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Photo & Video Editing Software?

agree the initial learning curve with dr is real. i encourage you to stick with it, the good news it doesn't take long to get over that hurdle and began what will be a rewarding post-production experience that will last a lifetime. you'll never look back! :)

imo, if you use it occasionally, i would give it about a couple of years until you are gtg. more frequently and you could cut it down to closer to a year. an inexpensive speed editor (equipment) really helps. yt tutorial videos are essential.
Concur, stick with the basics, watch out for getting intimidated by all of the options and features. As you spend more time with DR, then explore into additional areas, fusion, fairlight, color nodes, color management, etc. One trick to try is use the "auto" color button on the color page, it might be good for when good is good enough, or, to get you to a better place to move on to more advanced things.
 
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I've been using Shotcut for several years now. I pulled down DR not long ago but was overwhelmed with it, read steep learning curve, and went back to the familiar. Recently stepped up the drone game with the Nano+ which has a "real" camera versus the previous toy drones so I may revisit DR.
With DR you have to keep working with it, ignore some of the features, leverage some of the automation until you get time using it. Also with DR 18 things have become easier in many ways, here's a good video by Casey Faris for beginners:
 
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Concur, stick with the basics, watch out for getting intimidated by all of the options and features. As you spend more time with DR, then explore into additional areas, fusion, fairlight, color nodes, color management, etc. One trick to try is use the "auto" color button on the color page, it might be good for when good is good enough, or, to get you to a better place to move on to more advanced things.
totally agree, the "auto" color does amazing work!
 
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I'm new to drones... but "old" to cameras and photography😆
I like Darktable for processing Raw/DNG files - kind of like Lr, but you'll find it quirky coming from Lr. Powerful and completely free, though.
For video, I quite like VideoProc Vlogger - basic, but for me doen most of what I need.
My 2c!
 
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I 100% agree with @kenautelevo2pro for Davinci Resolve, but it definitely is not beginner friendly. If you never plan on shooting professionally and want a product that is very simple, Corel VideoStudio is a good option. I still use it to this day to create slideshows, but it is also a very good user friendly consumer grade video editor.

However, if you want a professional Hollywood grade video editor that you will never outgrow, that is very reasonably priced, and that can be used to edit everything from a simple wedding to feature length movies and only want to learn how to use one video editor then Davinci Resolve is hands down the best option.

Unfortunately I do not have a good recommendation for photo editing. I still use Lightroom and Photoshop and hate the subscription model but for me nothing else matches those two for speed, RAW processing, and editing capabilities. Every now and then I get fed up with the endless monthly fees and try the latest and greatest from names like Affinity Photo, Capture One, DxO Lab, Darktable, etc.....and I always end up renewing my LR PS subscription.
Hello. I'd love to edit my photos slightly. What is the best software for a not-complete beginner? I have been thinking about Lightroom. Thanks
 
I use ACDSee Ultimate and would reccomend it. Around $110.00 one time fee, unless of course you choose to upgrade to a later version down the road. Every bit as capable as the combination of Photoshop & LR in my opinion.
 
I'm still searching for a video editor for PC that is as easy to use as Imovie on the Mac.

Davinci was way too complex (not to mention a huge download that installed a bunch of other software to my machine).
I don't want the "Photoshop" of video editing. I want the "Adobe Elements" version--lighter, faster, intuitive, not overly complex.

There is a long reddit thread and I've tried a bunch of those programs, but I still haven't found a good option. So far the only easy to use software, other than the gimped Windows 10 editor (which is good but limits your output resolution to something silly) is

Ice Cream Apps Video Editor. Free version does everything I want except nice transitions and effects. $30 Pro version doesn't seem to have those :(
If you want to try it out without downloading, they have an online version. I don't want to up/download huge files to the internet, but it's a nice way to preview how easy the software is.

3- I Just need something simple. I don't need all those effects.​

Sadly, having super easy-to-use software means engineering teams*.*

iMovie came with your Mac and is by far the easiest-to-use editor for either platform.

There isn't a lightweight, easy-to-use free/inexpensive editor that we'd recommend for Windows the way we recommend iMovie. We wish iMovie was available for windows. The closest we've seen on windows is Olive editor (open source)
I didn't find olive editor easy to use.
Two tools that charge but have very usable free versions.

  • DaVinci Resolve - Needs a strong video card/hardware. Max size (free) is UHD. Full version for $299. Mac/Win/Linux. Full proxy workflow. An excellent tool if your hardware can handle it.
  • Hit Film - freemium - no watermark. Extra features at a price. Mac/Win. Full proxy workflow. You don't have to buy their packs for text (you can do it manually). Their "intro" packs aren't terrible. This has some after-effects-like features - but has little professional adoption.
Didn't care for the UI of either--I couldn't figure out how to import a video and audio clip and play them back together (the easiest edit) without resorting to tutorials.

