Photo & Video Editing Software?

[herein2021]

I'm assuming you have looked at On1 RAW and also at Topaz Labs?

ON1 RAW wasn't even close for me when I tried it and was terribly slow, I have never heard of the other one but I checked their website and it doesn't look like it will meet my needs either.

I think many applications can replace LR and maybe even the little that I do in PS, but if the time it takes to perform those tasks is twice as long or counterintuitive then in the long run the extra time spent editing the footage will add up to more than the cost of the Adobe Subscription. After big events I need to be able to process thousands of pictures within hours and so far I haven't seen any SW that can match my current work flow speed.

As much as I hate paying the subscription, and certain limitations of LR, it seems to have some secret ingredient that no one else can match when it comes to RAW processing efficiency.

 

[KS-6]

I usually use DXO labs as a lens correction pre-application and then output to DNG for use with Adobe with my M2P, it really cleans up the image smearing you can get in the corners.

But with my new EVO II Pro, I am finding DXO does not support Autel files. So I am looking for another option here to get the pre-output still images as tight as they can be. On that note, just on their own the files from the 6K / 20MP camera look really uniform in sharpness, only trace smearing in the very corners so I think they would clean up to darn near perfect with an app that has the profiles.

What are people using to accomplish this with the DNG output from Autel birds?

 

[herein2021]

I usually use DXO labs as a lens correction pre-application and then output to DNG for use with Adobe with my M2P, it really cleans up the image smearing you can get in the corners.

But with my new EVO II Pro, I am finding DXO does not support Autel files. So I am looking for another option here to get the pre-output still images as tight as they can be. On that note, just on their own the files from the 6K / 20MP camera look really uniform in sharpness, only trace smearing in the very corners so I think they would clean up to darn near perfect with an app that has the profiles.

What are people using to accomplish this with the DNG output from Autel birds?

I just use Lightroom, select the DJI Phantom 4 FC330 profile then slide the distortion correction slider to the left until the horizon straightens/distortion clears. The EVO II has a narrower effective FOV than the DJI drones so there is less distortion that needs to be fixed.

I don't know anything about DXO, but more than likely it is like LR and you can just make your own camera profile. All a camera profile is is distortion correction, vignetting correction, and sometimes edge sharpening and slight edge color correction, all of these things can be done by hand then saved as a preset for that camera.

 

[KS-6]

I just use Lightroom, select the DJI Phantom 4 FC330 profile then slide the distortion correction slider to the left until the horizon straightens/distortion clears. The EVO II has a narrower effective FOV than the DJI drones so there is less distortion that needs to be fixed.

I don't know anything about DXO, but more than likely it is like LR and you can just make your own camera profile. All a camera profile is is distortion correction, vignetting correction, and sometimes edge sharpening and slight edge color correction, all of these things can be done by hand then saved as a preset for that camera.

I can give that I try, thanks.

DXO is pretty much next level and top dog for cleaning up the soft or even smeared corners without discarding image area. I suppose I can reach out to them to see if they will ever support Autel products.

Also, I don’t really use Lightroom on aerial images so I imagine these same types of presets can be used in ACR?

 

[Rubik3x]

I’m looking for recommendations on both photograph and video editing software. I’m interested in something that I can purchase outright as opposed to a subscription. I’m also looking for something that is suitable for beginners.

A good beginning software suite is Cyberlink PowerDirector (video) and PhotoDirector (photo).

 

[herein2021]

I can give that I try, thanks.

DXO is pretty much next level and top dog for cleaning up the soft or even smeared corners without discarding image area. I suppose I can reach out to them to see if they will ever support Autel products.

Also, I don’t really use Lightroom on aerial images so I imagine these same types of presets can be used in ACR?

I never use ACR, just LR and PS so I am not sure if ACR has this capability. Within DXO you can probably pick a DJI drone and it will fix the image for you. I picked the P4 profile within LR because it has a very similar sensor to the EVO II and it did a pretty good job at fixing the edges. Within DXO if it has a profile for the Mavic 2 which is the same sensor as the EVO II and a similar lens then it might get you close enough to what you are looking for.

Personally I am not shooting fine art with my EVO II so the DJI P4 profile is good enough for me. My typical drone footage is of construction sites, big events, real estate, and of people......none of that requires image perfection in my book.

 

[spicynujac]

I am mainly a stills photographer, with very little experience editing videos (usually just take them as-shot straight from my drone). I use both Mac (laptop) and PC (desktop).

DaVinci Resolve (free) is packed with features, and is actually an industry standard for video production (alongside the more expensive Final Cut Pro).

