Adobe Premier

[Red Roses2]

Has anyone here used it before? Did you find it useful? Does it support AVCHD files? Would I need a file converter in addition to Adobe Premier? How much money does it go for?

My camcorder is a Canon Vixia HFR10.

 

[LamWooStudio]

Premiere Pro is useful, but not user-friendly (even just starting a new project will require a bit of research). Premiere Pro CS4 and CS5 and Premiere Elements (versions 7-9) can handle AVCHD files (the earlier versions cannot). Therefore, you would not need a file coverter.

Premiere Pro is expensive (700-850 USD), but if you are a student or teacher you can get a big discount. CS5 only works on 64-bit operating systems. If you have a 32-bit system, you would need to get the CS4 version.You can download a free trial version of Premiere Pro to test it out. Premiere Elements is a lot cheaper.

If you are working with a Mac, you should probably be looking at Final Cut Pro.

I am using CS3 at the moment at school and CS4 at home (along with similar Canon camcorders). The benefit of using Premiere Pro is that you can use it in conjunction with other Adobe products (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator, AfterEffects). The software can all be bought in one package (Master Collection). At school, we work on a wide variety of mulitmedia and design projects, so this is a suitable set up for us.

If you don't need those other Adobe programmes, you might consider Premiere Elements. You can also look into Sony Vegas/Sony Vegas Pro. These programmes are good quality and offer nearly as many functions as Premiere Pro, but cost a lot less.

 

[Red Roses2]

Thank you so much!

Would how much bit my computer has affect which Sony Vegas I should get if I chose to use that brand?

 

[LamWooStudio]

Would how much bit my computer has affect which Sony Vegas I should get if I chose to use that brand?

Yes, it might. Vegas Pro 10 has 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Vegas Movie Studio 10 is much less expensive and wouldn't have the 64-bit version (Sony Vegas accepts AVCHD files)

If you look at the user reviews on Amazon for both Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas you fill find a lot of very satsified customers AND a lot of very annoyed ones. I guess it would be best to download and try out the trial versions of the software before you buy anything.

(I only started learning video editing a couple of years ago and was amazed how difficult the programmes - Premiere and Vegas - were to learn.)

 

[Kim Welch]

Vegas has tutorials in the help menu

Vegas has tutorials in the help menu

Vegas has help tutorials in the help menu or it did when i used it. They give you step by step how to get started videos and more. I found it very easy to do a basic editing job right out of the box.

 

[bigdaddyross]

Premiere Pro is useful, but not user-friendly (even just starting a new project will require a bit of research).

I have been using Premiere for years and love it. It's easy to use (for me).

Whenever you ask "what is the best ___________" all you can get is subjective answers that may or may not help YOU with what is best for you.

Remember, it's the artist not the brush. Pretty much all of the editing software is equal in their respective price range. Final Cut Pro, Avid, Premiere Pro, and Sony Vegas are all basically the same software. Whatever one you like best is best for you.

 

[Red Roses2]

Thank you all very much!

After looking at descriptions and prices, I am currently looking to see if Sony Academic Vegas Movie Studio HD 9 is a good buy for me. But it doesn't look as though there's a free trial to download for it? Only for the 10 one. Would any of you know where I could find one?

I'm also going to check to see if my computer has enough memory to support the program. And what Microsoft DirectX 9.0 is. And Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is. And a OHCI-compatible i.LINK connector and IEEE-1394DV card is.

 

[LamWooStudio]

I am currently looking to see if Sony Academic Vegas Movie Studio HD 9 is a good buy for me. But it doesn't look as though there's a free trial to download for it? Would any of you know where I could find one?

maybe here (I haven't tried to download it): http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,143220/description.html?&page=5

I agree 100% with bigdaddyross. That's why I'm hesitant to recommend Premiere Pro even though I use it a lot and will continue to do do in the future. The choice of editing software really depends on the individual.