Anyone into Photo/Video/Audio editing?
 

Just curious what cameras and recorders you might be using.

I got back into this stuff after taking a break many years and everything has changed a lot. Used to shoot with a Canon 20D back in the day, but looking to get a nice mirrorless camera to shoot 4k video along with an audio recorder.

Also curious about what software suites people are editing in aside from what Adobe has to offer.

My brother (an amateur photographer) and my sister in-law (a professional photographer) both swear by two photo editing softwares for ease of use.

VSCO (a photo editing app) has a premium package for $20 a year that is supposed to be stellar.

When that doesn't come into play, Adobe Lightroom is great. Apparently you can make a few of your own favorite photo editing presets and apply them to photos (even with the app)

I'm not big into photography, but I would have to guess that photoshop is still the standard, or at least among the best options. I think it's really pricey though, maybe even subscription based now.

As for video editing, iMovie isn't bad if you have a Mac. Final Cut Pro is the one that we used when I did some work for a local television network. It's got more options than iMovie and is generally better in my opinion, plus you can cut to different camera angles, which I don't think you can on iMovie.

I've done work with video editing. I've always stuck with free programs. I've used: Da Vinchi Resolve, Light-works, windows movie maker, and Vegas. They're pretty good (aside from the movie maker).
The one I've liked the best has been Da Vinchi. The free version is absurdly packed with features, and pretty in depth. It's got all I need when it comes to editing videos. Not as glitchy as Vegas or Lightworks.
Lightworks is pretty simple yet powerful. Can't do as much as Da vinchi and a bit buggier.
Just remember to save often when editing video.

Otherwise, for audio I just use audacity.

Oh the video cameras I’ve dropped and have broken over the decades!

I started in the early 1990s with a Sony Handicam with the standard video cassette tape. I’d dub them onto VHS. My last video camera was a digital Sony with a hard drive. I just threw it away while cleaning up my office as I’ve not used it for six or seven years due to it having a vertical scroll issue with the screen, rendering the touch controls unusable (I’ve researched a fix, but none is known).

As for editing, my first was some big box that connected between my old Windows 3.1 computer and a VHS video recorder. Archaic and complicated controls. My last computer based editor was an Adobe Photoshop based editor. I still have it on my old warhorse Toshiba laptop running Windows Vista, but don’t use it any longer as it doesn’t support modern formats any longer; it also takes nearly a full day to render a DVD after editing.

Today I shoot video with my cell phone and use iMovie on my iPad. My inexpensive LG Rebel 4 Android cell phone takes impressive video. I import the videos into my iPad with a SanDisk Lightning/USB flash drive using my old Toshiba. My iMovie is the free app that came with my latest iPad. It isn’t anywhere near as versatile as the Photoshop based program, but I can whip out an enjoyable video in little time. I store my videos on an external 1TB hard drive on my old Toshiba, along with all my other media.

Back in the day when I did far more travel and off roading, I rigged up a dash mounts for my old Sony Handicams in my old ‘96 Chevy S-10 4x4 and ‘02 Tacoma TRD 4x4. I’ve added drama to my videos by holding the camera out the window, holding it outside and looking back at fellow off road friends in their rigs, deep creek crossings. I had one camera die by falling at 70mph, another drowning in a 5’ deep swift water creek crossing and still missing to this day. As well as two cameras dying by dropping onto rocks while on foot.

Cyberlink Power Director 20 is a good video editing tool. I have that, Adobe Premier Elements 2022 and Visual Studio Pro 2020.

Don't expect much in the way of company support from any of them. They all point you to their user forums. If you have a technical issue they copy and paste something from there or their knowledge base. I've had to do my own research to fix issues or find a workaround. Of the 3, Power Director is the best.

I don't do a lot with photos but when I do, I use GiMP.

My gf laughs at GiMP (she's a graphic designer with access to the Adobe suite, says the new neural filters are pretty sweet).

My ex had a photography business, she used lightroom for almost everything (although I took her logo and made a watermark for her using GiMP).

Video editing I haven't done in a while, cannot remember what I used to use but all I really did was cut frames and add transitions so...

1. Sony Alpha series (e.g., Sony A7III, Sony A7SIII). These mirrorless cameras are known for their excellent video capabilities, including 4K recording.

2. Zoom H5 and H6. Portable audio recorders that provide high-quality audio recording and versatile features.

3. DaVinci Resolve. A comprehensive video editing software.

I started off years ago with the Nikon D80 when it came out. Then got a Canon 650D. Both these cameras served me really well till today. I recently wanted to dip my toes into the mirrorless cams, so I got a Sony 6600. Drones also got my attention, so I picked up the DJI Mini Pro 3.

I'm definitely going to shelf the Nikon and the Canon and get a full frame Sony body next. I find myself moving towards more video now, so the A7S3 is on my radar at the moment.

I've been using Premier and Topaz AI and it's been awesome! Bit of a learning curve, but YouTube is incredibly powerful at teaching.

I've already covered my video work. Now still photography. I shoot a lot of photos daily, chronicling my daily activities.

Started with various 35mm SLR cameras starting in the early 1970s.

Switched to digital with my original Sony Mavica about 1998. Resolution was 640x480 pixels. Used standard floppy disks, which appealed to me as the first memory cards were hyper expensive in those days for little storage space.

About 2001 My original Mavica died, I replaced it with another Mavica, with 1.2 megapixel resolution. Still used floppy disks.

That camera died about 2006. I replaced it with some Kodak premium model, which had multiple auto and manual exposure modes (aperture/shutter preferred, etcetera). I think it had something like 3 megapixel resolution.

That camera went kapooph about 2012 and I replaced it with my current inexpensive Kodak, which has 16 megapixel resolution and with a 16x optical zoom.

However, I use my phone the most. LG Rebel 4, around 8 megapixel resolution.

As for photo editing, I used until recently Adobe Photoshop Elements; using my old Toshiba Satellite laptop running Windows Vista. Recently I was given a Dell desktop running Windows 10. I've found that auto enhancing photos with the default photo editor does a good job of making photos from my phone pop and far faster than my Win Vista computer. I generally label my photos with at least the date, sometimes verbiage describing what the photos is about if not readily apparent. I found that I can do that in Window Paint 3D. Even enhancing my photos with two programs, it is far quicker than my old Toshiba and Photoshop to whip out a batch of photos.

I am using the Sony A7 III for my photography and video needs. It's a fantastic mirrorless option for shooting 4k, and I chose it for its incredible low-light performance and stabilization. For audio, I've been using a Zoom H5; simple but does the job.

As for editing, I am using Movavi. It's got some neat automated features like automatic transitions mode, AI background removal, and color adjustment presets. You can find more features it offers on this link.

I'm a professional photographer and videographer, so I shoot almost daily. What are your goals and do you run a Mac or PC?

I used Premiere Pro for awhile but it's horrible, at least for what I do. I quickly switched to FCP (which I used years ago for a different gig) and it is so much better if you run a Mac. Photoshop and Lightroom are the standard and just work for photography.

As far as cameras go, it depends on your budget and what your goal is. Hobby, vlog, money maker, business?