I use an older standalone Lightroom (no subscription) for stills but there are cheaper options like Affinity Photo or ACDSee that are just as good. There are even free options like RawTherapee and Darktable, and honestly any of these programs will adjust whatever you want; it's more a matter of layout, workflow, ease of use, speed, etc.

BUT if you have a Mac: The free software (photos / iMovie) that comes with any Mac does a great job for both photos and videos. It's very intuitive and I was able to make a very basic video, and add a soundtrack, the very first time I used the software, without needing to study manuals or instructional videos.

If you're new to editing, try some of the free options, use them to their limit, then if you find yourself wanting more, you can upgrade.

 

[andersrer]

As was mentioned by kenautelevo2pro, the best video editing software for beginners you can find is the Davinci Resolve application. I started with using the trial version of this software, and I can say that it is a great tool for beginners. When you get more experience in video editing, you can start using other video editing applications like AdobeAfterEffects or even use the best software in some specific situations. For example, if I need to loop my videos, I always use the following service fastreel.com.

 

[herein2021]

As was mentioned by kenautelevo2pro, the best video editing software for beginners you can find is the Davinci Resolve application. I started with using the trial version of this software, and I can say that it is a great tool for beginners. When you get more experience in video editing, you can start using other video editing applications like AdobeAfterEffects or even use the best software in some specific situations. For example, if I need to loop my videos, I always use the following service fastreel.com.

I definitely would not consider Davinci Resolve the best for beginners. It is great at many things but user friendliness is not one of them. If you are a beginner and hands down never want to have to learn another video editor and never outgrow your current one then Davinci Resolve is without a doubt the best one out there. But just setting up DR properly is a pretty significant investment (cache drives, project drives, proper GPU, Studio grade drivers, etc.), so for the casual user who wants to edit and upload in a few clicks I would not recommend DR.

As far as looping in DR goes, if you are already editing in DR it is literally three clicks to loop the video (yes I counted); you would spend more time uploading to that website then downloading the completed video than you would looping in DR.

Typically, the video editing platforms I would recommend would be:

• Beginner (never plan to do much more than post a few videos) - PowerDirector, Corel Video Studio, WIndows, Clipchamp, Windows10/11 Video Editor app, iMovie (Mac)
• Intermediate / Prosumer - Davinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro (Mac)
• Hollywood grade (coloring, audio, special effects) - Davinci Resolve

Personally, I could never recommend Premier Pro after many years of paying the subscription fees and the endless crashing in the middle of a project. After Effects is a bit easier than DR's Fusion for special effects, but after discovering node based editing it is hard to go back to layers. One benefit After Effects does have is better online examples and support.

Of course, even DR isn't perfect, I don't create many custom special effects but at the Hollywood level they use software like Houdini, Maya, Nuke, etc.

 

[Rusty_SWO]

Keep an eye on Humble Bundle. They routinely have deals on 2D / 3D art, video editing, and music software.

As of right now, today, 12/7/22, they have three relevant charity bundles up:

1. "Essential Content Creator Bundle." Includes perpetual licenses for: Vegas Pro Edit 18, Music Maker Premium 2023, Sound Forge Audio Studio 16, Movie Studio 2022, Music Maker (EDM Edition), and a 2-year license to ProDAD Mercalli V5. (Minimum $25 donation for everything, benefits charity "One Tree Planted")

2. "Photo Editing with Luminar AI." Includes Luminar AI, Aurora HDR, Photolemur, and looks like about 25-ish expansion packs for one or another of the three softwares. (Minimum $20 donation for everything, benefits charity "Razom for Ukraine")

3. "Anything But Ordinary" Painter Bundle. Includes PaintShop Pro 2022, Aftershot Pro 3, Corel Painter 2022, Corel VideoStudio Pro 2022, and 15-20ish expansion packs for one or another thing. Plus a 1-year subscription to WinZip Standard. (Donate more than the average (curr. $32.02) to get everything, or less for smaller packs. Donation benefits Children's Miracle Network.)


I'm not affiliated with any of these organizations in any way, but I do have to say that these guys are awesome, if you've never heard of them before. All software is 100% legit and fully licensed. You get great deals on books / games / software / etc., and your donation goes to a worthy cause. As it happens, I need a couple of these anyway, so I'm glad I came across this thread and thought to check and see what bundles they had available at the moment.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

Keep an eye on Humble Bundle. They routinely have deals on 2D / 3D art, video editing, and music software.

