Advice for prosumer camera purchase

I have worked with both HDV and AVCHD in FCP and know the pros and cons. I also know between these 2 cameras one is HDV and one is AVCHD (avccam as panasonic calls it).
I am ready to purchase a prosumer cam, and although this isn't related to FCP, I would assume some of you have used these cameras and maybe even own them. So, which would you purchase? I am looking to shoot weddings, musical performances, and my own freelance/enjoyment of recording in state parks, downtown Pittsburgh, etc...
Panasonic AG-HMC150 or Canon XH-A1s
Thanks!

I do not have any experience with the cameras that you are considering, though i thought i might throw the cat amongst the pigeons here, i also dont know what your budget is,
but I use the sony FX1 and Z1 cameras, both are HDV and both are excellent in low light conditions.
Being a discontinued line they are quite cheap, I bought a 2nd hand Z1 three month's ago for AUS$3,500 with very low hrs.
They use mini DV tapes, some may consider this a draw back but for me it doesn't make a difference the quality of the footage and colours are exceptional.
Are quite robust, have been using them filming bull catching, cattle mustering, pig hunting and fishing in outback australia on the ground and in the air (helicopters) and touch wood have not let me down yet, but have been through several consumer type cameras.
This is my experience, hope it helps.

Similar Messages

HT204053 Is it possible to have two (or more) different icloud mail accounts (not alias) under the same apple id? If not what is you best advice for all family members to have their own e-mail and still share the purchases under the same apple id. Thanks

Is it possible to have two (or more) different icloud mail accounts (not alias) under the same apple id? If not what is you best advice for all family members to have their own e-mail and still share the purchases under the same apple id. Thanks

mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
So I basically won't run into any trouble? I
There should be no issues. Its designed to work like that. You don't change Apple IDs just because you get a new device.
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
Is there any chance that the phones can fall out of sync?
Unlikely. But nothing is impossible. Though I don;t see how that would happen. As long as both are signed into the Same Apple ID / iCloud Account they will be N'Sync. (Bad Joke)
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
If I get a message or buy an app or take a photo on the iPhone 5, how do I get those things onto the iPhone 6?
If you buy an App, you have 2 ways to get it to the iPhone6: If Automatic Downloads is enabled in Settings->iTunes & App Store, it will automatically download to the iPhone 6 when you buy it on the 5 and vice versa if you buy it on the 6, it will download to the 5.
Alternatively, you can simply go to the App Store App->Updates->Purchased and look for the App there and download it. Purchased Apps will not require payment again. i.e They'll be free to download to the iPhone 6 once purchased.
SMS Messages will sync over using Continuity as long as they are on the same Wifi network. Otherwise, restoring the iPhone 5 backup to the iPhone 6 will transfer all messages received up until the backup was made onto the iPhone 6.
Images, can be transferred either through Photo Stream
My Photo Stream FAQ - Apple Support
Or any Cloud service you want such as Dropbox, or One Drive.
mannyace wrote:
Also, something i forgot to ask initially: Should I update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8 first or does that not matter?
If you want the Continuity features as explained above you need to update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8. Otherwise its not all that important.

