What's your suggestion for a decent HD video editing program? Not making a full length motion picture, just fun stuff. Free would be nice but pay is ok.

Mike, this is down my alley. The good news is that you have all sorts of choice, now. There are a TON of basic programs for editing out there that are offered as free. You are then pitched to buy the higher-end upgrade. Your Mac and Windows OS usually have some sort of free editing software, as well. These all do basic cuts, effects, and even some authoring.

If you go to CNET.com and do a search under the downloads section, you'll find a plethora of choices. (Over 500 products with over 200 listed as free.) They are also indexed by editors choice, most popular, Windows, Mac, free, etc..

Just so you have a point of reference, the pros would use something like Adobe Creative Suite (which I have). Its actually a suite of several softwares that do everything from editing, to audio, to graphics. You can now buy this as a cloud service from Adobe for $49 a month.

Sounds like you'll do just fine with a freebie program. In fact, the cheaper ones tend to have the easiest learning curves.

Hope this helps. Happy New Year!

Thanks Shyam

I don't recommend to download free editing software.
Either way buy a lightly outdated software for I dunno, ca. 9.99US$ that is still being supported by it's publisher.
If you buy free software it won't have the things you need, when you need 'em, or your trial period is up/ you can't safe the edit or export the clip, and then you will have to buy it...anyway.
Except then you may not have your first choice software but just the one that was free.

So either invest or download somewhere.

Windows XP had quite a nice Video editing software but on my (Original Win7 it sucks it has less than basic functions).

And if you think I will just cut with the Windows Movie Maker and import in other software. Forget about that, you clip will get a codec signature and in most cases crash the programs when you import them into other editing software.
So go with one software and invest a few (literally) dollars....it's worth the trouble in terms of cursing, frustration and kicking in the monitor...lol

IMO, a fantastic and often underestimated -beginner/ semi pro video editing software is Sony Vegas.
Because in the effect/add-on section it will show (preview) you what the effect will do when you move the cursor over the available effect.

Thus saving you tons of time, avoiding trial and error, coz most other software just give names to the effect and if you don't know what Gaussian Blur or Chroma Key is, it comes in handy.

Plus there you will learn really fast even without tutorial how to (basic) cut and edit, color correct, add effects..etc.
Furthermore, it's very lenient towards other software and codecs as long as you have a completed video clip. The latest Version has FullHD support and plays/accept a whole range of files and codecs.

If you are trying to step into the professional or more serious editing field you may have to switch to Final Cut or Adobe Premiere Pro but after a few weeks or month with Vegas it will be smooth and you will just have to memorize the keyboard short cuts since all programs have pretty much the same layout.

Last thing you have to keep in mind the software isn't the most important but rather the add-on's. And the default add-on's on Vegas are more plentiful than other software, plus a lot of guys making their own add-on's and make them available for download.

Mike,

I agree with Dude that Sony Vegas is nice software. However, it has a significantly higher learning curve than most others. Since you indicated that this is for "fun stuff", I'm gathering that you want something that you can figure out how to use within a couple of hours. Packages like Vegas are definitely not in that club. (Also, I think Vegas costs in the mid-$70 range.)

Some cheaper and reputable alternatives are:

Pinnacle Studio 17 - About $60

Cyberlink PowerDirector 12 - About $50

Nero - About $40

I think any of these would be more than overkill for your "having fun" purposes. They are all very easy to learn. However, if you do think that you want to do some fancyschmancy stuff in the future, you may want to plop down a bit of money, as Dude suggests.

Here's another handy little comparison from online:

video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ppc-index.html

video-editing.findthebest.com/[...]

I would disagree a bit with Dude about trying free software. From the sound of your description, you don't really need much. So, it may be worthwhile to try some of the freebies, or "free to try" ones out there. In fact, sometimes you will find little packages that are so effective that even pros use them for simple clipping jobs. Some colleagues of mine in the U.S. do all of their work on the most expensive HD editor out there - Avid DS. Still, they found some cheap, little, freeware program that they use to do most of their clip editing. (Mainly, because its both easy for the producers to use, and its really effective.)

Whatever you choose, make sure you have lots of fun with it!

Good luck!
Shyam

Mike,

If you opt for free, you may find this useful:

video-editing.findthebest.com/[...]

@ Shayam I assume you never used Vegas.
As I stated earlier you don't have to buy the latest version you can find older versions on amazon and such.

We used Vegas as a rookie hill for new editors in the film company I worked for. Most career crossing editors were able to produce acceptable web videos in a day, besides color correction which is the most painstaking job on multiple camera shots or different lighting.

As I said earlier Vegas is more fun because you can see the effects while you move your cursor over it.
The biggest buzzkill is remembering the effects and add-ons and what they do plus in other products you would have to go through the tutorial which means leaving the work station.

Pinnacle is the master of crashing, hence the price.
Maxic has a good music maker but again using their product means you would have to buy their add-on's and they are very very expensive.

