Best Video Editing Software?

How much are you looking to pay for the software?

$200? Just starting to research, what is the range? Certain features I should be looking for?

There are a few options. One industry standard is Final Cut Pro. One I like to use is Adobe Premiere Pro. Both of these are somewhat expensive, the most recent version of Premiere is $800USD. Your camcorder may have come with free or light versions of video editing software, so check your installation discs. I have had no experience with less expensive software so I can’t make any recommendations for your price point. You could always give some free software a chance, try using Windows Movie Maker and see what features it doesn’t have that you want, that way you know what to shop around for.

My initial request was for personal use, but will need something for work also. I am a fan of Adobe products, and will take a look at Adobe Premiere Pro. I was thinking that Adobe had a product available. You mentioned “Premiere Pro”. Are there different versions? If there are different versions, do you know what the differences are? I can always take a look at their site too.

I use Final Cut Pro now but previously had experimented some with basic video editors. As Dynamicduo mentioned, Windows Movie Maker is an easy way to get started especially if you’re just doing personal video. After that, you should really decide how professional you want to be with the videos you create. Industry-wise, most people prefer you to have Final Cut Pro experience… but I have noticed some employers requesting Adobe Premiere and, in rare cases, Sony Vegas. I have never really seen anyone requesting Pinnacle Studio, but that is another real easy one to use as well. Along with whatever pro editor you decide to use, make sure you get some experience with After Effects too.

I have had good results with Pinnacle Studio, which should be a lot cheaper than Adobe.

Starting out with this hobby, you may also just take a look at microsoft’s movie maker, that is available for free at http://download.live.com/moviemaker. Alternatively on a mac try iMovie. Adobe may be overkill.

If your starting out I’d say pinnacle is pretty good for a PC I used to do video workshops with kids and they used to love that software.

Now I’m on a mac I love iMovie, very simple and quick. iMovie HD from a few years back had some great effects too, sadly apple didn’t carry them forward when they overhauled the program but you can probably pick up a copy on Ebay. IMovie is part of the iLife suite and comes bundled in with all new macs, if your just buying the software it’s a real bargain as you get iMovie iDVD iWeb Garageband and iPhoto, all of which work great.