What's the computer requirements?

[Tomday]

I am looking at buying a Canon EOS 550d, and I keep seeing that I will need a fast computer to capture/edit the footage, but I cant seem to find what exactly I am going to be needing. My laptop has 4g ram and a decent processor, or I have a desktop with 8gb of ram with a quad processor (but i'd rather use the laptop for the portability). Is this enough?

And while im at it, is Adobe Premier Pro CS4 capable of handling these tasks?

Thanks.

[hech54]

Most DSLRs record to MJPEG don't they?

[hech54]

My Nikon D90 records in MJPEG. I just did a test video

Both AviDemux and VirtualDub opened it with ease.

[fitch.j]

Prem Pro CS4 is definately "up to the task" of editing that footage (however if you haven't bought it yet i would strongly suggest CS5, as well as strongly suggesting a collection over simply Premiere. This saves later questions of people saying that it doesnt do all they wanted it to, thats because a different Adobe product would do that and intergrate it into premiere)

Depending on what you mean by decent processor....you should be fine with your laptop no problem.

[Tomday]

Yeah i read up about CS5, but it isnt out yet is it? My laptop broke on me recently and im getting it fixed, but what are the normal comp requirements? I dont know the exact processor speed.

[fitch.j]

CS5 is out now yes. Released not long ago.

Look at the Production Premium Pack.

For PremPro CS5 these are the req's:

Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 requires a 64-bit operating system.
Windows

• Intel® Core™2 Duo or AMD Phenom® II processor; 64-bit support required
• 64-bit operating system required: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 or Windows® 7
• 2GB of RAM (4GB or more recommended)
• 10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash-based storage devices)
• 7200 RPM hard drive for editing compressed video formats; RAID 0 for uncompressed
• 1280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
• Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated performance
• Adobe-certified card for capture and export to tape for SD/HD workflows
• OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 port for DV and HDV capture, export to tape, and transmit to DV device
• Sound card compatible with ASIO protocol or Microsoft Windows Driver Model
• DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs (DVD+-R burner for burning DVDs; Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Disc media)
• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features
• Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

Mac OS

• Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
• Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6.3; Mac OS X v10.6.3 required for GPU-accelerated performance
• 2GB of RAM (4GB or more recommended)
• 10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash-based storage devices)
• 7200 RPM hard drive for editing compressed video formats; RAID 0 for uncompressed
• 1280x900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
• Adobe-certified GPU card for GPU-accelerated performance
• Core Audio–compatible sound card
• DVD-ROM drive compatible with dual-layer DVDs (SuperDrive for burning DVDs; external Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Disc media)
• QuickTime 7.6.2 software required for QuickTime features
• Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

Supported NVIDIA graphics cards for GPU acceleration

• Quadro CX (Windows)
• Quadro FX 3800 (Windows)
• Quadro FX 4800 (Windows and Mac OS)
• Quadro FX 5800 (Windows)
• GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac OS)

Visit the NVIDIA website for system requirements and compatibility. The list of graphics cards that are compatible with Adobe® Premiere® Pro CS5 is updated on a regular basis.

[EddyH]

Are you using it mainly as a stills camera with some video on the side, or for lots of video work? You may want to get an actual video camera in the latter case, unless having the SLR lens capability is the important thing, because if it's anything like that example GSpot window it may be a bit rough. I can't imagine MJPEG at half DV's bitrate but more than twice the resolution looking so hot - hidef camcorders tend to start around that same bitrate when using MPG4 - and of course the audio is a purely token gesture (why can I not find a digicam that does decent audio recording?). 11khz mono PCM - probably 8bit or ADPCM too - will sound horrible.