As of right now, today, 12/7/22, they have three relevant charity bundles up:

1. "Essential Content Creator Bundle." Includes perpetual licenses for: Vegas Pro Edit 18, Music Maker Premium 2023, Sound Forge Audio Studio 16, Movie Studio 2022, Music Maker (EDM Edition), and a 2-year license to ProDAD Mercalli V5. (Minimum $25 donation for everything, benefits charity "One Tree Planted")

2. "Photo Editing with Luminar AI." Includes Luminar AI, Aurora HDR, Photolemur, and looks like about 25-ish expansion packs for one or another of the three softwares. (Minimum $20 donation for everything, benefits charity "Razom for Ukraine")

3. "Anything But Ordinary" Painter Bundle. Includes PaintShop Pro 2022, Aftershot Pro 3, Corel Painter 2022, Corel VideoStudio Pro 2022, and 15-20ish expansion packs for one or another thing. Plus a 1-year subscription to WinZip Standard. (Donate more than the average (curr. $32.02) to get everything, or less for smaller packs. Donation benefits Children's Miracle Network.)


I'm not affiliated with any of these organizations in any way, but I do have to say that these guys are awesome, if you've never heard of them before. All software is 100% legit and fully licensed. You get great deals on books / games / software / etc., and your donation goes to a worthy cause. As it happens, I need a couple of these anyway, so I'm glad I came across this thread and thought to check and see what bundles they had available at the moment.

sorry, was going to get this (for the luminar ai) but i have since learned it is "discontinued" and lunimar neo is the primary sw going forward. is this something to be concerned about? or, is luminar ai still good sw consider the low price. thoughts?

 

[Rusty_SWO]

sorry, was going to get this (for the luminar ai) but i have since learned it is "discontinued" and lunimar neo is the primary sw going forward. is this something to be concerned about? or, is luminar ai still good sw consider the low price. thoughts?

I suspect that it's just a more basic version of Neo, but it works just fine. It's a fairly simple slider-based thing, but considering the price I'm satisfied with it so far, and I know I haven't explored more than just a tiny fraction of what it can do.

But really- for me the big hits out of those bundles were the upgrade to Vegas Pro 18 (I had 16) and Corel Painter, now that my long-ago-amortized Adobe CS6 doesn't work on MacOS anymore.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

thanks, i think i will go ahead and get it as well

 

[gschulzuio]

sorry, was going to get this (for the luminar ai) but i have since learned it is "discontinued" and lunimar neo is the primary sw going forward. is this something to be concerned about? or, is luminar ai still good sw consider the low price. thoughts?

Skylum tends to do that (e.g. tweak the product name) with new versions, e.g. from Luminar -> Luminar AI -> Luminar Neo, likewise Aurora folded into the Luminar stream. Luminar good alternative to lightroom among others, been using for several years among some other tools.

 

[Borealis]

For photo editing I use Affinity or One1 v2022.5. One1 was terrible slow and crashed from time to time on my 2015 macbook but recently I upgraded to an M1 pro macbook and now it handles anything I throw at it with ease. I'm getting very good results from my lite plus raw files. I know that lightroom is nice as well but got away from anything adobe a few years ago. DXO PL will not deal with the lite plus dng files as of this time.

 

[herein2021]

For photo editing I use Affinity or One1 v2022.5. One1 was terrible slow and crashed from time to time on my 2015 macbook but recently I upgraded to an M1 pro macbook and now it handles anything I throw at it with ease. I'm getting very good results from my lite plus raw files. I know that lightroom is nice as well but got away from anything adobe a few years ago. DXO PL will not deal with the lite plus dng files as of this time.

That's a shame that it takes an M1 just to edit photos, that's why I could never use ON1 in its current form; way too slow even on my video editing workstation. One day something will come along that will let me cut the cord with LR and PS, for now its still the endless subscription fees for me. Also, as much as I hate paying the fees, I will admit I am impressed with what they are doing with AI; its now only a few clicks to select and mask the subject(s) or background and sky replacements are only a few clicks as well.. I used to spend hours masking with a brush.

 

[Borealis]

I was saving up for an M1 mainly for better video editing and pano stitching. I couldn't believe my eyes when I witnessed the transformation of usability with One1 . I heared rumors before but it was hard to believe. On my low powered Intel mac I gave up on the program month ago.
I wish I was not as stubborn as I am and check out Lightroom again but right now I'm plenty happy with what I can accomplish between Affinity, DXO PL and One1 for photo and Resolve for video.

 

[herein2021]

I was saving up for an M1 mainly for better video editing and pano stitching. I couldn't believe my eyes when I witnessed the transformation of usability with One1 . I heared rumors before but it was hard to believe. On my low powered Intel mac I gave up on the program month ago.
I wish I was not as stubborn as I am and check out Lightroom again but right now I'm plenty happy with what I can accomplish between Affinity, DXO PL and One1 for photo and Resolve for video.

If you have managed to get rid of Adobe, definitely don't go back. No new features are worth the subscription fees, endless updates, and instability.

 

[mark.stolz]

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.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

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.

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.