Video Editing SW for video and stills

[DiverDun]

I am looking for a recommendation for video editing SW. It must be able to do CC.

I have a Sony NEX5 which produces 1080p AVC files. I was hoping that I could use the manual white balance underwater but it seems that the camera's white balance cannot handle the underwater adjustments needed and produced errors on our trip to Bonaire.

See my thread on Wetpixel if interested:
NEX 5 White Balance Error - 9900k M9 - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

Instead, as was recommended, I took still images of my white card at various depths and am hoping I might be able to use these to correct the WB for the stills and videos.

I have never used video editing SW other then Window Movie Maker, but have used it for several years.

I will be running the SW on a quad core (AMD N930) notebook, 6 GB of RAM.
Still images are in the RAW format.

I will try the SW via the free download but before doing so I would like to get some opinions.

As a side note, I see the recommendation from one thread that post CC is not ideal. If anyone has suggestions on how to resolve my manual WB issue I would love recommendations. I am not fond of red filters as I would have to remove them when taking strobe based stills or videos with light.

Thanks

Jim

 

[JohnQPS122]

Try downloading Photoshop and Premiere Elements, fully functional free demos.

 

[DrKevbo]

Ive been using Sony Vegas for years. It is poweful and great for adding color and definition to my videos. There are many add ons that you can purchase from other vendors. I came back recently from Qamae Fiji. My camera auto focus was going out and I didnt even know it. I was able to, using Vegas , restore the videoto a very viewable level. There is a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it its a lot of fun. I do three or 4 trips a year and spend the dry time editing. You can see the editing on my latest on you tube under DIVE QAMAE FIJI PARTS 1,2,&3

I have been using a HD sony tape video acmera with a seatool housing. I have been toying with the idea of switching to the NEX5. Mainly for weight control. Going to Raja Ampat and there are some stiff weight restrictions

All The Best DRKEVBO

 

[jcpiota]

I know you are lookin for a solution that fits your current equipment, but if you want to have fun doing this, and have straight forward usable tools that don't require Valium to deal with freeze ups and restarts...Mac...Mac...Mac.

Even the changes to their basic Imovie software allow for amazing things and a learning curve that is not that steep.

This decision could be the living embodiment of 'penny-wise' and pound foolish. Cause if it drives you nuts, you won't use it. And then the fact that it was cheap is meaningless.

An openly very predjudice opinion...

I am looking for a recommendation for video editing SW. It must be able to do CC.

I have a Sony NEX5 which produces 1080p AVC files. I was hoping that I could use the manual white balance underwater but it seems that the camera's white balance cannot handle the underwater adjustments needed and produced errors on our trip to Bonaire.

See my thread on Wetpixel if interested:
NEX 5 White Balance Error - 9900k M9 - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

Instead, as was recommended, I took still images of my white card at various depths and am hoping I might be able to use these to correct the WB for the stills and videos.

I have never used video editing SW other then Window Movie Maker, but have used it for several years.

I will be running the SW on a quad core (AMD N930) notebook, 6 GB of RAM.
Still images are in the RAW format.

I will try the SW via the free download but before doing so I would like to get some opinions.

As a side note, I see the recommendation from one thread that post CC is not ideal. If anyone has suggestions on how to resolve my manual WB issue I would love recommendations. I am not fond of red filters as I would have to remove them when taking strobe based stills or videos with light.

Thanks

Jim

 

[CriticalMass]

Photoshop is the industry standard for still image editing..period. Anything else would be a distant second at best.

I'll toss in another vote for Sony Vegas Pro for video editing. Any quality software will involve some learning curve, but I've owned Premiere, and Vegas is much more intuitive to learn. It doesn't hurt that it's cutting edge, broadcast-quality software, and chock full of features. Cheap? No, but you get what you pay for.

You can check out the features and specs on their web page to see if it can do what you want. I'll speculate it will, due to the fact there's not a lot it can't do. .02 from a satisfied user.

 

[mjh]

Went through this process. I agree Photoshop is really the best option for stills. For video in the end I ended up with a MacBookPro and Final Cut Express, for me soooo much better than my Windows/Sony Vegas Pro set up. Now Final Cut Pro is coming out and only, lol, $300!

