red

For the 2011 grab 16GB via Crucial and then replace the HDD with a SSD and also replace the optical drive with another SSD or even a larger HDD or the existing HDD. Put OSX on the SSD and all your data on the HDD. This should speed up your machine considerably.  
Check this guide to get dual HDD in your machine.

Check out the RX10 II. It gets knocked by some people but after picking one up for a 2nd slo mo camera, I've been really impressed with it as an all in one tool. We primarily shoot Canon and BM cameras and have never been a fan of Sony clors but love their tech, so I got one with low expectations and thought I might just use it as the 2nd slo mo cam and then shelve it.
I'm glad I didn't. Instead I spent a couple of days tweaking to create a solid PP and after a lot of testing I've ended up with a very solid s-log gamma/cinema color setup that gets consistently great results at 1 to 1 1/2 stop over, converted w/ Filmconvert, FJ Asst.
Here's the positives that you probably already know:
Maybe the best 1080 120p around
Great 24p 4k when exposed and colored right.
Almost ridiclulous 24 - 200 mm 2.8 glass 
Very customizable interface.
Same great evf as the 7RII
I got this for $900 open box from B&H and while I won't use it on commercial work, It's almost silly how cheap it is for what you can do with it.
I did some close up model tests with it in the studio Friday and asked two peole in my shop what it was shot on, C300, BMCC or a Sony. Neither thought the skin tone and depth could have been sony and they were blown away, as was I, that it was shot on the RX.
I looked at a ton of footage online and assumed it just wasn't going to be more than a specialty thing, but, not surprisingly it turned out that 99% of the people putting up footage really aren't very good at working with the codec, log footage and grading. 
FWIW, we start shooting on two docs tomorrow but I've choosen not to put this in either kit because I haven't tried to intercut the foootage yet and because it's only been a few days of testing. But I'll be surprised, given how fast I've progressed the look this week, that I won't pair it with a new A7S II as a small two camera setup.
I could share some tests privately.

Hey guys...I just wanted to mention that the video below that was discussed in the last few pages is mine, and that the skin tones could look really good from this camera, but the combination of makeup, a mixture of lighting and the wrong color temperature produces some unpleasing results for sure. This was more of a project to really work and test the hardware, and to be honest, I messed up a lot.  It was just too much operating the camera, mixing audio from my belt, moving around and adjusting lights, dumping footage, and directing talent in a limited window of time.
The quality this unit produces for $1K is astonishing. I like some of the skin tones in that footage - which I will update with more later/tomorrow - but it's easy to throw them off with the slightest production error.
 

The corpse like comment on the skin tones makes me just want to skip this and keep my D750 and add a D5500/D7200 once funds allow rather than selling my Nikon gear and lenses. The skin tones out of the camera from the D750 are very good.

Hey Jordan
No way! It kills me to have a misunderstanding like this
I am an avid follower of your videos at The Camera Store, I absolutely love then
I featured your video on the blog purely out of love for what you do and to draw attention to it.
I'd have a hard time passing that off as my own!! Berlin might be cold but it's not that cold!! I do not have a stunning beard. I do not have Chris's strange accent either
The PR comment wasn't aimed at you guys
*At all*
I get involved with the manufacturers and try to build a relationship, I go to the events organised by PR companies to try out the cameras early when I can fit it in, nothing wrong with this and all reviewers do it. I didn't realise you and Chris just got back from a Sony press event so it was a really stupidly badly timed comment on my part.
No one can deny there's generally a subversive whitewashing going on due to so much PR in the consumer electronics world but YOUR reviews are NOT like that... I like to think we remain balanced about negatives and unbiased and thinking of our content rather than our relationship with the manufacturers and this is totally what sites like ours do... We shoot from the gut and we are outspoken.
I can't tell you how sorry I am for this misunderstanding it is terrible...
I'm up for a chat on the phone if it helps solve any issues
Sorry - Andrew

Selecting AF point by touching the LCD would have been 1000x better in any case!

