The Camera behind the production:

Currently Using:

Panasonic HVX200
$6,310 list price

what I wish I used:

Panasonic HPX500 (interchangeable lenses and 4 p2 slots, not to mention 2/3" CCD)
$14,000 list price

"The" Editing System (Capital T)

First, just to set the idea behind all the equipment choices, I'll be basing the system off of Final Cut Pro. Yes, Adobe does make Premiere for the MAC, but I've been using FCP almost exclusively now for 5 years, so I'm a bit more proficient with it. (Although, I've been spending some time lately on After Effects and I'm definitely enjoying that.)

So, to begin:

_SOFTWARE_^^

Final Cut Studio 2 (although rumor has it they're releasing a new version in late April)
------ $1,299
Adobe After Effects CS4
------ $999
Adobe Photoshop CS4
------ $999
Roxio Toast Titanium 10 Pro
------ $129 (after $20 mail-in rebate)
NeoOffice (because its awesome & free)
------ $0
Celtyx (great script writing program)
------ $0

Now we get to the HARDWARE!**

MacPro 8-Core
------ $5,248 (added: 2x 2.66 Quad-Core, 8GB RAM, ATI HD video card, the rest: aftermarket)
4x Seagate 1TB internal drives
------ $360
2x 24" Apple HD Monitors (I'm going with the apple monitors because I know they're good)
------ $1,600 (I wish they still had the "old" silver ones.)
Aja IO HD
------ $2,769.95
HD Monitoring TV (For client monitoring & colour check, also has built in DVD player)
------ $735.90

**Need to add an audio monitoring system.
**Also a decent Printer for DVD labeling.
^^FCP Plugins are a good choice, too.

*****************
Oh, and the total on that setup is approximately: $14,139.85
(ordering from montana = no sales tax!)
Since I already have the Adobe CS3 Suite, I could save almost 2k.
I also have Roxio, so that's $129.
AND I have one 24" Apple HD monitor already, so that would save another $800.
All bringing this package down, personally, to $11,210.85
*****************

Adobe After Effects

Classroom in a Book for Adobe After Effects now belongs to me! I figure its time I really start to delve into this program, I've seen it used in so many ways and I've been really impressed by its versatility. The first few lessons have been really easy as I've already used the program to a degree and I'm looking forward to things getting more complicated.

GFX FTW!

Quick word of advice:

#rant

If you have any sort of mac that has been at ALL keeping up with the OS updates, do NOT.. I repeat, do NOT buy Sans Digital, (Specifically the TR8M in this case) or expect an e-stata card with a Silicon Image 3132 chip to run your RAID system. (Have tested both the one that comes with the TR8M and a LaCie SATA II card) It crashes continuously. Oh, and PS: The fine print says "Works with mac osx up to 10.5.1" .... any updated system is now up to 10.5.6

#endrant