As you probably know, Apple recently unveiled an entirely new line of Macbook Pros that introduced several changes to their design and functionality. Many professional users voiced concerns about the removal of ports, among other things. The high price and low specs on paper have also earned criticism in many articles and forums. But even for those who choose to overlook such shortcomings, one question remains unanswered: is the MacBook Pro 2016 fast enough in real life for 4K video editing? Macbook Pro 2016 Fast Enough for 4K or Not? Reviews for the Macbook Pro 2016 without the touch bar have been flooding the internet for the last two weeks, and we know for a fact that it isn’t fast enough to cope with a real life 4K workflow. But the new touch bar 13-inch and 15-inch models only arrived at customers’s doors today. A few reviews and the first benchmarks have been published, and the results are rather surprising in both directions. While we do not have a Macbook Pro 2016 model for review at cinema5D just yet, we were very curious to see what other professionals are writing so far, and what the first benchmarks tests are revealing. This way, we can start to make out if the upgrade to a Macbook Pro 2016 is worth it for 4K video editing. Macbook Pro 2016 Benchmarks We all know that 4K editing performance is to a large degree dictated by a the speed of your machine. In other words, we need good specs and performance. The entry level Macbook Pro 2016 13-inch has a 2Ghz i5 processor, which sounds rather underwhelming considering my 2011 Macbook Pro had a 2.4ghz i5 processor. Is it slower than that? No, in reality it’s not that simple. When you look at benchmark scores you quickly see that even the entry-level, non touch bar 2016 model has some more power under the hood than expected. Macworld has taken a closer look at the specs of all new Macbook Pro models in their Macbook Pro 2016 review. iFixit opened up the 13-inch Macbook Pro 2016 CPU Image Courtesy of Macworld.com These are Macworld’s multicore CPU results of the new Macbook Pro 2016. As you can see, the entry-level 2Ghz Macbook Pro 2016 13-inch model is slightly faster than last year’s 2015 retina Macbook Pro model with 2.7Ghz. What? On the other hand, if you expect the 2016 13-inch model with touch bar and 2.9Ghz CPU to score much higher, you’d be mistaken again, as the 2.9Ghz version is only 3.8% faster than the non-touchbar version. So even though the touch bar CPU has 30% more Ghz, it is only 4% faster. Although I’m confused by these results, they are also revealing, and looking at benchmarks before making a purchase decision seems like a very good idea. This tells me the non touch bar version and the touch bar version have a very similar speed. And if the touch bar is the only deciding factor between the two, then many people will probably decide to live without it. As expected, the 15-inch model scores much higher in terms of CPU performance, and just like last year’s model, it runs in a completely different class. Its CPU multicore score is about 41% higher than the 13-inch models, but surprisingly it is weaker than the 2015 model… These results are in line with Engadget’s findings on their review, so they seem to be accurate. GPU Image courtesy of Macworld.com Graphics performance is another revealing aspect about 4K editing performance. I’m relieved that at least in this aspect the 2016 machines outperform the 2015 models of Macbook Pros. We can see the 15-inch Macbook Pro 2016 features very high speeds in comparison to all other models. Also, the 13-inch models are faster than the old Macbook Pros, but again the touch bar version seems only slightly better than the non touch bar version of the Macbook pro 2016. Disk Speed Apple claims disk speed on their new Macbook Pro’s is insanely fast. As it turns out, this was no exaggeration. 9to5mac tested drive performance of the entry level 13-inch model and sees read speeds of up to 3GB/s and write speeds up to 2GB/s, which they say is basically the fastest drive read and write speeds of any stock computer available today. That is great, but unfortunately disk speed is only one of many important factors when it comes to a machine capable of editing 4K video. iFixit opened up the 13-inch Macbook Pro 2016 What else? According to another source (arstechnica.com) there are some other technical differences between the touch bar and non touch bar models that are worth pointing out: Aside from the CPU and GPU clock speed differences, the touch bar model’s 28W CPU can run faster for longer and throttles less frequently in comparison to the non touch bar 15W CPU. The non touch bar 2016 Macbook Pro only has two Thunderbolt 3 ports vs the four on the touch bar model. But according to arstechnica.com: The two ports on the right side of the MacBook Pro have “reduced PCI Express bandwidth,” which Apple says means they have two PCIe 3.0 lanes worth of bandwidth at their disposal instead of the four lanes dedicated to the ports on the left side This seems to be worse when connecting high-performance storage arrays like 4K editors usually do, so you should connect those only to the left-side ports. In terms of RAM, unfortunately all Macbook Pro 2016 models max out at 16GB. 32 would be better and recommended for 4K video editing. There is one more difference though: it seems like the non touch bar Macbook Pro uses 1866MHz LPDDR3 RAM while the touch bar version uses 2133MHz LPDDR3, making the RAM faster. Again, faster RAM unfortunately does not make up for the 16GB limit. In reality, the RAM speed should only have a minor impact on editing performance. 