I need a new portable workstation. Help me out +k

Whoops hit space.

Anyway, thanks to all willing to help. I'm pretty well informed when it comes to technology so don't be afraid to hit me up with computer terms.

it has to be a laptop.

I have a gh2 also, have you tried the 176mb GOP1 v3? I really like it for cinema mode, though 720 it crashes with a high shutter, so I need to adjust that. But the GOP1 looks amazing because it records each individual frame. As far as a computer, I can't really help you out because I use a macbook pro which handles it amazingly well. Usually you can save money by upgrading ram yourself tho, I have 8gigs and that cost me under $50 and like less than 5 minutes to install it

I did. Crazy smooth panning, and is def a huge improvement for the camera. It def takes advantage of the 3 processors in ways Panasonic should have. I have however noticed that the noise above 640 iso is terrible on the 1gop hack. I'm using the ccbrandon variable at the moment.

Unfortunately my 8gb sandisk extreme pro is eaten up in about 4 minutes or so of recording at 176mbps so its not a very good candidate haha.

Thanks for the tip on the ram. Is it that easy on a laptop? I would just do this but I've just found out my laptop doesn't even have a video card...

same situation, I have the exact same card and I actually get a card speed error on 720/60 with driftwoods settings, as well as the 4 minutes. I haven't tried out the iso, but later this week I will prbly go to personal view and see what new patches are out. hoping to pick up 2-3 m42 primes, an adapter, and a 32 gig extreme card, and then borrowing a tripod from the school when i need one. getting back on topic, it is very easy to upgrade ram, just search on amazon for your model, and then search youtube for a specific tutorial for your model. I have done it on my macbook pro, and previously on my msi wind, it is the exact same process, unscrew the back panel, push the tabs on the side, slide them out, put the new one in at a 45 degree angle, push until it clicks, repeat if you have 2 dimms, then screw the back panel back on and boot it up. Some are even easier, where you will have a dedicated panel just for the ram. If your have ever used legos, you can figure it out pretty easy. And you definetly want a video card. I have a 1gb radeon card, as well as the intel 3000, and my computer switches back and forth depending on what I am doing to save battery life. Also, try converting your avchd files into something more user friendly using software like cineform neoscene or clipwrap etc. maybe there is a windows workflow thread on personal view. also, look into ssd's or atleast a high rpm hard drive if you can afford it. my laptop was well over $1000, but I'm not sure how much i paid in "apple tax" haha. I think i saw a thread about this on personal view, but it may have been different, ik there was one for a $3k desktop, but it never hurts to try

bummer you need it to be portable, building your own desktop for that much you can get a real powerhouse going

but check these out

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246132
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246222

You are insanely helpful. Seriously. You helped me out on my lens thread a while ago, so you're already at 10/10

I'm going to check if my computer has space for some added ram, and a video card.. but I probably will end up upgrading the system.

As for m4/3 primes check out this lens:

http://www.eoshd.com/content/4435/slr-magic-noktor-12mm-f1-6-gh2

Looks fucking sick... also I'm sure you know about the Voigtlander Nokton 25mm F0.95, but if you've got 900 its apparently a dream lens.

As for the workflow, I'm using premier cs5 so .mts files are configured for, and (correct me If I'm wrong) if I converted them to prores I would destroy hardisk space which right now is lacking.

and Yes, I wish this didn't have to be portable too, but I can't really lug around a workhouse to and from schools.

thanks man, I have seen both of those lenses, the reason I am looking at m42 lenses is that between my laptop, camera, and college, $900+ on a lens when I will barely be able to shoot and definitely will not have a paying filming job in the foreseeable future doesn't seem like the best investment i can make at the time. Also, as far as hard drive space, I only have a 500gig internal, but I was able to pick up a 2tb goflex at costco on sale for $90. These ones are really cool because the bottom swaps out and you can switch it to firewire, usb 3.0, thunderbolt, or future connections. Also getting back to the lenses, I'm not a huge fan of focus by wire, but touch to focus is very cool, and while it is currently the best on the market for video, I'm not sure how long m4/3 will be a big format. Its not huge yet with a low end dslr crowd, because many don't know the benefits, and the gh2 (aside from the gh1) is really the only one that is seen as a professional video camera as opposed to one step above a point and shoot. The market is changing very fast, but we will see what happens. glad I could help