Editing on a Budget

[Cazsy]

I'm brand new to this editing lark - messed around with something in WMM years back, but nothing more than that. But... inspiration and a nice shiny new computer have arrived, and I'm wanting to properly try my hand at this. So, the thing is - I don't have thousands of pounds to drop on editing software. I took a look at the Adobe shop, and premiere is going for something like $799, with the new version more like $2000. I don't have that kind of cash! My question then: is there a decent editing programme that I can get on a budget? As a total noob I'm looking at some of these sites and don't even know what I need in terms of editing functions. Is there a good reason why I should be wanting to buy Vegas Pro 10 rather than Vegas Movie Studio HD 9? (Apart from wanting to spend an additional £470?)

[Pwolf]

if you're a student you can purchase any of the adobe software at significantly lower cost (Production Premium is about $500 for the whole suite). That said, Adobe Premiere Elements and Vegas Movie Studio are on the cheap and perfectly capable of good editing. There's also Magix (think it's call Magix Movie Edit Pro) which some well known editors use and that's pretty cheap as well. In the end, it doesn't really matter what software you use. I generally recommend finding a program (cheap is good) and get very comfortable with it. Then figure out if you need something more expensive and advanced.

[Cannonaire]

Right now I use Vegas Movie Studio 10 (the cheap Vegas) because that's all I can afford at the moment. I would suggest using the trial before buying.

I'm not highly experienced with other software, but Vegas offers all of the basic tools you need and a decent interface, along with the ability to edit in absolute frames. With the Pro version, you also get built-in support for masking among other things, which can be really useful, but it all depends on how much you're able to spend.

[post-it]

.. the Magix "Movie" edit pro is cheap -- yes .. in more than one way!
Vegas 8 Platinum is inexpensive and well worth it.
Adobe products can rob you blind "trying to keep-up" with the newest updates and releases.
ArcSoft is no longer in business so don't bother with them.

saving money is fine. having something which will out-last the year 2011 would be a dream come true.

if it looks like it will work for you, then get it. Its not that complicated!!