The $3,200 Question ?
 

Up till recently my videographic world has been Camera (HD & SD)...getting the footage into the can and then handing it off to an Editor.

Have been around Editors using PC platforms and others using Mac platforms. The Macs interface looks more intuitive with a better workflow than PC.

It's time to personally step into editing.

Which of the Mac systems will give me a good start for $3,200 ?

An iMac will give you a great and affordable start for video editing. Get the large display, add a little more RAM, a large external Firewire hard drive (for capture and render files), and a Final Cut Express license (unless you want to go straight to Final Cut Studio) - and you'll have a really nice editing system. Very doable within your budget.

- Martin

What is the difference between Final Cut Express and Final Cut Studio?

Studio has more features and is more intuitive than express.

Thanks Martin....was leaning toward the iMac too.

It's going to be a new day upgrading from the Frankenstein PC am currently using.

I have soooo much footage (mostly Musicians performing) chilling in the can to finally do something with.

Exciting stuff !

Or save a bit more up and go for a Quad Core Mac Pro with a screen and Final Cut Studio... If you're going for Final Cut Express this should be no problem.
If you're going for Final Cut Studio you could maybe look for a refurbished Mac Pro.

The benefits of a Mac Pro in comparison with a iMac:
- matte screen versus glossy screen
- quad core (or eight core, but that's out of your budget) versus dual core
- no overheating issues and other stuff*
(here in Belgium there is a professional business who sells Apple based editing systems. They told us that from all the repairs they had to do, 70 procent were iMacs... Mac Pro is a workhorse, really well built.)
- you can upgrade easier in the future

I played around with FCP Studio 2 at the apple store on their quad core Mac Pros... why is it the color correction filter so unresponsive? I mean when I drag the dot around on the color wheel, I expect it to move smoothly, but it's not.. it felt like dragging thru molasses.. Is this typical of FCP?

I don't have this feeling on my Macbook Pro, with FCS 2...
Do you mean in Color or Final Cut Pro itself?

I don't really have problem with both, actually... I also don't expect it to flash fast from one side to the other, because that's not what it's meant to do... You have to be subtle when you are doing color correction work, if it would be too lose, it wouldn't be a good tool for what it's meant...

IIRC, (with the 3-way color corrector) if you hold down the Apple key as you drag the dot around then it will move faster.

That's how it is supposed to work. It is "geared down" in order to facilitate fine tuning. Colour correction is generally comprised of tiny adjustments. If the "dots" were loose, then it would be painfully frustrating to work with.

One option is to order a refurbed Mac Pro from Apple, along with a refurbed 24" monitor. That might be close to your budget and offer more room to grow in the future. If you go the iMac route buy one with the largest hard drive they sell.

Yes that is the default speed at which it moves. If you want to go faster you can hold down the Command/Apple key while dragging the "dot". You can also modify how it moves with the Shift key(makes it only move radially).