[biglunn]

Hiya,

I hope I dont get flamed/shot down with this post, but this is my first foray into video editing as its the first camcorder Ive ever owned! Ive searched through the forums and I just cant make my mind up. Im definately not a newcomer to computers or digital photography though.

Basically, I bought my (excellent) HF100 and got use straight away for my low key civil wedding last week. The footage is quite good, but now I neet to bring it all together with some transitions, titling, trimming, music mixing etc. So far, Ive downloaded the trial version of Corel Videostudio X2 and Im reasonably impressed with it - it seems a bit to restricted though with some of its features such as adjusting volume level adjusting/mixing - perhaps I just need to delve a little deeper to find all the options.

Before I part with my hard earned money, can fellow HF100 users recommend other software which is perhaps not so easy to get to grips with as a new user, but with patience and perseverence can reward me with superior features and options, all for around £100?

Many thanks in advance - Ive got the bulletproof vest strapped on firmly

PS- One more thing - I just copy the contents of the SD card straight on my hard drive and use the mts files in Videostudio. Some people `convert` them into m2ts files and use those - how do they convert them, and why? Cheers.

[Orwella]

I highly recommend Sony Movie Studio Platinum. It includes great tutorials making it easy to use and extremely powerful. It works fine with the HF100 and any other AVCHD format camcorder. Try it free for 30 days using the supplied link.

[biglunn]

Originally Posted by Orwella

I highly recommend Sony Movie Studio Platinum. It includes great tutorials making it easy to use and extremely powerful. It works fine with the HF100 and any other AVCHD format camcorder. Try it free for 30 days using the supplied link.

Cheers buddy! That looks awesome, although the next one up (Platinum Propack) seems even better. Downloading now - I find it much better when manufacturers give you a trial version to try out. And really important to know that it works with the HF100

Just one other thing - is the Sony weaker in any department than, say Corel Vidiostudio or Pinnacle Studio? Video titling is quite important, although I dont mind getting a separate titling software if needed.

[Orwella]

I assume by Titling you mean Credits and Text animations? If so, Movie Studio is capable of doing all that you require. I have never tried using any other AVCHD authoring software because I found the Sony stuff so easy to use, powerful and cheap. Movie Studio Platinum offers 90% of the features of Sony Vegas Pro, for 10% of the price. It is one of the few pieces of software I have found that is really worth the money (£48).

If you need to create DVD's also try Sony DVD Architect. It is another piece of great software which also has a 30 day full-use free trial.

[russelkhan]

Also check out Adobe Premiere Elements, there's a trial version at Adobe - Adobe Premiere Elements 7.

Software is a matter of personal preference, I never managed to get my head around Sony Vegas (on which Movie Studio is based) but I found Premiere Pro much easier to use. You should try both.