So I really didn't think I'd end up keeping this camera, especially as it is 1799 euros body only(!!) for just 1080p and no articulated screen.
BUT this camera is a lesson to all the others...
1. May seem like a small thing to start but it has the BEST menus I have ever used, end of story. Properly organised. Not too long. Snappy to navigate. It is amazing how many other cameras get this wrong, even Canon which have too many sub-sections / tabs. Then there's a nice big MY menu at the end of the new Fujifilm main menu so you barely have to dig into the other tabs at all. It is such a nice improvement on the previous Fuji cameras. During a shoot the menus can make or break a camera. Ask any FS7 owner
2. COLOUR and CODEC and DETAIL - it excels at each. The images have an electricity to them, super alive. On most cameras, even with H.265 on the NX1, the codec always pays lipservice to the blacks. Whenever you bring them up they are a mess of banding, compression, blocking. The X Pro 2 codec handles like the D750, super clean in the shadows and LOTS of detail. You can bring so much out of the blacks even when they are crushed in-camera when using Velvia - which by the way, is giving me the most satisfying out of camera non-graded non-fussed with colour yet.
3. SMOOTH editing, and 60p for slow mo. With 4K i have come to miss my render-less timeline, snappy editing and 60p with small file sizes. The only 4K 60p DSLR is $6k and 800Mbit. Hmm - no thank you.
4. SOUL. It has as much soul as a Leica but is far cheaper and with a much more versatile feature set and viewfinder. The EVF is super sharp and you don't even have to magnify focus half the time, just go off the EVF or the back screen. Both are superb. To shoot with it is a pleasure. The water sealed body, the build quality, the twin memory card slots, the reassuringly photographic clunk of the mechanical shutter, which by the way is much quieter than a DSLR but no less beefy, the retro good looks - SUPERB looking camera body - it all adds up to something you just want to pick up over anything else. Makes the GH4 and NX1 feel like boring utility tools.
5. It is FAST and the LENSES are lovely. AF and general speed of operation is a big improvement from the X Pro 1. Then there's the lenses 35mm F2.0 WR, small and affordable. 56mm F1.2, creamy like a Noctilux. I also love the 18-55mm F2.8-4 zoom, it is small and well above average for an APS-C zoom of this kind, 35mm F1.4 is slower to focus and has no OIS but it is a lovely piece of glass, 23mm F1.4 also a stunner.
OK, I wish it had zero moire, I wish it had 4K and I'd love an articulated screen.
And yes... This is designed purely as a purist photographer's Leica-style rangefinder, what the hell am I doing shooting video with it?
Because it FEELS so good to do so and it LOOKS so nice when I playback the results afterwards.
Two things that are so important - the feel of holding the damn thing and the feel you get from the colour and details afterwards. Vibrant and alive, the whole experience.
Sony, Canon, Panasonic experience dull by comparison.
They really need to take a hint from Fujifilm.

I'd include in the Panasonic G7 as well! A Panasonic G7 should be the #1 4K camera a person first looks at  Some people even prefer it over the GH4.

Best feature about it is.....   CHEAP! :-D And this is more important than you think, as it is still very very early days for 4K in consumer stills cameras. I bet within a year or two we'll see a huge flood of new 4K cameras having been released. So just get a camera for *now*, then upgrade to something else in the future. And the G7 is perfect for that case for a *now* 4K camera.

 

If I switch from Nikon the 18-105mm PZ G OSS and the 35mm f1.8 OSS seem an ideal combo with some vintage primes.

Yep. I bought ours from the Dell outlet during their recent Valentines sale when they offered 10% off their outlet prices. Our XPS15 cost £917 including three years next day warranty and I think thats a bargain for its quality.
It was amazing to watch how fast the refurbs were selling during that sale. You had to be really quick to snap one up.
I wouldn't be surprised if there is an Easter sale at the outlet too.

I lens that would be high on the list for this is the 35mm f1.8 OSS.
I had it for the FS100 and liked it. Sharp and the stabilisation was good.
Its almost a pancake, so a sweet companion to the small pz zoom. Couple those with a set of vintage primes and you're golden.

If staying with Sony colours then Sony A6000?

I was all set to get choose between an LX100 or RX100 but swaying towards the G7 now! I previously had a G3 and this looks like a big step up.
@Cinegain I thought you typed kittens and was like Lumix Kittens

If anyone is looking into a Panasonic G7 now might be the time!
Panasonic DMC-G7 and 14-42 kit lens available from Amazon, Jessops, Currys, LCE etc...

£200 cashback from Panasonic.
Cashback runs from November 18th to December 6th.
Panasonic 4K Double Cashback Details:
http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/103

The D7200 allows you to change the aperture in live view mode, has 2 dials for aperture and shutter, can dial in the kelvin value, has a motor for auto focus on older lenses if doings still or quick focus before record, more robust body to name but a few....
Have a read of this blog for more info about Nikon and Cinema.

