jnorman34 Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I have purchased a new GH4 to do my documentary video work. I fretted quite a bit over having to also purchase a new computer which could handle editing and rendering 4k video files, and read as many reviews, etc, as I could regarding what kind of computer would be required. Most of what I read indicated that a 2.4 ghz quad core i7, with 16ram, and high-end dedicated graphics card, was about the minimum. I needed a smallish laptop that could do the job, so I searched gaming computers like the razer blade, sager, alienware, etc. most which had the above specs were quite expensive, had 15.6" or 17" screens, were heavy, and I really didn't like my choices much. I wanted a nice lightweight ultrabook type machine. I looked at the 13" MBP with intel iris graphics, asus zenbook, sony z-series and Lenovo thinkpads and yogas, and others, but nothing small seemed to have good dedicated graphics or quad core i7. I finally decided that I would just buy the computer I wanted, and if it wouldn't handle 4k, I would just keep shooting in 1080 for now and wait. maybe shoot a few things in 4k for archiving. So, I went out and bought a Lenovo yoga 2 pro, core i7 4500U, 8 ram, intel graphics 4400, QHD display. guess what? I imported some 4k clips into power director 12, did a small amount of editing, adding some audio and titles, and hit the render button to output a 4k file - it worked just fine - rendered quite quickly and smoothly, no stress on the machine, no excessive heat, nada - no problems. Now, I don't think this machine would be the best solution for those who need to do long videos with lots of corrections and grading, but for those of us who generally work with minor editing and output shorter-than-feature-film videos, it does not appear that it actually requires a $2500+ computer to do it. just thought a few of you might want to know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 @jnorman34 Very good to hear, and I'm glad to learn you stuck with the GH4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnorman34 Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 thanks jon - the first few GH4 4k pieces seem very detailed (3200x1800 monitor), yet with a nice warm finish (cinelike-D profile, no other adjustments). straight 1080/30p(both 100mbps and 50 mbps) footage from the GH4 is also rendering very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonpais Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Hi jnorman, I just took delivery of the 27" iMac I ordered 7 weeks ago and it only confirms what I knew all along but didn't want to believe - a desktop computer is the only really good platform for editing anything of consequence... Without question, I would prefer to be able to edit video on a laptop at the coffee shop, but nothing can beat seeing your video on a larger monitor. Perhaps the most striking benefit is being able to discern whether clips are truly sharp or not. And of course, composition, detail, color and everything else that is simply not visible even on something as good as a 15" Retina display. In fact, though I have a slight twinge of buyer's remorse that the iMac doesn't and probably won't have a Retina display for a long time to come (as well as Thunderbolt 2), the size alone on a good display is superior to the extra pixels for editing purposes. Not to mention how wonderful it is to view your clips without eyestrain. The audio quality is also unquestionably superior. But even if you don't go with a desktop, you should make certain that you evaluate your storage since you are dealing with archival footage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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