Best iMac edit system to work with Lumix GH2 footage

L

lifilmmaker

Member
I’m new to the forum and in need of some advice. I'm considering using the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 to shoot some web videos using green screen.

What would be the best MAC editing system currently on the market to use FCP X when editing GH2 footage – shot with both with a non-hacked and hacked GH2?

I appreciate any feedback.

Thanks!




 
lifilmmaker said:
What would be the best MAC editing system currently on the market to use FCP X when editing GH2 footage – shot with both with a non-hacked and hacked GH2?
Click to expand...

Your thread title states "iMac" so if it is indeed the all-in-one system from Apple that you are looking at getting, I would say the best one for editing GH2 footage will be the one that Apple is probably close to updating probably sometime before the end of October. If you can wait that long, it's probably your best bet considering the new iMac will have Ivy Bridge and an NVIDIA graphics chipset.
 
Best iMac or Mac edit system to work with Lumix GH2 footage

Best iMac or Mac edit system to work with Lumix GH2 footage

Hi Gary,

Thanks for responding to my post.

Do you have another suggestion for a Mac editing system?

Do you also have any insight into the new Macs that will be released in the coming months?

What is the "Ivy Bridge"?
 
Pretty much any current model iMac is more than up to the task. I always recommend maxing out on RAM- the more the better and that's for any app. Other than that get the fastest processor and GPU you can afford after maxing the RAM.

-Noah
 
NoahK said:
Pretty much any current model iMac is more than up to the task. I always recommend maxing out on RAM- the more the better and that's for any app. Other than that get the fastest processor and GPU you can afford after maxing the RAM.

-Noah
Click to expand...

Hi Noah,

Thanks for responding to my post.

Is 16 gig of RAM enough?
 
lifilmmaker said:
Ulisses,

What is the "FCP X keyer"?

You mention the GH2 not being the best codec, is this why you suggest "transcoding to PRORES"?
Click to expand...

For your green screen footage, FCPX does a good job with the new keyer effect.
Editing with prores is always easier on processor / GPU
 
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The issue with the GH2 footage is image data. Any highly compressed codec will not be as easy to manipulate color with as a less compressed codec.
 
Ben,

I've learned from the forum in order to work with the GH2 footage in FCP X it must first be transcoded to ProRes. Once transcoded it is very easy to work with.

Any insight?
 
I have a 27" 2011 3.4 GHz iMac with a 256 GB SSD HD, 2 GB graphics card and 32 GB RAM. I purchased all through the Apple store except for the RAM, which I got through OWC.

I only use the SSD to run the OS and applications. I store nothing else on the SSD. I put everything else on an external G-Tech Thunderbolt drive and use other G-Tech (non-Thunderbolt) drives for backups.

It is honestly hard to quantify how much better the 32 GB of RAM makes the system because I installed the RAM in the iMac on day 1. I can tell you this. I migrated to the iMac from a 2008 8 core Mac Pro with 1 GB video card, 12 GB RAM and (4) internal HDs. I used the same approach on my Mac Pro. I had one HD for OS and applications and the other HDs for media storage and backups. I haven't attempted to quantify the results but my iMac is WAY faster than my Mac Pro. And I do mean WAY faster!!! With my Mac Pro, I was constantly getting rainbow balls of death while editing in FCPX. I still occasionally get the rainbow ball of death on my iMac but it is just that, only occasionally (maybe once a week when editing a clip with lots of corrections and effects or deep within compound clips). Is 32 GB that much better than 16 GB? I dunno. But the price was right so it seemed like a no-brainer to me. I got 32 GB of RAM from OWC for less than the cost of 16 GB through Apple.

The new iMacs have been rumored to be coming out any day now so I would agree with Gary. If you can wait a little bit, do it. On the other hand, if you need a system today, buy the 2011 version and you'll be more than fine!!

Others like Dusty (Christopher) rave about the new Mac Book Pros. They already have the Ivy Bridge processor and retina displays. If you want a mobile editing station and either already have a good external monitor or don't mind editing on a 15" screen, that could definitely be the way to go. The MBPs were just updated a few months ago.
 
Dave © said:
I have a 27" 2011 3.4 GHz iMac with a 256 GB SSD HD, 2 GB graphics card and 32 GB RAM. I purchased all through the Apple store except for the RAM, which I got through OWC.

I only use the SSD to run the OS and applications. I store nothing else on the SSD. I put everything else on an external G-Tech Thunderbolt drive and use other G-Tech (non-Thunderbolt) drives for backups.

It is honestly hard to quantify how much better the 32 GB of RAM makes the system because I installed the RAM in the iMac on day 1. I can tell you this. I migrated to the iMac from a 2008 8 core Mac Pro with 1 GB video card, 12 GB RAM and (4) internal HDs. I used the same approach on my Mac Pro. I had one HD for OS and applications and the other HDs for media storage and backups. I haven't attempted to quantify the results but my iMac is WAY faster than my Mac Pro. And I do mean WAY faster!!! With my Mac Pro, I was constantly getting rainbow balls of death while editing in FCPX. I still occasionally get the rainbow ball of death on my iMac but it is just that, only occasionally (maybe once a week when editing a clip with lots of corrections and effects or deep within compound clips). Is 32 GB that much better than 16 GB? I dunno. But the price was right so it seemed like a no-brainer to me. I got 32 GB of RAM from OWC for less than the cost of 16 GB through Apple.

The new iMacs have been rumored to be coming out any day now so I would agree with Gary. If you can wait a little bit, do it. On the other hand, if you need a system today, buy the 2011 version and you'll be more than fine!!

Others like Dusty (Christopher) rave about the new Mac Book Pros. They already have the Ivy Bridge processor and retina displays. If you want a mobile editing station and either already have a good external monitor or don't mind editing on a 15" screen, that could definitely be the way to go. The MBPs were just updated a few months ago.
Click to expand...

I'm ripping up editing on the Macbook Pro retina. It's a fine machine. But like others have said, the new Imac's will probably come pretty soon. A new iMac maxed out will be less expensive than the MBPretina.
 
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