Editing Equipment

[Yousaf Ejaz]

Hey Guys,
I am in the market for some new equipment and i am thinking of getting a cannon 70D and some new editing software. I am deciding between sony vegas and Adobe after affects. Feed back would help
Thanks,
::Yousaf Ejaz

 

[S.G]

If you want a full editing software, Sony Vegas is the way to go. However, if you are a student, you can get Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, and whole slew of other programs for about 400 dollars off of Amazon.

All incredibly powerful programs though. And are you talking about the Canon 7D? Because I just got that and I can tell you that it is well worth it!

 

[RickEverhart]

If you do not want to spend that much on editing software I just bought Pinnacle 15 for $129.00 and it is very nice and came with a green screen.

http://estore.pinnaclesys.com/store/avidtech/pd/productID.225070100

 

[Yousaf Ejaz]

If you want a full editing software, Sony Vegas is the way to go. However, if you are a student, you can get Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, and whole slew of other programs for about 400 dollars off of Amazon.

All incredibly powerful programs though. And are you talking about the Canon 7D? Because I just got that and I can tell you that it is well worth it!

S.G,
Yes i was talking about the Cannon 7D, sorry it was a typo.
But do you mean i could get premier pro, after effects and photoshop all together for 400? or seperatley for 400 each?
thanks for the feed back what about final cut? what do you think about it?
Thanks,
::Yousaf Ejaz

 

[Yousaf Ejaz]

If you do not want to spend that much on editing software I just bought Pinnacle 15 for $129.00 and it is very nice and came with a green screen.

http://estore.pinnaclesys.com/store/avidtech/pd/productID.225070100

Rick,
Thanks I will look in to it what do you think about final cut?
::Yousaf Ejaz

 

[S.G]

S.G,
Yes i was talking about the Cannon 7D, sorry it was a typo.
But do you mean i could get premier pro, after effects and photoshop all together for 400? or seperatley for 400 each?
thanks for the feed back what about final cut? what do you think about it?
Thanks,
::Yousaf Ejaz

Final Cut is also an incredibly powerful and great program. As for the Adobe Products, I meant this:

http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Product...7S9G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326081081&sr=8-2

Great deal. Check it out!

 

[Yousaf Ejaz]

Final Cut is also an incredibly powerful and great program. As for the Adobe Products, I meant this:

http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Product...7S9G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326081081&sr=8-2

Great deal. Check it out!

S.G,
You are so right, this is an amazing deal! i think i might settle for this becuase i need photoshop as well, thanks so much man!
::Yousaf Ejaz

 

[RickEverhart]

Final Cut is great as well. I guess my big thing is, if you are just using it for doing some basic editing / transitions / and some cool effects here and there....anything over $200 seems crazy. Most magic videos don't need super flashy crazy animations.

Now if you are into making some stellar movies and more advanced things, have at it.

 

[Yousaf Ejaz]

Final Cut is great as well. I guess my big thing is, if you are just using it for doing some basic editing / transitions / and some cool effects here and there....anything over $200 seems crazy. Most magic videos don't need super flashy crazy animations.

Now if you are into making some stellar movies and more advanced things, have at it.

Rick,
It isn't for magic sometimes cardistry but i love taking footage and editing my old camera broke and i want some good stuff that will last a long time, thanks for the help
::Yousaf Ejaz

 

[Randy]

Well if you are making video for Magic and Cardistry I don't think many people are going to care about how advanced the editing looks or not. You could just use Sony Vegas and it would be fine.

 

[Zenn_Darkfire]

Personally I use a Sony A33 DSLR, Sony Vegas Pro 9, a Zoom H1 recorder, and an Audiotechnica Lavalier Microphone. Most internal mics on cameras suck, so you might want to invest in either a Rode shotgun mic or a Zoom H1 recorder. Also might I suggest the 60D instead of the 7D? It's cheaper, and is essentially the same camera. The only difference is that the 60D has a flip out screen where the 7D does not, and the 60D is made of slightly cheaper materials. If you purchased a 60D you could use the leftover money to invest in audio equipment, lights, or other lenses

 

[RickEverhart]

I'm with Zenn on the camera choice as well. I have the 60 D and it does EVERYTHING I need. You'll definitely want other lenses particularly the 50 mm f 1.8. It shoots insanely good pictures and does great at video as well. Zach Mueller pointed me in that direction.
A Lav mic is a must and maybe some cheap lights. The internal mic is good if the camera is right up close to what is being filmed.

 

[themontemaster]

what about editing programs that are cheap and really good at the same time for the video creator that's never made movies and is happy with simplicity and nothing crazy?

 

[GarethNg]

what about editing programs that are cheap and really good at the same time for the video creator that's never made movies and is happy with simplicity and nothing crazy?

iMovie is good if you have a Mac and easy to use. If you have Windows, maybe Sony Vegas but I don't really know.

 

[GarethNg]

Premiere is good for editing but After Effects is a compositing software. It is used for things like muzzle flashes and can also be used for titles and some effects. It is only good if you have any other type of editing software.

 

[yoourMOM]

I think Sony Vegas would be the best thing to use. AE and Premiere Pro is awfully hard to use because both are tools they are using to edit hollywood movies. You can do everything with them, if you know how to.