4K in the Real World? So, how do these facts translate to real world 4K video editing? In their review of the 13-inch touch bar Macbook Pro 2016, the Verge offers some insights. They say that the 13 inch is snappy and “without hiccups” in day-to-day use, 1080p video editing in Adobe Premiere is no problem, but apparently 4K video “becomes unworkable”. In their tests, however, the 13-inch MacBook Pro could handle small 4K files smoothly in Final Cut X. The 13-inch MacBook Pro can handle small 4K files smoothly in Final Cut Pro, but that isn’t the app that most editors use. It’s not a win where it counts. In their review, it was a different story with the 15-inch model. According to the Verge, it is a step up from older 15-inch Macbook Pros and it was capable of handling smaller 4K projects in Premiere and Final Cut. But on larger project files “the computer starts lagging pretty seriously” and the performance was better on the 2013 iMac. Wow. As far as I can tell, this is probably due to the 16GB RAM limit on the Macbook Pro 2016. In terms of speed, at least the 15-inch Macbook Pro 2016 seems to be ready to perform basic 4K video editing tasks, but as soon as you’re working on a bigger project, unfortunately none of the 2016 Macbook Pros seem to be ideal. Positive Voices But there are positive voices too. Thomas Grove Carter is a professional editor at Trim who had a chance to spend a week with a 15-inch Macbook Pro 2016. In his article at Huffington Post Tech, Thomas shares his experience working on Final Cut X as “buttery smooth” and says: the software and hardware are so well integrated it tears strips off “superior spec’d” Windows counterparts in the real world. Thomas would consider the 15-inch Macbook Pro 2016 his 24/7 edit suite for both office work with 2 connected 5K displays as well as work in the field. He also equipped his setup with USB-C SSD’s, eliminating the need for additional dongles. Thomas enjoys the touch bar on Final Cut X and seems to suggest that people need to adapt to the design decisions Apple laid out with the new Macbook Pros. If they do, then there’s a lot of power and potential to be harnessed from these machines. In his words: For me, I love it and I think most people will do too… once they actually touch it. There are more reviewers saying good things about the new Macbook Pros, but few of them are using the laptops with a 4K editing workflow in mind. As machines for day-to-day office tasks, photo and 1080p video, they probably perform remarkably well, and the build quality and simplicity is beautiful and enjoyable. Conclusion I’m trying really hard to love the new Macbook Pros and probably many professionals find themselves in the same position. Even if we don’t like to admit it, Apple has cleverly bound users to their eco system and has been making them adapt to and rely on their systems for a while. With the need for higher resolutions like 4K, more color depth and ever-more complex processes during a 4K workflow, the need for higher performance machines has risen in recent last years also. So is the new Macbook Pro 2016 fast enough for 4K Video Editing? Unfortunately, it seems like the power of the new 2016 Macbook Pros is not up to speed with this development. Instead, Apple focused on consumer interests, like port simplicity, a more immersive display and sound experience, thinness and lightness. Regardless of whether that touch bar turns out to be a great asset or just a gimmick, the fact of the matter is: we are left with a machine that is too weak to cope with current professional editing trends and standards, and lacks the ergonomics professionals depend upon, like long battery life, versatile ports and the still much-needed SD card slot. Apple has always had a very narrow set of options that users have had to embrace and adapt to. They dictate the way users should be getting their work done, but this time the changes and decisions seem too drastic and probably many professionals will be left behind. If it is really true that you can only edit 4K video on a maxed out 15 inch Macbook Pro 2016 with Apple’s proprietary software, that will be certainly be considered by many not to be professional enough, and we’re going to have a problem. What is your conclusion? Tell us why you think the Macbook Pro 2016 is great / not so great in the comments below.

