Anyone using the Apple Magic Trackpad? at DVinfo.net

Michael Wisniewski · November 4th, 2010, 08:45 PM

Anyone using the Apple Magic Trackpad? Wondering if anyone's finding it useful for video editing. I just re-visited it at the Apple store and forgot how slick it is!

William Hohauser · November 4th, 2010, 10:37 PM

I have been using it for a month now.

1) It's cold to touch but does warm up in a typical room. If the room is cold, it stays cold.

2) Many mouse based editing functions are easier and quicker with the trackpad. Right click / command click functions especially.

3) If you use the magic mouse for timeline scrolling, the trackpad is much better.

4) It can be used with a much lighter touch than a mouse but for me it's taking time to relax and change my hand postures.

I have not explored many of the three finger and four finger swipes or even found out if they have any use in FCP.

Overall I would comapre the trackpad to the old Kensington trackballs in terms of deskspace use. No more clumsy wire tangles or running out of room during a mouse move. And it's familiar territory for anyone who edits with a laptop except that it's off to one side. So far I like it and do not miss the magic mouse at all.

Matt Lawrence · November 7th, 2010, 10:16 AM

I have one and love it for editing video. As mentioned, being able to scrub through clips by two-finger swiping is a huge plus, though this can be done with the Magic and Mighty mice. But overall it makes life easier for any mouse-intensive tasks, especially if you need to do a lot of clicking and holding, such as for scrubbing, or drag and dropping all day. By being to tap-click instead, you save a lot of strain on your fingers. And scrolling through documents or web pages when you have such a large surface area to work with is much more comfortable that a mouse.

But I realize there are some people who can't do refined work easily with a trackpad, such as for some kinds of graphics work. I can, but I think you need good motor skills. Some people just can't learn to control a trackpad with the same finesse.

Charles Newcomb · November 7th, 2010, 12:01 PM

I don't use mine for editing or detail work because it's so sensitive I seem to spend more time correcting mistakes than actually doing work. It's hard to beat the Mighty Mouse for editing and detail work. But I love it for other routine functions.

I also discovered it doesn't work with Windows under BootCamp. That's interesting, because the track pad on my 17"MBP does work under Windows.

Mathieu Ghekiere · November 7th, 2010, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

I have not explored many of the three finger and four finger swipes or even found out if they have any use in FCP.

I don't have a Magic Trackpad, but I do have a Magic Mouse. You can download a free application called BTTool which you can program multi-touch gestures for the global system or PER program.
So you can assign gestures to key commands to, for instance, only within FCP.

This way you should be able to make it work anyhow you want. I have very good experience with BTTool and my Magic Mouse but I haven't assigned special commands in FCP yet.

November 4th, 2010, 08:45 PM	#1
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Anyone using the Apple Magic Trackpad? Anyone using the Apple Magic Trackpad? Wondering if anyone's finding it useful for video editing. I just re-visited it at the Apple store and forgot how slick it is!

November 4th, 2010, 10:37 PM	#2
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	I have been using it for a month now. 1) It's cold to touch but does warm up in a typical room. If the room is cold, it stays cold. 2) Many mouse based editing functions are easier and quicker with the trackpad. Right click / command click functions especially. 3) If you use the magic mouse for timeline scrolling, the trackpad is much better. 4) It can be used with a much lighter touch than a mouse but for me it's taking time to relax and change my hand postures. I have not explored many of the three finger and four finger swipes or even found out if they have any use in FCP. Overall I would comapre the trackpad to the old Kensington trackballs in terms of deskspace use. No more clumsy wire tangles or running out of room during a mouse move. And it's familiar territory for anyone who edits with a laptop except that it's off to one side. So far I like it and do not miss the magic mouse at all. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation Last edited by William Hohauser; November 5th, 2010 at 06:47 AM.

November 7th, 2010, 10:16 AM	#3
Matt Lawrence Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 69	I have one and love it for editing video. As mentioned, being able to scrub through clips by two-finger swiping is a huge plus, though this can be done with the Magic and Mighty mice. But overall it makes life easier for any mouse-intensive tasks, especially if you need to do a lot of clicking and holding, such as for scrubbing, or drag and dropping all day. By being to tap-click instead, you save a lot of strain on your fingers. And scrolling through documents or web pages when you have such a large surface area to work with is much more comfortable that a mouse. But I realize there are some people who can't do refined work easily with a trackpad, such as for some kinds of graphics work. I can, but I think you need good motor skills. Some people just can't learn to control a trackpad with the same finesse.

November 7th, 2010, 12:01 PM	#4
Charles Newcomb Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Salida, Colorado Posts: 561	I don't use mine for editing or detail work because it's so sensitive I seem to spend more time correcting mistakes than actually doing work. It's hard to beat the Mighty Mouse for editing and detail work. But I love it for other routine functions. I also discovered it doesn't work with Windows under BootCamp. That's interesting, because the track pad on my 17"MBP does work under Windows.