I want Easy​

  • Adobe Rush - Free, but.. - Win/Mac/Android/iOS. Easy to use, free software. No watermarks. You must create an Adobe account, but you don't have to buy anything. You will have to buy a subscription if you want: mobile to desktop transfer or Rush to Premiere transfer.
  • ClipChamp, bought by Microsoft. It's not terrible. Has a freemium tier.
  • CapCut - they have mobile tools. Our biggest warning is that while they have some interesting features, anything really good is buried into a subscription for the ap
I guess ClipChamp is essentially what I'm using with the Windows Photos app. It is good. Easy to use. Fast. Fun to edit. But restricts your output resolution.
I'm reluctant to try Adobe Rush because their software is generally bloated and slow in my experience, but it might be worth it.

They mention basically every other software mentioned in this thread. Hope this helps. I'm still searching...Imovie is awesome but I hate editing on my Macbook.
Maybe Cyberlink Video Director??? I'll pay up to $100 or so for good software.
 
I use ACDSee Ultimate and would reccomend it. Around $110.00 one time fee, unless of course you choose to upgrade to a later version down the road. Every bit as capable as the combination of Photoshop & LR in my opinion.

@nobes I like ACDSee as well, if you are not shooting for paying clients I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

Lightroom's real power comes into play when you need to round trip images through Photoshop for advanced edits and when you need to quickly process hundreds or thousands of images. IMO nothing beats the LR PS combo for those scenarios which I encounter frequently.

If I were shooting as a hobbiest, I would cancel my subscription. I will admit though that LR has become pretty powerful lately, the AI powered subject and background detection saves me hours of work when it is needed.
 
I'm still searching for a video editor for PC that is as easy to use as Imovie on the Mac.

Davinci was way too complex (not to mention a huge download that installed a bunch of other software to my machine).
I don't want the "Photoshop" of video editing. I want the "Adobe Elements" version--lighter, faster, intuitive, not overly complex.

There is a long reddit thread and I've tried a bunch of those programs, but I still haven't found a good option. So far the only easy to use software, other than the gimped Windows 10 editor (which is good but limits your output resolution to something silly) is

Ice Cream Apps Video Editor. Free version does everything I want except nice transitions and effects. $30 Pro version doesn't seem to have those :(
If you want to try it out without downloading, they have an online version. I don't want to up/download huge files to the internet, but it's a nice way to preview how easy the software is.




I didn't find olive editor easy to use.

Didn't care for the UI of either--I couldn't figure out how to import a video and audio clip and play them back together (the easiest edit) without resorting to tutorials.


I guess ClipChamp is essentially what I'm using with the Windows Photos app specially alight motion preset. It is good. Easy to use. Fast. Fun to edit. But restricts your output resolution.
I'm reluctant to try Adobe Rush because their software is generally bloated and slow in my experience, but it might be worth it.

They mention basically every other software mentioned in this thread. Hope this helps. I'm still searching...Imovie is awesome but I hate editing on my Macbook.
Maybe Cyberlink Video Director??? I'll pay up to $100 or so for good software.
thank you so much for your suggestion and help. appreciate that
 
I'm still searching for a video editor for PC that is as easy to use as Imovie on the Mac.

Davinci was way too complex (not to mention a huge download that installed a bunch of other software to my machine).
I don't want the "Photoshop" of video editing. I want the "Adobe Elements" version--lighter, faster, intuitive, not overly complex.

There is a long reddit thread and I've tried a bunch of those programs, but I still haven't found a good option. So far the only easy to use software, other than the gimped Windows 10 editor (which is good but limits your output resolution to something silly) is

Ice Cream Apps Video Editor. Free version does everything I want except nice transitions and effects. $30 Pro version doesn't seem to have those :(
If you want to try it out without downloading, they have an online version. I don't want to up/download huge files to the internet, but it's a nice way to preview how easy the software is.


I didn't find olive editor easy to use.

Didn't care for the UI of either--I couldn't figure out how to import a video and audio clip and play them back together (the easiest edit) without resorting to tutorials.


I guess ClipChamp is essentially what I'm using with the Windows Photos app. It is good. Easy to use. Fast. Fun to edit. But restricts your output resolution.
I'm reluctant to try Adobe Rush because their software is generally bloated and slow in my experience, but it might be worth it.

They mention basically every other software mentioned in this thread. Hope this helps. I'm still searching...Imovie is awesome but I hate editing on my Macbook.
Maybe Cyberlink Video Director??? I'll pay up to $100 or so for good software.

You should try Corel VideoStudio, I think they have a trial version, not a fan of Cyberlink they constantly pressure you to buy more stuff from them and they bundle a ton of stuff you don't need. The Cut page in Davinci Resolve really is easy to use, but definitely not as easy as VideoStudio. As long as you never plan on doing anything advanced, VideoStudio will do everything you need; it starts falling apart if you want to do things like speed ramps, advanced motion graphics, advanced color grading, motion tracking, etc. It also can't work with advanced footage such as raw, 8K, ProRes, Cinema Raw LT, etc. Formats that I need for my cinema cameras.
 
thank you so much for your suggestion and help. appreciate that
If you are looking for easy, lightweight, try something like LightCut that runs on ios and droid phones, similar to the Gopro edit app. Ingest in your videos (and/or photos), use the templates or go adhoc, super easy, super fast, especially if you need some simple quick while at an event, then follow up later with a more edited, produced piece using a more robust tool. Some other easy to use video edit tools besides those mentioned above include camtasia and filmora among many others. Nice alternative to photoshop/lightroom is Skylum Luminar Neo among others.
 

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