My Christmas Present is new Software

[animedays]

And I'm trying to do some research, but not finding a comparison post anywhere. We're talking easily accessible ones, not ridicuously priced...and I'm not sure which one to buy.

Sony Vegas Studio 9 Platinum

Magix Movie Edit Pro 14 PLus

Also looking at Adobe Premiere Elements, with Photoshop Elements (a bit more expensive since it's the two combined).

So, just wondering, what is your personal preference? And if you've used more than one, what are the pros and cons? I'm leaning towards the first two b/c I've used trial versions of photoshop CS3, and I don't think I'd be happy with Elements.

[animedays]

Just FYI, I did find the review page, but I want some more information if possible.

[JaddziaDax]

if you are going to go for vegas I'd suggest getting the full program and not the movie studio version...

my personal preference is Vegas, but really what you should do is download the trials and try each one out for a few days and see which one you like.

[Megamom]

I use only "Corel Video Studio Pro X2" and After Effects!

[dazza1008]

Are you a student?

[Nya-chan Production]

I have to agree that full Vegas > Studio.

Also, PhotoShop to it is all that you need.

And maybe AfterEffects, if you are lazy to make your effects from scratch.

(and Jaddzia is right, trials = cool for trying them out)

[Phantasmagoriat]

I use Magix Movie Edit Pro 10, and it seemed to do the trick, so I never tried anything else [yay for exploration ]-- and it was ~$50.
For an image editor, I just use the GIMP, which is free-- basically you just need something that can export to a .png file to retain transparency of an image so it can be overlayed over your video. And you can use Blender [also free] to create 3d effects, if you've got the patience to learn the program well enough. I've always believed that if you have access to a computer, editing doesn't have to cost much.

[Garridy]

Its not christmas yet, how you already are picking out your present?

I swear people are just so impatient.

[JaddziaDax]

most sales happen before christmas for these types of things... i can understand it

[Willen]

I'd also suggest getting Sony Vegas Pro 8 that JaddziaDax linked to. It's the CD-only version, but at $129.95 it's also only $30 more than Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum which is $99.95.

Magix Movie Edit Pro is pretty good for cheap. Version 14 is on sale now at Best Buy ($49.99 - $15.00 = $34.99). And Movie Edit Pro 14 PLUS (which has 99 tracks, compared to 32 for the regular version, plus a lot more stuff which may or may not be useful for making AMVs) is also on sale ($79.99 - $20.00 = $59.99). I'm still using version 11.