Advice on buying camera for stills and high speed video

Hello video pros,
I'm a music composer who occasionally dallies with some simple photographic and video work. I'm looking for some advice re picking up a camera to make some simple videos, but with the highest quality I can get with consumer grade gear.
I am pretty much ruling out consumer grade camcorders for two reasons: One is that I want to be able to shoot high quality stills and make stop motion videos from very high res stills. The other is that I don't need audio recording at all because the video will always be just to accompany music - simple music videos basically. So I'm much more interested in the recent mid range point-and-shoot bridge cameras with full HD video modes rather than camcorders - they seem to cover more realistically the range of things I want to do.
My main question is regarding shooting at higher frame rates than 30 fps. I'd like to shoot video at a minimum of 60 fps (or higher) to then playback at 25 fps to get that smooth, slightly dreamy motion effect. There are a few cameras out there that offer high speed video modes, but most are nothing more than a gimmick because the res is so low that the resulting video is unusable. However a few cameras now seem to hit a sweet spot, offering 60 fps recording at HD res, and also 120 fps at 640x480 which (at a pinch) is usable, at least for stuff destined for simple web use.
The cameras I've narrowed it down to so far seem to be the Nikon Coolpix P500, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ40 and possibly the Fujifilm HS20 EXR. I also was vaguely interested in the Casio Exilim HS cameras, but they seem to only offer high speed video modes that are pointless - 1000 fps at a completely useless low res, and 120 fps only at 640x480. The others I listed seem to offer at least 60 fps at some kind of HD res, so I'm assuming that with these cameras I could shoot decent looking video which would then play back with that slightly hyper real slow-mo effect when I import into FCP at 25 fps. Is this correct? Or is it the case that when they say HD video @ 60fps, it's some kind of interlaced mode which means you can't play back at a slower frame rate to get smooth slow motion?
The other thing I've noted is that all of these cameras do record HD video, but it's always compressed in H264 format. I understand that this puts a serious limitation on how much post-processing you can do to the video afterwards. Highly compressed video will begin to show image artefacts very quickly when you apply effects as opposed to higher quality (bigger file size) video compression. But I think I can live with that given that for the stuff I want to make, it will just be simply edited and only lightly graded. However, of the cameras I'm looking at, the Lumix also records in a format called AVCHD which (I think) does full HD at 17 Mbps. Does this mean that it's basic video quality is significantly better than the other choices? That said, from the specs it's unclear if it actually allows shooting at higher frame rates which you can slow down at playback.. the way it describes 60fps mode makes it sound like it's just interlacing so you don't actually get a higher number of images per second to then be able to play back at a lower frame rate. This for me might rule it out because I really want the creative effect of high speed video, even if it's only the subtle effect of 60 fps slowed down to 25.
So in summary, I'm looking for a camera capable of creative shooting (high quality stills to make stop motion videos, usable-quality HD video along with at least some degree of high speed video at a resolution that is still usable) to make interesting and artistic footage to accompany music. The destination medium is the web, so even though I'd like to get the best quality raw material to work with, the final destination is not exactly a cinema screen. As a pro in a related industry, I'm all too aware of the pointlessness of buying outlandishly over-specced gear that is far beyond your level of expertise. So I want to keep it simple and realistic, budget-wise, given the level I'm at. Nothing more than say $800 US. A seriously high end camera would be wasted on me, and I think it would be wiser to invest in useful accessories like a steadicam merlin and decent tripod rather than blow loads of cash on a camera far beyond my skill level.
Apologies for the long post, any and all advice would be very welcome and appreciated! And feel free to correct me if my assumptions are wrong, and suggest any gear that I should consider looking at.

Hi, thanks for your input. I'm aware of the fact that my question is a bit OT, but I'm just looking for input from people with more experience and broader information in this area than I have myself.. I know people are here to talk about FCP, but I'm betting many editors and film makers who work with FCP will have more insight in this area than I do.
I've been reading every review I can find at dpreview, and also am watching as many test video examples I can find on the internet, mostly on vimeo because the ones on youtube look pretty awful. I just am reaching out to get some actual experience and advice from people who might give me pointers on what to look out for.
As for 60fps not being fast enough, I know what you're saying. But for me, even 60 fps slowed down to 25 fps on playback is enough of an interesting effect, as long as the actual quality of the footage looks good to start off with. I like the subtle effect of slightly slower than real motion when it's real, bona-fide high frame rate slowed down. Artificially created slow-mo using plug ins looks cheesy to me, and the gimmicky super high frame rates of cameras like the casio exilim (where the resolution looks like a mobile phone video from ten years ago) are completely useless.
I've seen lots of examples on vimeo of stuff shot with DSLRs from Canon and Nikon at 60fps and then played back at 25 or 24, and it looks plenty nice enough for what I'm after. But am I kidding myself that I'd get anything near as nice with the price range I'm looking at?

