Re: Suggestions for moving from DVX100b to a consumer hd cam?

[Ruby Gold] "To answer your question of "why?"... Part of the reason I was thinking of switching to Mac is that I haven't used PPro since it was at 1.5 and I thought the learning curve might be just as steep as learning the latest version of FCP; "

Probably not. Professional software is by its very nature evolutionary.. they can't change things too fast or users complain -- we don't have time for arbitrary changes. Thus the huge outcry among high-end users about Final Cut Pro X... well, that, and the lack of upward compatibility, and the loss of some high-end features. May not be an issue for mid-range users, of course -- which is where they're pushing the whole Mac platform. They like consumers, they are no long interested in the Pro markets. Their bank balance suggests this is not a wrong business decision, just don't get crushed by the shift.

[Ruby Gold] "my OS (PC is in a plastic bag behind the couch and still has XP Pro on it), as well as the processor, video and sound cards and getting a monitor for the PC (don't have one currently) would be prohibitive. The appeal of the Mac was that I'd get something brand new that had all the upgrades I'd need for less money (I think) than it'd cost me to do all that stuff to my old machine. "

Apple products are largely luxury priced -- that's one reason Apple makes so much money. They're making 5x the profit per PC as folks like HP and Dell. Bottom line -- Apple makes a very nice, very sexy desktop-laptop in the iMac. But it's never going to be a bargain. You're paying more for the integral monitor than you would for a stand-alone, and you can't reuse it, should you chose to upgrade. Like a laptop. My current dual 1200p MVA-LCD monitors have lasted over the course of three PC upgrades, as one datapoint.

Most PCs are just as "fully stocked" out of the box as a Mac, but there's room for expansion in the main box. Need a DVD or Blu-ray drive... that's an extra for the Mac, and it's going to cost much more, because it's an external add-on. Want a six-core CPU or a high-end GPU? Can't get one.. Apple only ships these on the two-year-old Mac Pro, and they don't offer a high-end consumer graphics card on any product, much less a pro-series GPU (if you do go Adobe, you'll get perhaps the best GPU acceleration in the industry with a good nVidia card.. and I say this as a Vegas user. Apple doesn't do GPU acceleration yet, one reason AVC editing is such a boondoggle on the Mac).

I'm sure Mac fans will give you reasons to buy a Mac. I do believe there are people who will be very happy with Macs (my sister Kathy, for example, drank the Apple Kool-Aid awhile back and is quite happy with her iMacs, iPhone, and iPad.. but I do all her video editing). But I do not have any scenario in mind that would push one to a Mac for video editing. A year ago, sure, because while FCP 7 was aging (a 32-bit app in the world of 64-bit video editing, with poor multi-core performance), it was a legit pro choice. Now many of the pros are leaving the app, and even the platform. Adobe and Avid have been aggressively pricing FCP crossgrades -- they saw their chance, and pounced. I'm also certainly not speaking for everyone, just trying to get all your facts in your head, so you can make the right choice for you.

-Dave