Camcorder and video editing Frequently Asked Questions

vkmast

Am running Windows 10 64bit.
I have used Corel VideoStudio Pro for a number of years. (currently £61 from Amazon)
There are plenty of tutorials (see Gripps on YouTube) including a number from Corel for beginners.

Originally bought it following some spectacular crashes using Pinnacle Studio (old versions). After the usual learning curve found it very flexible and relatively robust. It is not the worlds most sophisticated editor but is excellent for editing videos together, easy to learn and has all the normal "bells and whistles" you would expect from an editor. You can do all the obvious, add voiceover and music, chroma key and picture in picture, titles and subtitles and so on. Do check the web site.

These is an update every year but the basic program stays the same. There is an Ultimate version which is exactly the same basic editor but with extra effects.

12harry

I use Cyberlink Power Director 16 Ultimate on Windows 10 64bit. Cheapest prices tend to be on their website as they keep having special offers
Best Video Editing Software ｜CyberLink PowerDirector 16 Ultra

Mark.

andjarnic

I've used several versions of Movie Studio Platinum (formerly owned by Sony/SCS, now MAGIX). If you're interested in the current version #14, read the honest independent review here and use the free 30-day trial first (recommended with any video editing software).

12harry

Hope to read that Review, but earlier versions were 32-bit, so moving to new version means a new PC - and I'm mixed about Magix LT support as they already had a Video-Editor.   Cheers vkmast... Seasonal Greets.

djangoscruggs

Davinci Resolve 14. It is free for a fully functioning lite version. It is what the big boys use in movies and tv. Has the best defacto standard color grading built in. Insane motion tracking. Only thing is it is built to edit editing formats. So you will want to transcode your mp4 and h.264 files to much larger editing formats such as dnxhr on windows or Linux or prores if you are on a Mac.

MarkE19

That Resolve software may be free . . . but no use to majority of amateur film-makers, unless they are on a professional shoot.   It has limited input file-types and whilst it is an excellent piece of software - it will take a long time to get to grips with.
andjarnic  suggests changing the file-types (=essential) but the resulting files mean the 64-bit PC will need greater power - I think they suggest RAM=16Gb as a starting point.

For something under £100 there are several Video-Editors about . . . these accept the output from Consumer Camcorders and  will (mostly) create perfectly acceptable movies after a few Tutorials.  My v12 Sony Movie Studio includes very good TUTs which you have to follow precisely to move-on. This is a very good technique IMHO - but Sony never did any shouting, concentrating only on the output ( which everyone expects, anyway). It's possible the latest version has this.... and the 30-day trial versions...?
....Good Luck....

flyscreenman

Hi Peeps. I wonder if someone can help me. I have an old JVC GR-DVL100 camcorder and lots of kids tapes. My old computer runs Windows professional 7 and I've installed a firewire card to connect to the DV out on the camcorder. the card is installed and working properly but for the life of me it will not capture or even see the camcorder no matter what lead or anything I do so I would be grateful for any help out there.

Peter.

MarkE19

The chances are you need to get the firewire card to use the Legacy driver
Setting the Win7 1394 Bus Driver to the Legacy Version

Mark.

flyscreenman

Thanks for taking the time to reply Mark I will be giving it a whirl tomorrow evening and will report back!
Peter.

flyscreenman

Hi Mark Thanks for the help, managed to set up the legacy driver no problem but, unfortunately still does not recognize the camcorder! It doesn't even pop up in devices connected. So we move on and thanks once again for your help.
Peter.