 

[GarethNg]

I think Sony Vegas would be the best thing to use. AE and Premiere Pro is awfully hard to use because both are tools they are using to edit hollywood movies. You can do everything with them, if you know how to.

I've learned Premiere pretty well from just the 30 day trial. It's not too hard but it takes some time to learn. Premiere is great because of the Mercury Playback Engine which allows for smooth playback of video.

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Don't get After Effects for just video editing. AE is mainly really good for special effects and color and stuff like that (Think of it as a "Photoshop", but for videos). I you want a "Cut-and-Drop"-type software, I'm gonna break it down for you:

MAC:
If you are a Mac user (Which I highly suggest if video editing is something that you're doing as a current or future carrer), then there's the Adobe Production Suites. It comes with Premire (An amazing editing software in my opinion) and After Effects (Which is really good for motion tracking, color correction, and things like that). Plus, with Adobe dynamic link, you can work seamlessly between the two and it's just a beautiful thing.

But, if you're not willing to spend a CRAP-TON of money, get final cut pro. Not Final Cut X, but the latest one before that. Final Cut Pro usually runs for around $300, but its probably less now. You get really easy, professional, editing software without hurting your wallet too bad. Sure, its not the best editing software around, but you can't rely on an editing software to just produce masterpieces on their own. Heck, give a great filmaker a Flip Camera and Windows Movie Maker and he'll still probably make something great. (At least he'll get something better out of that equipment than an amatuer would get out of a dslr and a nice, shiny editing software).

WINDOWS:
There's really only one software that does really well on Windows, and thats Sony Vegas. There are a lot of versions, (Movie Studio HD, Movie Studio Platinum, Movie Studion Production Suite, and Pro). I think its probably the easiest software out there that you can get, and it isn't very limited at all. I'm not going to break down each individual software right now, but the cheapest is about $50 and the most expensive is about $400. So, depending on your budget and how much editing you'll really do and what your needs are, the product you'll get will vary.

So those are, in my opinion, the best editing softwares for both Mac and Windows computers. Hopefully I was helpful.

And for the camera, I'm with both Rick and Josh on this one, save your money, get either a 60D or a T3i, depending on what you really need. If you're going to be doing magic, cardistry, vlogs, or anything that you'd want to be in front of the camera for, they are much more useful than a 7D. Most DSLR cameras that are around the same price have very similar picture and video quality, so you really wouldn't be losing much if you go with a different camera. So I suggest that you go out to your nearest Best Buy or camera store and try them all out for yourself to get a feel for what is best for you.

 

[Randy]

I just have one question? Why are you going to spend around 1k for a camera if you are just going to use it to vlog, do magic and cardistry? You can get a decent HD vlogging camera for around 150 bucks that will do the job just as well and it's not like the people who are going to be seeing your videos will care if you're videos aren't the highest quality ever.

" - 4 stars, I couldn't see the lines on your hands or the sweat dropping from your fore head... Next time go and spend 3k on (insert camera here) and we'll rate it higher."

 

[S.G]

MAC:
If you are a Mac user (Which I highly suggest if video editing is something that you're doing as a current or future carrer), then there's the Adobe Production Suites. It comes with Premire (An amazing editing software in my opinion) and After Effects (Which is really good for motion tracking, color correction, and things like that). Plus, with Adobe dynamic link, you can work seamlessly between the two and it's just a beautiful thing.

But, if you're not willing to spend a CRAP-TON of money, get final cut pro. Not Final Cut X, but the latest one before that. Final Cut Pro usually runs for around $300, but its probably less now. You get really easy, professional, editing software without hurting your wallet too bad. Sure, its not the best editing software around, but you can't rely on an editing software to just produce masterpieces on their own. Heck, give a great filmaker a Flip Camera and Windows Movie Maker and he'll still probably make something great. (At least he'll get something better out of that equipment than an amatuer would get out of a dslr and a nice, shiny editing software).

WINDOWS:
There's really only one software that does really well on Windows, and thats Sony Vegas. There are a lot of versions, (Movie Studio HD, Movie Studio Platinum, Movie Studion Production Suite, and Pro). I think its probably the easiest software out there that you can get, and it isn't very limited at all. I'm not going to break down each individual software right now, but the cheapest is about $50 and the most expensive is about $400. So, depending on your budget and how much editing you'll really do and what your needs are, the product you'll get will vary.

When considering these softwares, it's not necessarily true that Adobe only works on Mac. While Macs are in general better for video editing because they are specialized for it, Windows does absolutely fine as well with Adobe. Yes, Sony Vegas is an incredibly powerful program but that is not your only option in regards to software for Windows.

As for Final Cut Pro, it actually retails about 700 and up. Final Cut X is what should be called (as considered by many) iMovie Pro. It runs about $300 and is weaker than Final Cut Pro 7(?). Final Cut Pro 7 was actually only available with the Final Cut Studio package which came with Final Cut Pro, Sound, Motion and two other products (the names of which escape me as of this moment).

So really, if you are looking for a powerful editing software, you could very well just get Final Cut Pro X. However, I think that the link that I provided you with is far more cost effective.