In terms of editing fun means, little or no frustration, and easy to use effects (color correcting is part of it) and in that one Vegas is the best.

Actualy I asked the editors in training to remember the effects and names of the add-on's and find them in Premiere (the company house software) and after a week, they got it pretty well.

What kind of nonsense is that with higher learning curve. Like every editing software you need 4 major keyboard short cut commands, cut, trim, copy, paste, the rest will come on the way. As I said the best part of Vegas is the preview.
Plus you got everything you need, no need to buy extra add-on's, restricted, export and saving.

Trust me don't use free software, you will pay anyway in the end.

Hence the being free of charge. Nobody offers something for free.

You can spend days trying new freeware and hoping you won't have to pay, register, buy add-on's or just fight constant crashing.

About the other non compatible tools. I had a producer who used one of those packages as well to just cut. Because he was so much smarter than us, right? In the end his cuts were terrible, the codecs didn't fit, so we worked days to fix it. He was the producer so what can you do.

That said if Mike would go into the business any time soon, which I seriously doubt, most producers know their software and film making process very well and appreciate good work and programs.

There are 2 softwares in Shayams list that makes sense:
Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas. The others are trying to establish their own system and thus are not very compatible, bug ridden or require you to buy extra stuff.

I can't believe that Shayam recommends this. Just invest 50 to 100 bucks if you stop editing sell the software.

What do you mean by "fun stuff"? Fun video effects for personal use, or basic editing for your business? If the latter, i'd also recommend spending some money on an established software. Vegas is a pretty good choice, and doesn't have a steep learning curve at all. I used to use it when I was in high school, editing amateur DJing videos with other friends to animate school parties. That was when Winamp and eJay were all the craze. Like theDudesons said, it's pretty much WYSIWYG and even a 10yo would be able to use it. A computer with current common specs will be able to handle it.

Dude, actually I was a broadcast salesman with one of the larger dealers in the U.S.. Over the years, I'd sold and used most of the major NLE systems out there, including the old Media 100, Avid, FAST, Final Cut, Adobe Premiere, etc, etc. I was also a professional video production tech for a lot of years before that. I demoed Vegas when it came out in the late 90s and have seen it emerge over the years. Like I said, it's a nice little system. (Although, pros would never use it because it has certain "orphan" features that don't operate well across a production enterprise.) So, I agree with you that it's a nice, relatively cheap editor.

Having said that, you are really cherry picking facts, if you maintain that it is insanely easy, compared to things like Windows Movie Maker and Nero. While Vegas is relatively easy, it isn't the type of program that you'll be fully versed on, in 20 minutes. Just the fact and to say differently means that you are either disregarding your own prior experience, or over-estimating the experience of others.

Frankly, both you and Yankee are doing something that no professional broadcast salesman would do. Specifically, you are not listening to the "customer" and you are bringing your own prejudices to the table. Read Mike's original posting:

"What's your suggestion for a decent HD video editing program? Not making a full length motion picture, just fun stuff. Free would be nice but pay is ok."

Now, if you analyze it, what does it portend about issues like cost-sensitivity, project requirements, hardware capabilities, and learning curve expectations? Does he sound like a guy who is preparing to use this for business purposes?? Does it sound like he is in need of extensive color correction, effects, graphics, file management, etc.?? Also, since he is editing smaller, lower-level projects, why should you be concerned about crashing? Crashing occurs primarily from math errors caused by multi-layering, which outpaces the ability of your CPU to process. (In other words, this is irrelevant to someone doing simple editing.) I also wouldn't gloss over the hardware requirements for the type of functionality that you guys describe. I mean...you don't need a Cray to do some of this stuff, but it ain't gonna fly on a 3 year old Pentium, either. (Bottom line: Don't plop down money on an elaborate software package that your computer may not be able to support.)

As for myself, I came to China armed with an Intel Core i7 PC with an nVidia GPU, running full Windows 7. On the software side, I have Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (CS5.5) Production Premium. I shoot my HD video in 1080i, or 1080p on my JVC GY-HM150U, or my Canon T2i. (Translation: A $3000 computer built for video production + a $2000 professional video editing/graphics/effect/audio/etc. package + a $3000 professional camcorder outfit + a $1500 DSLR package.) I'm also considering upgrading to Adobe CS6, ($700) since the slow Internet here makes use of Adobe's Creative Cloud services unpredicatable. I'm better outfitted than most foreign news bureaus here....but STILL...I'd NEVER presume to recommend a sledgehammer to someone who asks for a ball-peen hammer.

Bottom-line: Mike, ignore all this stuff and try out the free stuff first. You have nothing to lose by doing this and you may just find something that serves your purpose and costs little, or nothing.

Good luck! :)

Shyam,
Can I ask you a couple of questions.... maybe off-topic?
1 - are you suggesting that you absolutely need a powerful PC to be able to run the higher-end editing software?
2 - why do you use both a camcorder and a DSLR for video? do each have a specific purpose? which tool do you prefer?