Computer and editing software recomendations for mavic air newbie

[Pinchecharlie]

So i bought a new mavic air and it's here Wednesday. Iam all set up to fly it and iam excited. I do not however have a computer to down load the card onto nor have any ideas on editing. You are probably saying that why am I even getting one and now I feel a bit stupid but I love the shots these get and iam game to learn I just have so little experience with it all iam pretty much over saturated with tech lingo and living in a small town have not gotten much help from retailers. So what are some minimums for being able to down load and edit the footage on a lap top? My film maker friend recommended davinci resolve but after searching you need a very powerful exspensive computer. Are there others that a normal person could use? I think I know this rules out 4k and top of the line stuff but what about for the hobbyist. I can get a refurbished apple air or older Mac book for under a thousand? Or a pc style? Or a gaming style? Gpus and vram and mgbs being the top priorities but I can not tell a lie, I don't understand these just yet and iam feeling embarrassed to see 2500-5000 dollar units recommended for aerial photography . If you have time would you tell me your recomendations and help explain the short comings or the benefits of the popular choices? I must be missing alot because the average person surly doesn't have such exspenzive computers for a hobby? Thanks charlie

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Sorry found lots of threads on software. Any advice on computers?

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Bump

 

[Thwyllo]

You should be able to buy a brand new laptop, Windows anyway, for under a grand. Something with a multi core processor and 16gb of RAM (which is key when you're doing video) would do the job. As regards hard drive, I would suggest something with an SSD which is solid state and doesn't break down like old fashioned hard drives - your kit will last a lot longer. They are more expensive though so you're probably looking at 256gb but with 1Tb external drives available as cheap as chips, one or two of those would still meet a budget of a grand I'd have thought.

Older kit with less RAM and lower spec will do the job but takes a lot longer.

I'm sure you already know that Apple hardware is no better then Windows but is a lot more expensive and restricts you to the stuff Apple wants you to use. That was always Steve Jobs' master plan

Google stuff like best budget laptops for video processing. Oh and try and get one with a true 1920x1080 HD screen as well. Most are still around 1300x800 but describe themselves as high definition or similar which is not quite the same as true HD.

 

[Martin Kuhn]

1920x1080 for editing is fully ok even if you render for 4K for your displaying 3840x2169

To remain cheap
A) 256 GB ssd for windows, cutting software AND the footage as long as you cut it
B) a larger standard hdd (4TB ?) for storing the edited footage, Videos etc

Desktop computers are cheaper than notebooks and have the option to replace components easier

Even if i‘m an Apple fan, for price reasons, I also recommend a windows machine

 

[Mossiback]

I suggest you first research video editing software and find one you might feel comfortable using. There are many beginner videos on YouTube that will help with this. Once you pick one, that software will list the required and recommended specs for the computer. Normally, what will help with video editing is a powerful video card and lots of RAM.

You will also need storage space including backups. You will find that videos will eat up a lot of hard drive space so go big with this.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Ok thanks, seems like at a comfortable price point there are the same options just differs t machines. So back to software which is all over the place. Seems like pros use davinci resolve mostly and my friend recommended them. There site has computer recomendations but I was wondereing....
Can you use just part of a software programs strength to begin? Meaning not use 4k and not all the features to save space on the computer? The davinci stuff recommends multiple gpus which no lap top really has but I dunno the real truth. I'll post there recomendations . This is just the lap top re tion which is much shorter than the others. I don't think pros use lap tops lol. Dead horse beating! Thanks for reply




PC Laptops
In the last year or two there have been an increasing number of systems with the new GPUs
that are suitable for use with DaVinci Resolve. So while performance varies greatly, most
modern AMD, Intel and NVIDIA GPUs that support OpenCL 1.2 or CUDA 3.0 compute capability
will operate with Resolve.
When selecting a system for operational ease you should order a laptop with sufficient screen
resolution to clearly show the full UI, such as 1920x1080, and at least 16GB of system RAM.
512GB or more of SSD system disk is also recommended, as is a fast connection for your
media storage.
While performance for many applications and UHD resolution will be limited the Dell Precision
M6800 and the HP Book are examples of a laptop for Resolve field use.