Hello , Recently my company purchased a Fujifilm X30 . We were surprised that Adobe has not updated the plug in for this camera. Since we are your customers, we would like to know, when they will perform this update ? For us it is very important to work w

Hello , Recently my company purchased a Fujifilm X30 . We were surprised that Adobe has not updated the plug in for this camera. Since we are your customers, we would like to know, when they will perform this update ? For us it is very important to work with all our tools work quickly and efficiently, I guess I understand.
We await your response .
Thank you very much .

This is a user to user forum with "some" Adobe staff participation, make requests at this link
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Multiple libraries, Pbook/Pmac, advice for management & updating please.

Hi Everyone,
I travel frequently, and am looking for suggestions to keep all my iPhoto libraries up to date. I currently have a g5, Powerbook, and Mini.
I just upgraded to iPhoto 6 and I have several thousand photos on my Dual g5. I just came back with 1000 more from my diving trip. The problem is, they are on my Powerbook, and taking up alot of space on the relatively small hard drive. I managed to work through the rough upgrade from 5 to 6, and now I need some more help...
1) What is your advice for managing multiple libraries of photos.
2) What is the best way to transfer the iphoto pics (and movies) to my desktop, which of course has the larger storage capacity, after travelling...
Thanks,

Jason:
There are several different approaches to what you want to do. Let me just throw out a couple that I'm familiar with.
To get the new photos from your PB to your G5 and maintain any keywords, and other organization effort you put into them, you'll need the paid version of iPhoto Library Manager. It will allow you to merge libraries or copy between libraries and maintain the metadata, etc. That's the only way currently available to move photos from one library to another and keep the roll, keywords, comments, etc. with those photos. You can connect the two Macs with one in the Target Mode, probably your PB, and then run iPLM to move the photos to the G5 library.
Now there is a way to have a library on your PB that reflects the one on your G5 but is only a fraction of the size. That's to have an alias based library on your PB that uses the Originals folder as its source of source files. (My 25,600 files, 27G, are represented by an iPhoto Library folder of only 1.75G). When the PB is not connected with the G5, say with a LAN, it will have limited capabilities which are in part: you'll only be able to view the thumbnail files, be able to add comments, create, delete or move albums around, add keywords (but with some hassle-but it can be done). You can't do anything that requires moving thumbnails around, work with books, slideshows or calendars. Once the two computers are networked together again the library will act as normal.
Now while on the road you can have a "normal" library to import new full sized files, keyword them, add comments, etc. and then transfer to the G5 library. Once in the G5 library they will be represented in a roll(s) and corresponding folder in the Originals folder. You then fire up the "alias" library, and import those new folders in the G5 Originals folder.
It may be a lot of work but it may be one way of doing it.
I've not done any of the "sharing" with iPhoto so don't know if that's another possible candidate for transferring.
P.S. FWIW I've created this workflow for converting from a conventional library to an alias based one.

Advice for real performance of LV8.5 operate in the XP and Vista

Hi all
My company had purchased new computers for LabVIEW programming purpose.
We may install the LV8.5 in these computers but OS are not decided yet. Also, we have the current PC is only XP licensed
Therefore, can anyone give the advice for the real performance advantage of using :
LV8.5 with Vista over LV8.5 with XP
LV8.5 with Vista over LV7.1 with XP
LV7.1 with Vista over LV7.1 with XP
New computers detail:
Intel(R) Pentium(R)Dual-Core processor E2160
BCH-P111 -1.80GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB
2GB RAM
Thanks
Best Regards
Steve So