 

[RickG65]

New to diving and have been lurking on the U/W photo and video forums for a very long while.

Here's my 2 cents for anyone that is looking to up their game, or like me is just now getting into diving and has their eye on doing under water photography / Video.

Couple of quick things, it's wonderful that there are separate forums for this, but as a good friend of mine at a local rental house said to me the other day. Is there really any reason that serious photographers can't be great video shooters as well?

With the hardware changing at an astounding rate the new DSLR's are now capable of shooting broadcast quality video (a very broad term mind you but still valid).

Having said that, it's a two way street. You absolutely must capture the media as cleanly as possible. Lighting and quality optics are the key to having good photo's and videos.

I have been a Canon proponent forever with one exception I own a Sony Pro HDV camera which has been the staple of my video shooting for years now.

But with the DSLR's capable of 1080p now, even entry level camera's (Canon Rebels) if you put quality glass on them and mount good lights you are going to get some astounding video and superb photographs.

Lighting, composition and glass...

When you do finally get your media home the ability to refine your vision is based on having that raw material available, rule of thumb it's easier to bring the exposure down when over exposed but it's near impossible to add detail to under exposed material.

Always shoot with lights, the comment made previously about getting a few shots of your white card at different depths is excellent. For those that think color correction in post is not optimum I disagree whole heartily.

Having been a colorist in Hollywood for many years (not my current job) the things that are possible with today's software packages are truly astounding.

My personal preference is Mac. Photoshop for photography editing and doing your titles and such. And for me it's FCP for my editing and color correction of video.

As stated by others, for the entry level folks that don't want to commit bigger bucks for MBP or a high end iMac or MAC Pro. iMovie with a few of the add on packages available is beginning to produce some astounding video. I know of two shows currently airing on prominent cable networks that were shot on DSLR's and Semi Pro video camera's and edited with non standard editing programs costing less then a couple of hundred dollars.

I have nothing against PC's and the variety of programs available to cut with, Adobe, Sony Vegas are great packages. But I absolutely love the fact that when something goes wrong with my Mac it's a fairly easy and straight forward recovery.

You pay a bit more to get into it, but you can't argue the quality of the mac hardware and most of the software that supports those macs.

And just like diving, practice, practice, practice is the only way to get better. After all you are editing your movies and photo's for your enjoyment and your family and friends enjoyment. Always keep a clean copy of your media stored externally from your editing system.

Long winded I know.

 

[Dauntless]

An important question is what will be the final product. Will the video be for the web or for DVD. I have a Mac with iMovie and Final Cut Express I also have a couple of windows based PC's, a desktop with a 6 core processor and a notebook with a quadcore gaming setup. Windows SW Nero HD10 Vision xtra, Adobe Premier Elements, Sony Vegas HD10 and Windows Movie maker.

If I want to get something out fast for net, can't beat iMovie on Mac or Nero 10 xtra vision on PC. Haven't been able to get decent DVD output with Mac, evenwith Roxio HD. There is one unique item in FCE that is great and that is the wireframe tool.

For automatic image stabilization and "fixing" can't beat APE. Just starting to learn Vegas but it has huge flexibility.

Pick one, it's only money

Did you notice, CNN was shooting some video in Egypt with a Flip.

 

[Dauntless]

RickG65, I desperately would like some tips on adding color back with software. I tried color balancing but didn't work very well, I still have a lot to learn, but the thing that was vexing, is, I used the chroma key on some video and eleminated red and it didn't make any difference, there just isn't any red, not that eleminating red is what I wanted, just wanted to see how much was there. Any help would be great. I do use filters for my little point & shoot stuff, seems to help some.

 

[RickG65]

Dauntless,

Here is a link to an excellent read on color grading. I recommend picking this up if you are serious. Also for FCP editors there is a pretty good training series comprising DVD and books that will teach you the basics and advanced features of the color grading engine built into FCP.

Amazon.com: The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction (9780240809908): Steve Hullfish: Books

regards,

RickG