For the last couple of years, cinema5D has engaged in conversation with top players in the film and video industries from manufacturers to filmmakers. ON THE COUCH has aimed to bring you the latest from the horse’s mouth, always in a relaxed, laid-back interview atmosphere. Past guests have included Philip Bloom, Shane Hurlbut, and Emmanuel Pampuri to name just a few. After much feedback from our readers and viewers, we have decided to make all episodes of On the Couch available as podcasts on iTunes, both in audio and video versions. So whether you want to listen to more camera, gear and digital filmmaking talk in your car, at the gym, walking the dog or sharing a romantic moment in the bath with your loved one, you can now stay up to date with the latest episodes by subscribing to our podcast feed here! Having had a chance to revisit each and every episode in preparation for the great podcast conversion of 2016, I can say with confidence that there is a lot of great information there. So don’t be put off by the episode release dates and references to last years’ products, as there is still a lot of valuable insights from some of the most influential minds in the filmmaking community. 2016 is already looking like a great year in terms of innovation. We at cinema5D are already gearing up for this year’s NAB, so be sure to look out for our coverage in the coming weeks. We will also aim to bring you more from On the Couch, both from the different events we visit as well as from our headquarters in Vienna. All of this in addition to our regular daily content. Thanks again for all your support. Make sure to stay tuned for the latest in digital filmmaking news and reviews! – The Cinema5D Team.

We’ve been quite busy at cinema5D reviewing the new Sony A7RII (see our field review here and preliminary lab test here). The successor to the famous Sony A7S has left us impressed, but many are asking if it can provide the same legendary lowlight capabilities. Here’s our Sony A7RII vs A7S Lowlight Review, so we’re about to find out.  How good is the Sony A7RII in Lowlight As a small camera with a large sensor that shoots 4K (UHD) internally the Sony A7RII is already an amazing piece of gear. Dialling up the ISO we notice that it’s quite capable to shoot even in lowlight environments. However the question is how good it really is, so we don’t get caught by surprise with unusable footage after we come back from a shoot. Many people think that there’s a way to put a number on a camera’s performance, but multiple tests and reviews have showed us otherwise: Camera sensors are complex and inconsistent depending on the way they are used, so we need to learn and experience the camera’s performance in order to use it correctly. It certainly helps to compare a sensor to a reference to get a better perspective. This is where the Sony A7s in an obvious choice. It is one of the most lowlight sensitive cameras we know and has a lot in common with the new A7RII. With its high ISO rating the Sony A7s was (and still is) a perfect tool for documentary style cameramen. The Test: A7RII vs A7S For this test we used two identical Zeiss Loxia 50mm F/2 (Sony E-mount) lenses on the Sony A7RII and Sony A7s and filmed our test chart at the same time. For the purpose of the test we zoomed into lowlight critical areas of the frame. 400% on the Sony A7s’s HD footage and 200% on the A7RII’s 4K (UHD). On first sight it might appear as though the noise floor is similar, but in our video above you can upon close inspection see that the A7s retains better detail throughout. At around ISO 8,000 the Sony A7RII shadow areas get more and more washed out and some detail is lost. Noise performance is still good and in many situations the footage beyond ISO 10,000 and even up to 25,600 might still be usable for you, but look out for those washed out dark areas. The Sony A7s in comparison holds a very clean image all the way up to ISO 25,600. Noise gets severe beyond that point, but detail is retained quite well in comparison to other cameras, which makes it such an impressive lowlight tool. If you want to be on the safe side you should be careful not to expose beyond ISO 6,400 on the new Sony A7RII, but if your final output is HD and web content you might find that even ISO 25,600 is possible without too much noise on the Sony A7RII. The fact of the matter is that you should make your own tests, find out and get a feeling for how far you can and want to push your footage to get the images look the way you like. Sony A7RII Full Frame Mode? One thing we already noticed last friday was the tremendous difference in lowlight performance between Crop Mode and Full Frame Mode on the new Sony A7RII. Below you can see the last 4 steps of dynamic range on both Crop Mode (super35) as well as Full Frame Mode at ISO 6400. You can also observe this in the video above.   [Update]: The fact that the Sony A7RII delivers good results at a super35 sensor size is great news and actually quite a big thing. Bror Svensson reminded us that this is the ideal scenario to use the new Metabones Speedbooster ULTRA that can increase the lowlight capabilities by another stop with a manual full-frame lens. Conclusion The Sony A7RII is good in terms of lowlight and certainly very good in comparison to many other 4K cameras out there. The noise floor of the Sony A7RII vs A7s seems similar, but the footage is cleaner on the Sony A7s. In terms of detail the Sony A7s can retain usable quality up into high ISO’s while the Sony A7RII lacks detail much sooner. We start to notice this in the shadow areas around 6,400-10,000 ISO. Shadow areas get washed out and become less usable even on an HD downconversion that we compare to the Sony A7s original as seen in the video above. According to our observations it seems as though the Sony A7s is the better lowlight camera by a few stops. Picture quality in lowlight is more consistent up into the high ISO’s in comparison to the new Sony A7RII. Download the source file at Vimeo to make your own observations: LINK Please consider getting your camera and gear through this link. Thank you Music by themusicbed.com Skywide – City Streets

Here we have 7 different EVF mounts, or viewfinder mounts, also used as monitor mounts. These dear pieces of equipment are utilized to hold your EVF in the correct place when working with a handheld rig. Not all of them are great. Here’s a review that shows you the functionality and usefulness of each of the devices.

Not that we haven’t been flooded with C300 reviews already (link, link, link, link, link, link), but I would like to present this one in particular as it’s done with a lot of love to detail, well conducted and nicely filmed in a similar fashion as we like to be doing the video reviews here at cinema5D. HD Warrior is a blog by Scottish video producer Philip Johnston. Go pay him a visit. Personally, I like to hear some Scottish now and then and I think most of the 21 minute review is well done and enjoyable, although one could certainly argue that the video portion in the middle doesn’t do justice to the camera. The C300 is still available for pre-order and I read it will start shipping on the 1st of March which is roughly a week from now. But I have no confirmation for that and I can only guess that a lot of people have pre-ordered already. LINKS: Canon EOS C300 EF-mount Canon EOS C300 PL-mount

The cinema5D forum has evolved: I present to you the cinema5Dreviews page that we’ve been working on. This is not a new forum page, this is a whole new section of cinema5D, uniquely programmed and embedded into the cinema5D platform. What is it? cinema5Dreviews is a growing database of reviews for filmmaking equipment. It is in Beta right now. What can it do for me? It has a lot of very valuable information on each filmmaking product all put in one place by fellow filmmakers. You save time surfing the web and you might find information you could have missed somewhere else. No more endless forum searching for reviews and opinions on products. It is all gathered in one place. ➔ Opinions by fellow filmmakers (which you can trace back because they’re forum members) ➔ the best video reviews gathered by you from YouTube and Vimeo, or add your own. ➔ prices ➔ ratings ➔ collection of product highlights ➔ currently sortable by star rating, price or name Who is filling the database? You. And any other cinema5D forum member can add to the database. If you have tried or own the product you can add your opinion and give a rating for the product. You can also add new products and can add details to existing products. Not only HDSLR HDSLRs are great, they’ve upgraded our clips, films, productions, but we’re also embracing all other low budget large sensor cameras and their accessories. More categories to come, please post your preferred categories in the comments to this article. It needs to be filled This database has just been born and it will become more powerful the more you feed it. Since we’ve written this software on our own and with an extremely tight budget we need some time and your feedback to work out all the glitches. It’s beta, so if something doesn’t work please be patient and let us know. That’s it. The more you use it the better and faster we can improve the platform to your benefit. Now go check it out and add a product or two: www.cinema5d.com/reviews/