The biggest issue I have seen with 8.5 Vista vs. XP is that if you leave Vista in the standard theme, the fonts have changed. I designed several front panels to have them be out of whack with XP. So if you are going to be using code across platforms, you need to keep in mind they will look different unless you use the XP theme in Vista, or customize your fonts to make sure they remain the same between the systems. The dialog font is a different size (13 on Vista vs. 11 on XP), and a different font (can't remember the difference). That was the big one I noticed.
8.5 over 7.1 is mostly going to be the learning curve to learn the new features. Overall, I have appreciated the changes, but there are some things (mostly development related) that I have seen run a little slower in 8.5 than in 7.1, but have not noticed any runtime issues as of yet. One big change between the versions is application building, which is more complex in 8+. I do appreciate the new features, though, but NIs project still hasn't rubbed me the right way yet.
NI doesn't support LV 7.1 with Vista. I have used it and haven't seen any problems, but that doesn't mean one won't pop up. If you're going to stay with 7.1, you better stay with XP. 8.5 is the first version NIs supports as Vista compatible. You will also have to use a relatively new set of device drivers, so if you have old hardware you are trying to use in your new system, make sure it is cimpatible with the latest drivers.
I have actually had more issues with other hardware drivers and software packages than I have with LabVIEW. TestStand is not yet supported in Vista, and i found out the hard way, one of the ways it is incompatible and had to move back to XP for devlopment.

Book & software advice for creating a program that would utilize USB.....

Hey All,
I've been a mac user for about two years now and have become more and more impressed by the stability offered by Unix.
However, I still live in both worlds (XP and OSX) and my programming roots are windows based (sorry ).
Here's the problem:
I'm trying to determine which direction I should head for writing a program that gives me access to the USB ports on a Mac, and allows me to correlate it to a web atmosphere.
My thoughts are: I'd have a device attached to a USB port (or multiple), and I'd use a system (OSX) USB driver to write to a database, in turn - use dreamweaver to build a WEB that interfaced with this database.
I'm not sure what software I should use to write an app that can talk to my USB ports, as well as load them into a chosen database. I think once I have the data collected into a database, I can handle the WEB side of this, but I want to take this one step at a time.
I installed Xcode and I was ready to take off when I said - "wait a minute, this isn't exactly visual studio." [even though it's somewhat similar]
My programming background is in C++, VB and ASP (with VB script & Java Script) but I haven't written for about 3 years (hence the ASP and not ASP.net) - So feel free to steer me in the right direction or just give me a general verbal tirade and tell me I'm in over my head! LOL
I've bounced all over these message boards, and see everything from opinions on Java, C, C++, even Python (which I never heard of until a post yesterday: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=133836&tstart=0)
I'm asking for some advice on what books would be a good aid for me to purchase in order to help me achieve what I'm trying to do. I stopped in at my local Border's bookstore the other night, and there was quite an array to choose from.
So here is what I almost picked up for a starter:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764584111/103-2161547-3122203?v=glance&n=28315 5&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
Any suggestions?
Another major thought in my mind is the transition to little endian, which is what Intel uses (vs OSX big endian). Obviously, I don't want to get burned by this if I flip the wrong bit after the architecture changes....
I realize I may have really 'broad brushed' this, but I really wanted to hear everyone's thoughts since there may be other 'projects' I attempt to tackle on OSX.
Your suggestions on any books, sites, software, etc will be greatly appreciated......
Thanks for reading,
Steve
Powerbook G4 1.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.2)
Powerbook G4 1.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.2)

To start learning about writing a USB device driver on OS X, check out:
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/DeviceDrivers/Conceptual/IOKitFundament als/

Updates for new camera (Nikon D610 )?

I am likely going to purchase the new Nikon D610 sometime this week but have read on several forums and blogs that Adobe has not released an update for CS6 yet to read the RAW files for this camera. I typically shoot in RAW. If I make this expensive purchase how long will I have to wait before Adobe puts out an update that will allow these files to be converted to .DNG so I can download them? I am concerned about not being able to use the images right away and how long I would have to wait. TIA

Anyone who knows the internal workings of Adobe is legally bound by a non-disclosure agreement, not to say anything very specific, so no one can tell you when, with any precision. Adobe is a publically traded company with more than a billion-dollar market cap so if someone gave an official expectation and that expectation was unfulfilled then many people might sell Adobe stock and the market capitalization would plummet.
However, last week, Eric Chan, a lead scientist on the Adobe Camera Raw team said “Soon” in reference to requests for D610 support.
I interpret that to mean that the LR 5.3 Release Candidate (public beta) is due out any day or few weeks, now, and it’ll have some sort of D610 support in it. I’d expect the final release of LR 5.3 to be out a week or two from the end of the year.
Keep your eye on http://labs.adobe.com/ because there is where the LR 5.3 RC will be available.
Yesterday, I did see a response to a bug report about the crop-ratio not holding (at least when it was 1:1), that the team was investigating this behavior. If someone decides that they want to fix this, also, in the RC, then it might be delayed, somewhat. If they don’t put the fix in the RC then it’ll be out sooner, depending on what other important cameras might have just been released and need profiled.

