Affordable video editing software?

CountryMouse

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I've read some of the other threads, but some of the prices of video editing software have changed/gone up, so I wanted to get the newest info I could.

I was using Windows Movie Maker while I was doing videos with my Canon PowerShot A620 camera, but I can no longer use that since Cat'r got me the Flip UltraHD camera. The Canon saved raw video as .avi files; the Flip UltraHD saves raw video in MP4 format. WMM won't take that.

So I am looking for video editing software (FlipShare is rudimentary and sucky) for under $100. What I want to be able to do is grey and sepia tone and other video effects (like old/grainy/etc), do fade ins and fade outs, have nicer-looking title screens than what FlipShare can do, add audio tracks (I have Audacity, but still am fumbling around in that). I am not at the point where I feel I can do split-screen or multiple Mousies. :p

The two that I was looking at (from previous recommendations) are Multiquence Multitrack Mixer ($50) and Vegas Movie Studio ($90). I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a microphone at some point, and I don't know how much that's going to run me/if we can afford it.

So: comments, suggestions on affordable video editing software? Thanks in advance!

P.S. Too many wingdings might confuse me, so simpler user interface would be better for me.

MODS: If this is in the wrong forum, please move. Thanks! :)

CountryMouse
 
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I use Cyberlink PowerDirector. It's a great program and has a lot of cool features. You can even upload to YT from it. You can export all kinds of different file types and sizes. If you have a webcam you can capture from it as well. I think you can get it for $79. Herman Street (online retailer) even has a promo code to get 20% off. Highly recommended.

ps. Make sure before you buy though that it can except your camera's file type. Mine are .mod file and it works fine. -John
 
Wow, this was an old thread!

Anyway, much depends which features you need, how much time and tech savvy you have to learn it, and just how limited your budget is. And which device you use.

If you need a free editor for Windows, you might want to try ShotCut. When I tried it, it was a bit unstable, but not the wordst.

If you want a popular consumer solution, I believe that PowerDirector is still a popular choice. At least my research a couple of years ago suggested so.

If you have a lot of time vs money, proffesional software such as Davinci Resolve and Lightworks have free versions. I expect them to have a steeper learning curve, but I have not tried.

If you also need music editing software, and really just want to sync video to your music, giving this is an ukulele forum, you can do both in Reaper. That is what I do. The video features in Reaper are not plenty and not super easy, but they are better that the free stuff I have tried - and render smooth with the right settings. If you allready have another DAW, this might not be for you.
 
If you’ve got a Mac, iMovie and GarageBand are included for free and able to do a bunch of stuff. I record my audio to GarageBand with a mic and then replace the audio from the camera with the (much better) mic audio and it comes out pretty well.

But like the Viking said, it depends on what you have and what you want to do with it.
 
I still use Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker … no problem with MP4's so far.
VideoLAN is capable but quirky.
Windows "Photo" app has built-in video-editing capability left over from a previous incarnation, but it's a bit "hidden", see https://www.howtogeek.com/355524/how-to-use-windows-10s-hidden-video-editor/
Most editors rely on having appropriate codecs loaded, so if you've got a particular output that won't load into your software, you may need to find a suitable codec for that format.
The K-Lite Codec Pack seems to stay well up to date, but Windows does generate a warning about it (which I ignore!)
 
I use HitFilm Express available from FXhome. The free version is very well featured and if you want to expand the functionality you just buy additional modules for what you want as a one off payment. Reasonable cost for those. No subscription. It is very well supported.
 
Davinci Resolve is industry standard software. It's free. Really nice to use. Can't imagine using something else while it's available.
I second this recommendation. Full featured software like adobe premier, has intuitive interface, lets you even use DAW plugins,etc and its free!
 
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