Choosing a Mac computer to edit Mavic video that won't break the budget

[Felipe]

I am looking at buying a new ( or refurbished ) computer to do, among other things, video editing from my Mavic. I am a Mac guy so I was looking at some Refurbished iMacs for around $1200. Doe the iMac with a 4K screen have enough juice to run the video editing software? I am currently using a fairly new MacBook Air, but I don't think it has the power to make video editing anything other than tedious. I wondered how suitable the iMac is for 4K video editing ?

 

[skychatham]

Why not a Mac mini?

 

[Kymadn]

If portability is not critical you should use that money to shell out for a decent Desktop computer. You will get much more processing power out of a desktop. I use a Windows 7 PC with an AMD FX 8380 (pretty old processor) and 32Gb of ram with no problems

 

[deltalimatango]

I have an iMac 5K and use it for video editing. To cut to the chase, if you want to use a Mac, you have to pay for it. Maybe you can look on the Apple website in your country and see if there are refurbish options. For portable times, I use the new MacBook Pro 15 inch. Both have the juice to edit video, but you pay for what you get. No matter what you purchase, you will need at a minimum 16 gigs of ram.

 

[Syphon]

While I normally am a big fan of Mac's, have owned them now forever, the continuous price increases and lack of new features on each new model release is making them not worth the cost. The newest MBP line is WAY over priced for the same specs you had in the previous cheaper models.

I use a 2015 MacBook Pro and Adobe Premiere to do my edits. If you are looking to save some money, I would suggest looking at a decent gaming pc/laptop as those have the power to do video editing and are cheaper than the mac line. If going with MacBooks, stick to the pro line, with 16gb of ram.

If you just want to do video editing, A PC with Adobe Premiere will do just as good for video editing as a Mac. I use a Mac for video only because I use a Mac for my work (web developer). I would not buy one just to do video editing, unless someone is buying it for you

 

[smknv8s]

Honestly look on ebay. I have found a few mac book pros with decent harware that need a screen replaced or a bigger hard drive. I buy them and flip them all of the time. The last MB Pro I got was $350 and the screen was $85. Under $500 for a decent computer that will do the job is not bad. Just my opinion.

 

[JLane]

I am currently using a fairly new MacBook Air, but I don't think it has the power to make video editing anything other than tedious.

Have you already tried on your MBA? I have an older, 11" MBA which is technically way under-powered for the task, but by using the optimized media functionality in Davinci Resolve (free), it's actually quite useable. I believe Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere have similar functions, and probably work even better. Note that I'm not a pro by any means, and I haven't done extensive video editing.

 

[deltalimatango]

Have you already tried on your MBA? I have an older, 11" MBA which is technically way under-powered for the task, but by using the optimized media functionality in Davinci Resolve (free), it's actually quite useable. I believe Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere have similar functions, and probably work even better. Note that I'm not a pro by any means, and I haven't done extensive video editing.

You can probably get by with almost any computer. The key issue will be time. Faster computers take less time to render the video. If you can do it on an older 11 inch MacBook Air, which is no longer produced, most current computers would work as well.

 

[Robin]

The MacBook pro's are optimised to work with Final Cut Pro x, lighting quick even on base model.

 

[dmanisgnarly]

If portability is not critical you should use that money to shell out for a decent Desktop computer. You will get much more processing power out of a desktop. I use a Windows 7 PC with an AMD FX 8380 (pretty old processor) and 32Gb of ram with no problems

Ditto! I built a sweet desktop for processing GIS data for considerably less than a mac. Dual R9 390 cards (16GB graphics and 32GB of ram) and it stomps anything I throw at it. All for around $1K USD. If portability is a factor, the ASUS ROG series of laptops are hard to beat.

 

[Felipe]

The MacBook pro's are optimised to work with Final Cut Pro x, lighting quick even on base model.

I like the idea of finding a used or refurb MacBook Pro, I just get the Mac system, it is way more user friendly, at least for me. One of the things I loved about the new Mavic was seeing the way it was packaged. Reminded me a lot of an Apple product. Thanks for the feedback I really appreciate it.

 

[Robin]

i import the video in proxy mode, no problems doing it that way and leave source in its place otherwise you will fill up your HD supper quick. (final cut pro x).

 

[F6Rider]

Too bad, I just sold a 27" iMAC quad core i7 w/16GB ram on ebay for $750, wanted the latest model with the best specs.