Advice needed is this Macbook suitable for video editing.

Akulaking

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Been offered a Macbook Pro (MYD82B/A M1 8gb 256 13.3 Retina display) for a good price, I’m wanting to do some basic video editing with footage from a DJI camera and a drone. I was told I would need an M3 machine with 16gb, would this lesser spec model work or will it struggle.
Thanks.
 
Been offered a Macbook Pro (MYD82B/A M1 8gb 256 13.3 Retina display) for a good price, I’m wanting to do some basic video editing with footage from a DJI camera and a drone. I was told I would need an M3 machine with 16gb, would this lesser spec model work or will it struggle.
Thanks.

m1 will be fine for 4k editing.

If you want multicam 4k, and loads of LUTs etc then get the best you can afford.

M1 was fine for 4k and better than intel before the m2 was released, so will be fine now.

also the 8gb is unified memory so better than traditional ram.
 
depends how you edit

none editors tend to open the whoe clip in the timeline and then cut out the boring bits this process needs a more update machine as it doing a very heavy lift from the beginning.

trained editors will work off a scratch disc, select the clips and then do a virtual assemble edit... andask the machine to render that out, this can use a much lower spec machine cos your not opening the whole clip...

depends what the workflow is
 
I was told I would need an M3 machine with 16gb, would this lesser spec model work or will it struggle.

No you don't. It'll be perfectly fine.

More RAM would have helped, but as explained above, it's unified memory, works slightly different. Eg: you don't need as much.

My only advice, keep an eye on storage. Editing software will create video caches on the startup disk (unless you specify otherwise in their preferences) and you might end up with low memory on the storage (startup disk) over time.
But you can just keep an eye on it and clean the caches routinely.

Keep your source material clean, do not over-process stuff (multiple format conversions, etc.) and you'll be fine. The way you work (and your knowledge) really affects the load on the machine.
 
Wow, thanks gents, this is all new to me and sounds way more complicated than I thought it would be. I’m going to need some training in editing I think.
 
it;s as complex as you wanna make it... the main this is tell a story and keep it interesting... 2 minutes of dynamic action is great 5 minutes to tell a two story is good 45 minutes of fuckall except boring shit .... is really dull...!
 
it;s as complex as you wanna make it... the main this is tell a story and keep it interesting... 2 minutes of dynamic action is great 5 minutes to tell a two story is good 45 minutes of fuckall except boring shit .... is really dull...!
I’m only looking to string a few clips together, for our own viewing, from trips etc, not looking to make professional quality stuff for YouTube. Although some of the YT stuff is questionable to say the least.
 
well just cutting the bad framing out, the wobbly shots, and trimming up the audio levels will make a massive improvement to stuff being watchable....

plus if you like it it's an opened hooby
 
You'll be fine. Easy to learn and it's fun. Go for it.
Just resurrecting this thread, got the MacBook Pro, got some decent footage from DJI camera and drone, what would you recommend editing software wise? As said I only want to scoop the clips down, string them together, and opening/ending titles. Thanks.
 
Don't know, I use Premiere, but I have a CS license for work.

If you just have to cut together the bits and you have a Mac, you could use iMovie. It's bundled with the computer.
Apple made its best to destroy both Final Cut and iMovie in later years, but will still serve you right for that scope. It's fast too.
 
Don't know, I use Premiere, but I have a CS license for work.

If you just have to cut together the bits and you have a Mac, you could use iMovie. It's bundled with the computer.
Apple made its best to destroy both Final Cut and iMovie in later years, but will still serve you right for that scope. It's fast too.
Great, I’ll have a look at IMovie, thanks 👍🏻
 
I still use a 2014 IMac to edit my YouTube videos which are recorded in 4k and occasionally with multiple cameras, (multi clip), no issues whatsoever. I’m using Final Cut Pro.
 


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