 

[Mossiback]

I use Resolve and it relies heavily on a powerful graphics card. They seem to favor NVIDIA cards. The good thing is the free version is very powerful and only costs you time to try it. There are also plenty of tutorials on YT to help learn. As far as only using part of a program to save computer space, you have to install the whole program even if you only use one function. The paid version unlocks more features but the free part is very (some think too) comprehensive. If you enter "video editing software" in the search bar you will find a lot of threads that should answer questions you may have.

 

[Thwyllo]

You'll get away with a 256gb SSD easily if you have external storage for backup (1-2 Tb minimum). SSDs are longer living and more efficient but more expensive too.

I'd also look at other video programs too that are less expensive and complex. If you haven't done video before you need to learn the basics of formatting, joining clips, colour manipulation, soundtracks etc and this is more easily done in a more basic app.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Can I ask what computer and its spe ifics you use with it? I keep thinking you must be able to store information separately so your main computer has less to do? Lol

 

[Pinchecharlie]

You'll get away with a 256gb SSD easily if you have external storage for backup (1-2 Tb minimum). SSDs are longer living and more efficient but more expensive too.

I'd also look at other video programs too that are less expensive and complex. If you haven't done video before you need to learn the basics of formatting, joining clips, colour manipulation, soundtracks etc and this is more easily done in a more basic app.

Any apps you prefer ? There are so many I get lost. I simply want to do go pro with mavic stuff for neat family Holliday stuff. We're spending 10 days on a river this month doing whitewater raft and camp/hike/fish blah blah. So what's a guy do have 20 sd cards ? Bit of more than I can chew

 

[Mossiback]

...We're spending 10 days on a river this month doing whitewater raft and camp/hike/fish blah blah. So what's a guy do have 20 sd cards ? Bit of more than I can chew

10 days on a river? Unless you have extra batteries and a way to charge them, you don't need to worry about SD cards; you won't be in the air that long. Your bigger worries are keeping things dry, avoiding overhanging trees, and charging batteries. Remember that the tracking/following modes you will be tempted to use will cut corners with their track. This can cause them to side-slip into obstructions that the OA sensors cannot see.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Good advice! Well do two days on the river we then camp with our camper. Recharge ourself and batteries then three short more and end up In civilization and then a few days in and around glacier .there are some wide open spaces on certain stretches and plenty of side hike ridge top ect but your right I'll be carefull for sure . I have dry storage that can survive a flip and swim lol. But yeah it's a bit dangerous for sure. The go pros are easy but about a hour on a 32 card? The kids love them and can't leave them alone really. So now I have to figure out what to do AFTER getting the "shot" lol. I got a video of me getting beat down in my kayak last week and it was pretty shocking how good it looks lol. Anyway. Software dictates hardware budget makes for comprimise. So iam all ears for lessons learned and highly recommended products. Thanks sorry for rambling

 

[Cslucas34]

I may be alone here, but if you are just getting into video editing etc then I would say MacBook is a very good option for a couple reasons. They are very stable, easy to learn, and you can achieve more with less (IE you don’t NEED 16 gigs of ram on a Mac because of how the software is coded). Additionally, macs come with iMovie for free which is a more than capable video editor for the enthusiast. With the new MacBook being released, you can probably find a MacBook Pro (older model) that fits your budget that already comes with the video editing software on it. That’s how I started out. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Funny you say that, my wife has a old Mac book pro she's giving me but it's old. Iam taking it to a shop tomorrow hopefully they can re do it and that will get me started. It's a 2008 though so may be no good? Now iam reading on how to build a tower! That sounds fun and looks pretty easy? Lots of descions but there are alot of videos and articles and shops to helo. That makes it way more interesting to me anyway