The built-in PCI-Express slot, the ability to drive a MBP and external FW800 and USB drives from battery, and the ability to travel with a good EX1 kit plus MBP and 2x external bus powered drives as carry-on flight baggage is a major plus.*

This setup works and earns me my living where travelling with a desktop is an absolute non-starter. Your Mileage May Vary, but like I said, some of us live and breathe with a MacBook Pro and EX1.

FWIW, I don't use Color - Magic Bullet Colorista is far more useful. I shoot short-form, not long-form - but with lots of cuts and a high shooting ratio. Delivery as WMV 1280x720p, 640x360 web or SD DVD.



* Often, I have to edit in hotels that have dodgy power supplies. Once upon a time, I lost a lot of work and time because power was out. Another time, somebody from housekeeping carefully unpicked the Gaffer tape around my room key that ensured power to my room whilst I ingested DVCAM footage. The deck died, the Mac died, the hard disk died. The MacBook Pro, ingesting to external bus-powered HD from a battery powered camcorder is a far more robust solution in these circumstances.

[zergtherobot]

OCTOBER 14th.
New mac line being released...at least for the macbook lineup, there are some serious upgrades rumored to be happening so I would wait till then. There is potential for new mac pro at mac world as well, far beyond what they have now and "aggressively priced"

[A B Hancock]

Thanks for the replies. It seems that Final Cut Express won't handle the XDCAM HQ footage anyway (or so I was told at the Apple forum) so rather than spring for FCS I guess I'll be looking at the new Mac Book Pros in nine days.

What the hell. It always makes me giddy to spend large during a major economic downturn (thirty thou and counting this year!). What's a few grand more? Is eBay the best place to sell a G5??

[dwells]

If I'm traveling, I'll bring a laptop. But if I'm doing a lot of heavy editing on location, I'll bring my desktop. Ultimately, portability (with a firewire drive and a MacBook Pro) is always ideal.

David

[hantanbl]

OCTOBER 14th.
New mac line being released...at least for the macbook lineup, there are some serious upgrades rumored to be happening so I would wait till then. There is potential for new mac pro at mac world as well, far beyond what they have now and "aggressively priced"

What's inside the new Macbook pro? Quad core processor with blu-ray burner?

[dwells]

Don't we all wish! Intel Core 2 Duo with a Superdrive. Rumors are circulating new MBPs next week on 10-14-08. We'll have to wait and see.

Pioneer has a great Blu-ray burner out. Use it with Toast 9 and you're golden.

David