Which Bag do you use for your Camera? What about the GadgetBag 300EG?

Which Bag do you use for your Camera? What about the GadgetBag 300EG?

I agree - it's all about preference. I use the ThinkTank Retrospective 7. I *love* ThinkTank's attention to detail... everything from having a rain cover included with the bag, to having ingenius use of velcro (sp?) patches to enable you to "silence" the bag so it doesn't make the big "SCRATCH" sound when opening the bag during a quiet event, etc.
My best advice would be to do your research (which you're clearly doing) and have a clear understanding of the return policy wherever you buy it, and then don't be afraid to return it if you get it and feel it doesn't meet your needs. A restocking fee is a small price to pay to not be stuck with a bag that doesn't work for you. And if for any reason you get it and can't return it, there's always eBay.

No conversion Prosumer camera

I am shopping around for a prosumer camera to use with Final Cut Pro 7 that does not require you to convert footage to an editable format. Currently use the Canon 5d Mark II all footage needs to be converted to APR from the native h.264 on my system. But after coming off a huge project, this created problems with time and space. I was coming off a Panasonic HVX200 before this camera so I got spoiled.
Looking for something small and portable where I can grab my footage in native format and start editing right away in 1080 or 720. Any suggestions or help with this appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,
.. you have a first class camera in the 5DMkII .. I would not waste money on a different canera .. find a work flow to help .. I use Magic Bullet Grinder to batch convert the files from mine to ProRes422 which I start off go have a coffee and come back all done! The finished files are put into a matching sequence which needs no rendering. It is a cool app .. check out the video and their site for more info (I checked lots of reviews before buying it all good)..
http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-grinder/
Jimkells
www.jimkells.com

Can not install software for the camera on my G10

Hello
New poster today seems my CD/DVD media drive has stopped working, tried to install software for new camera, just getting blue screen and a small flashing disc, seems there is no power in drive.
Any advice welcome only had machine since late June 2005.Am I doing something wrong or does it sound like a service problem
THANK YOU!
JIM.

Hi
Well like xaver said it could be a hardware problem but before you contact the ASP try to remove the drive from the device manager. After new reboot the OS should recognizes the driver again. Maybe this procedure will help you to solve this problem. But if not, please contact the service partner
Bye

Making short text field in Display mode for one particular Purchasing

Hi All,
This is regarding Making the Short text field in Display mode of PR for one Particular Purchasing.. i am giving you a bit elaborate...We are into E-Catalog Procurement.I will do the shopping from the Vendors external catalog and i will return back to SAP.
While doing so, i dont want the user to change the Short Text field. I want that field shud display the Description. When i tried with the Screen Layout settings, it is fully grayed out and i am not able to see the Description of the Material. Is there any other options to get this enabled?. Please advice me on this settings to be done. Thanks in Advance.
With Regards,
Saakithyan

Hi
Define a Field selection key (new not the one which is assigned to document type) which makes short text editable in screen layout config. and assign it to functional authorization value in t.code OMET. (it should be numeric). Then assign that functional authorization value in user master SU01 for users with parameter id EFB.
Then it will work
Regards
Antony

Can i claim warranty for refurbished US purchased MBA in India??

Hello, i am interested in purchasing a refurbished MBA from US since it is cheap there. But i m not sure about its warranty or apple care protection claim in India?? Kindly advice for the same.
Thanks in advance
Abhishek Vazirani

More Info here...
Apple Warranty
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/
"Choose a product" and then "Choose a region"

Would love some advice on a new purchase . . .