Thanks again for the reply. EditReady seems like a handy app. I have never converted my footage into prores and normally just drop the mov files into FCPX. I shall explore prores to see if it can aid my final output.
I do like the 15" MacBook Pro but the 13" form factor seems appealing for when not doing edits and away from the monitor and wanting to be more mobile.
I really enjoy shooting with the D750. The footage it creates is very good and doesn't need much post. I shot previously with the D800 and then upgraded. The Nikon image I found is a lot better than anything a Canon DSLR can produce when comparing footage. It doesn't have all the features Sony or Panasonic tout for video but the image for shooting skin tones can't be matched. I am looking for a second body. I wanted the D5500 but likely to get the D7200 or anything new Nikon release in 2016. I use Nikon glass and also use it for stills so find it meets my needs.

No problem. I shoot with the NX500, so the native files are h.265. I have to convert it anyway, and I have just always been a fan of 4K converted to 1080p, I think it has a weightier image than straight 4K, which I find can sometimes look brittle. Also, the h.265 files are so compressed that they are pretty big when I convert them to prores, by turning it to 1080, I save some file space. The NX500 already has a 2.5x crop, so I have no interest in any further crop. Plus, my goal is narrative filmmaking, so I try and plan my shots. Of course, if I do need a crop, I guess, I can just bring in the 4K version.
I use EditReady to convert my files to prores and then I import them into FCPX for correction grade and edit. I use the Color Finale plug in for LUTS and any color work... of course, I am a newbie with a lot of this.
I have edited straight 4K and didn't have a problem at all, so with the specs for the MacBook Pro you posted, everything should work fine. Definitely with the D750, probably with the 4K from a gh4. I've never edited native 4K mov/MP4 files, but I can't imagine it would be a problem.
How do you like the D750? I never shot with a Nikon, but I have really liked what I have seen from the D5500, so I may pick one up if they go on sale at Christmas. 

Do it! Comparable video to GH4 with less crop. If on a budget consider getting a cheap Pentax K adapter to add super cheap vintage lenses from eBay (longer focal lengths than the kit lens). You could probably get a few lenses, camera, memory cards, filters, tripod and an extra battery for under £500. Then upgrade in future to the Metabones and better lenses and/or the GH5.

I was all set to get choose between an LX100 or RX100 but swaying towards the G7 now! I previously had a G3 and this looks like a big step up.
@Cinegain I thought you typed kittens and was like Lumix Kittens

If anyone is looking into a Panasonic G7 now might be the time!
Panasonic DMC-G7 and 14-42 kit lens available from Amazon, Jessops, Currys, LCE etc...

£200 cashback from Panasonic.
Cashback runs from November 18th to December 6th.
Panasonic 4K Double Cashback Details:
http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/103

If anyone is looking into a Panasonic G7 now might be the time!
Panasonic DMC-G7 and 14-42 kit lens available from Amazon, Jessops, Currys, LCE etc...

£200 cashback from Panasonic.
Cashback runs from November 18th to December 6th.
Panasonic 4K Double Cashback Details:
http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/103

If anyone is looking into a Panasonic G7 now might be the time!
Panasonic DMC-G7 and 14-42 kit lens available from Amazon, Jessops, Currys, LCE etc...

£200 cashback from Panasonic.
Cashback runs from November 18th to December 6th.
Panasonic 4K Double Cashback Details:
http://promotions.panasonic.co.uk/promotions/promotions/view_terms/103

That will be hard to decide...
LX100 advantages:
-15 min rec limit over 5 min in 4K
- Cheaper
- Can attach filters (43mm) without magfilter adapter
- Battery life is much better on LX
RX100 advantages:
- Great 1080p with high fps (LX100: 50fps, line skipped with moire and aliasing)
- SLOG2, and great high iso performance in video mode
- very small, pocketable
- build in flash which is very effective (and smaller than the LX100's attached flash)
- flipable LCD
Go for a used LX100 + a gimbal for the price of the RX100
Anyway i recorded this video with the LX100 and a Benro Monopod:

Shot by Lumix LX100.
Light travel tripod.
Gimbal Beholder MS1.
 
 

I have the RX100 IV and really like it.My only real issue is the short battery life,I brought 3 extra batteries just to feel comfortable.The low light performance is good,the noise is more of a fine grain. I just did a test and from what I can see the clear image zoom doesn't seem to degrade quality much. I haven't attempt to shoot anything of real length,meaning 4 to 5 minute takes so I haven't suffered any overheating.The 1080p is so good I barely shoot 4k but it's nice to know it's there if I need brief clips.
It's region switchable.