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Suggestions for laptop for student filmmaker on a budget?

Sam Colon

4 years, 6 months ago - Sam Colon

I currently have a 2011 Macbook Pro which is too old for any FCP versions. I'm taking a filmmaking class and shooting low-budget shorts on a Panasonic g85 (4K mirrorless). I'm not necessarily partial to Macs, but I see that FCP is more affordable in the long run vs Adobe Premiere, so I'm not sure if it would ultimately be more affordable to get a used macbook. However, there's a dizzying array of information online, so I'm having a hard time parsing through the noise.

Basically, I'm looking for a suggestion for a Mac and PC option for which to edit small shorts shot on the the Panasonic. In regards to price, I'd prefer to stay under $1500 USD, or somewhere close.

I appreciate any help!
Cheers

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Brendan O'Neill

4 years, 6 months ago - Brendan O'Neill

Hi Sam,

You might consider moving to DaVinci Resolve. The free version is highly specced. You can get Beginner and Advanced User Guides on Kindle for under £7 for both currently. It will run on Winndows and also the Linux based Ubuntu operating system. You need minimum 16GB RAM and a newish graphics board to run. Good for grading too. The paid for version isn't that expensive - around £250 I think.

Best

Brendan

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Response from 4 years, 6 months ago - Brendan O'Neill SHOW

Sam Colon

4 years, 6 months ago - Sam Colon

Thanks very much Brendan. Are there any non-Macs that you would recommend? Currently I'm leaning towards the Dell XPS 15: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Touch-Intel-NVIDIA-GeForce/dp/B07T4HGF79/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=Dell+Xps+4k+1650&qid=1596142697&s=electronics&sr=1-4&linkCode=sl1&tag=filmstudent06-20&linkId=fdd287ebe3fb33f5703a0c832266df30&language=en_US32266df30&language=en_US.

Many thanks for your help.

Sam

Response from 4 years, 6 months ago - Sam Colon SHOW

Marlom Tander

4 years, 6 months ago - Marlom Tander

Why a laptop? Desktop gets you better systems for the same price. Two screens makes editing much easier. Unless you really need portable editing, a desktop version and a cheap second laptop for mundane stuff might be better.

Response from 4 years, 6 months ago - Marlom Tander SHOW

Tim Bourque

4 years, 6 months ago - Tim Bourque

You should also be able to find training material for Davinci Resolve directly from Blackmagic’s website. It’s quite in depth stuff. But it’s all free!

Response from 4 years, 6 months ago - Tim Bourque SHOW