I want to buy a new laptop. I currently have a 2001 PowerPC G4. 500MHz with 640 RAM. I'd love some advice on a new purchase. Sorry if this gets long-winded.
These are my desires:
(1) A serious upgrade in speed, into the Giga world. I work for a law firm, and I do a lot of research. Lexis-nexis seems to put a serious strain on my G4. I see some of the new models are over 2 gigs. I've read that 2 gigs is not 4x faster than 500Mhz, in the linear sense. Will going from 500 to 2 gigs nevertheless be substantially noticeable.
(2) More memory. In the near future, my employer is going to give its attorneys outside access to our email system and hard drive files. It would seem to me that I'll need to clear as much memory to make room for that. It look like most of the new models have a max space of 2 Ghz. That's more than 3 times the space i currently have. I'd like to think more memory will make my OS run more smoothly. If that's true, I wouldn't mind spending more money to get the biggest memory chip.
(3) I do a lot of word processing. I grew up on Macs (California girl), but I gave up on AppleWorks a couple years ago. I hated it. I purchased Word:Mac and have been very happy with it. Nevertheless, Word:Mac slows me down. Again, that seems to be consistent with the whole need for more speed and memory.
(4) I want wireless connectivity. I assume new Macs come with this capability (Airport?), but I'm not sure if I'll need an upgrade during the buying process. And I really have no idea how buying the airport hardware/software impacts my need what I have to but from my ISP (my cable company).
(5) The 15 inch seems like a nicer upgrade; 17 would be nicer, but I don't need it.
(6) I really don't want to spend more than $2500.00. But I'll spend a little more if it makes sense.
(7) Protection. I've read that Tiger is substantially safer than other OS's. That said, if someone could infect/corrupt/whatever my files (or access client files), that would be a disaster. I've read that Norton slows your down and is unecessary with Tiger.
There's a lot of pretty cool things Mac offers that I DON'T use. Like making movies or the isight stuff. I'm mainly a girl who is either writing, researching, emailing, or reading stuff online.
I'd love some advice. Some of the stuff I've read online has left me with too many questions.
Thanks!
Lindsay

