Mac Pros and Cons, FCP X 10.1

Mac Pro

It’s Mac Pro day! A long time coming to say the least but I have to say that I find myself hesitant.

I am very happy with my late 2012/early 2013 iMac (which replaced my ’06 Mac Pro) and I love its screen. I used to have two top of the line NEC 27″ displays and I don’t miss them. Running one of them along side my iMac, it came to feel dull and fuzzy. So far, I have not missed the NEC’s Adobe RGB color gamut either.

So, where does that leave us?

-I’d be more tempted to jump for the new Mac Pro if they had updated the Apple’s Thunderbolt Display along with it (adding USB 3 and the thinner less reflective screen.) Though maybe USB 3 in the display is less of an issue with the Mac Pro having so many ports?

-At first glance the new Mac Pro does not look to be as wildly overpriced as it first appeared, historically speaking. A new 6-core 3.5GHz with 32GB ram, 512GB storage, upgraded D700 GPUs, and AppleCare comes in at $5,500. Exactly what a BTO Mac Pro cost me in 2006.

-In the new Mac Pro’s favor is the new FCP X which has clearly been optimized for it.

-It would be great to get a sense of how much faster a new Mac Pro will be compared to a recent iMac prior to purchasing. If one is looking to make year end purchase this looks unlikely to happen.

Update: Mac Pro shipping dates are already slipping to February. So, no rush & it allows time for reviews to come out and to see if Apple will update the Thunderbolt display.

First impressions via Macworld.

AnandTech Mac Pro Review (link added 1/3/14)

Larry Jordan on new Mac Pro (link added 1/15/14)

Larry Jordan testing Mac Pro vs. iMac Compression Speeds (link aded 1/15/14)

FCP X 10.1

This looks to be a great update. It’s interesting to note how much FCP X has followed Aperture’s playbook. Horrible launch, quick updates to get up to speed, then adding features. Expanding from internal library based to freedom to keep assets where it best works for the user.

Some key changes that jumped out at me:

-Better management of assets.

-Only open what you need.

-You can now edit the audio, detach it from multi-cam clips.

-Improved image stabilization.

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Look here for more info on the changes:

FCP X 10.1 Detailed First Look by Steve Martin and Mark Spencer

Ripple Training – Free Video Tutorials on Upgrading

Larry Jordan on FCP X 10.1

fcp.co 10.1

fcp.c0 Upgrading your Events and Projects to 10.1