(1) Comparing clock speeds isn't a good way to compare processors. That said, because of various architecture changes, the MBP is probably a solid 8-10 times faster than your G4 system.
(2) Definately max out the RAM. My advice is to get the stock, single 1GB stick from Apple, and then head over to Crucial and buy yourself another stick. It's fairly easy to install, and Apple gives you a step by step guide on the MBP manual. You could have Apple pop in another stick, but it'll cost you more than double what you'll pay by going with Crucial ($300 vs. $135)
(3) Office:Mac will work just fine on your MBP. It might be a little slow to open when you first boot up (6, 7, 8 bounces on the dock), but after that everything starts right up. It should make too much of a difference, but since Office is running through emulation the 2GB will help.
(4) The wirless in an MBP is the same as in every other computer: 802.11B/G compatible. It'll work with any router out there; no need to go out and buy an AirPort router from Apple if you already have one. Then again, at $200, I don't know that I'd ever buy an AirPort. A plain old Linksys for $50 should work just fine...assuming you even need a router.
(5) You said it. The 15" is nice, but the 17" is nicer. The 17" has a few other goodies (a few extra USB ports, a FireWire800 port, an extra FireWire400 port), but unless you have a ton of devices you're plugging in, or an external hard drive you're constantly reading from/writing to, they're a non-factor. If you wanna save some money, go with the 15"; if you wanna live a little, the 17".
(6) On the laptop itself, that shouldn't be a problem. You can get yourself a nice 15" with AppleCare for right around what you're looking to spend. Of course, depending on what addons and software you get (MS Office, a bag, mouse, etc.), you're probably looking at closer to $3000.
(7) You hit it right on the head. There's really not much you need to do. Turn on the firewall built into OS X; make sure your router is secure (MAC address filtering, strong pass code, WPA2 encryption); and make sure you change your passwords every so often (every month or two should be more than sufficient). While it's not entirely necessary, based on your line of work it, it would probably be wise to get yourself an external hard drive (HDD) onto which you can backup your files. A MyBook from Western Digital wouldn't be a bad idea. If you go with the 17", get the Pro edition for higher speeds with FireWire 800. If you go with the 15", get the Premium. And, to save some money, buy through Amazon.com
Some suggestions on what you should get to compliment your MBP:
The first is a nice bag to carry it in. I personally like Marware's black italian leather CEO Milano. But if you're not into leather or don't want to spend that kind of money (why money would be a problem when buying a $3000 computer, I don't know...), then check out Brenthaven. They have some quality bags with plenty of storage for all your gadgets and whatnot.
The second thing you needs is AppleCare. While I personally find it ridiculous that a person who just bought a $3000 computer doesn't get at least a years worth of tech support, AppleCare is well worth the money. It extends your tech over the phone tech support from 90 days to 3 years and your warranty from 1 year to 3.
Apple's tech support is second to none (and they actually speak english ), and the extended warranty is a must. The best part of all is being able to take your computer to the Genius Bar in an Apple store. There's nothing quite like being able to walk into a store and have a living, breathing person help you. No crappy music while your put on hold, no having follow directions over a phone... you just give your Mac to a genius and let them do all the work.
If for whatever reason you're unsure about getting AppleCare, you don't have to buy it right now. So long as you buy it and register your MBP within the initial warranty period (1 year), you're all set. So, feel free to try out AppleCare under your current warranty before you drop $300 or so on the extended AppleCare.
The final thing that I recommend you buy, especially if you plan on having this baby on your lap, is a cooler. That is, a laptop tray with fans to provide some extra cooling capacity. Your MBP (or any other laptop/portable, for that matter) sits on top of, or attaches to, the cooler and provides power to the fans via USB cable. I don't know that you'll be getting any burns if you use this thing on your lap without a cooler (or any kind of tray, for that matter), but it certainly isn't comfortable.
As for particular brands/models, I can't really give you one. These things are put out by a lot of smaller companies, and come in so many different variations that it's hard to keep track of. For example, the website I bought mine from no longer exists and I've yet to see anything else that quite resembles what I have. That's not to say these things aren't quality, but don't go looking for something from a name brand company. All I can say to do is search on Google or Froogle for laptop cooler. On the bright side, you'll find plenty of coolers to choose from and you'll have something totally unique.
Well, that covers the three musts. There other various things that you may or may not like...maybe a Marware protection pack or a mouse...but it's really a matter of preference from here on out. Personally, the only other thing I'm getting is a mouse. I've never been a fan of trackpads. I much prefer using a mouse, especially if I'm at a desk writing a paper or doing research. But that's just me...
Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck, and enjoy your MBP!
MBP: 17" Matte; 7200rpm 100GB HDD; 2gig RAM Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Hardware Advice for measuring sound

Hello,
My masters project has taken a turn and now I am using the speed of sound.
There are two arguments that have arisen. One from my supervisor who says that LabVIEW
is used in industry and that it is a real-time environment, meaning I would be
able to measure the time taken for sound to travel x metres (minimum 0.5m and 7m
maximum).
On the other hand the Labview guru on
campus has suggested that using a USB interface, and the fact that Windows XP
is not a real time environment would not return true times and there are other priorities
that Windows has to handle firs giving erroneous times.
Which argument is true, and which solution should I take.
Firstly, should I using a microcontroller with dedicated timers to time the
sound by starting a counter at 1.2MHz and take start value and finish value and
then working backwards to get the time, with the obvious hard part of setting
up communications with Labview through serial.
Or should I purchase some sort of serial/USB interface for Labview that would
be able to handle the job. If this option is best suited, are there any recommendations
for hardware? I'm using the SCB-68 which can only be used on a desktop
computer. I need something that is either Serial or USB as the final product
will be controller via laptop.
Cheers

Hello,
I'm just testing if I can use an external oscillator to timer. I'm using a NI-PCI 6229 and a SCB-68 interface box. I'm having trouble with the connections. Any advice for using the DAQx?
The is not wiring diagram, so I’m not sure where to put the signal in.
Cheers
K

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