DaVinci Resolve or lightroom

[Mazdaman323lx]

Ok folks , have made a conscious decision to learn how to edit my drone videos better over the coming winter months using either of the above. Which do you recommend I go with ? Is there pro and cons for either . Any suggestions or is there other software out there I should consider. Thanks in advance for your advice

 

[SkyeHigh]

Ok folks , have made a conscious decision to learn how to edit my drone videos better over the coming winter months using either of the above. Which do you recommend I go with ? Is there pro and cons for either . Any suggestions or is there other software out there I should consider. Thanks in advance for your advice

Adobe Lightroom is for photographs. Premiere Pro is Adobe’s video editor.

Davinci Resolve is a no brainer. The free version is very little different to the full version and a very capable editor. It’s easy to use and relatively quick to learn.

Premiere Pro will cost a lot in the long run due to the subscription model.

 

[VenomXts]

Davinci, the free version is more than you need for editing drone video's and the wealth of you tube videos of how to do stuff makes it pretty easy to pick up.

 

[ninja_geezer]

try Filmora aswell way more computer friendly and way faster than divinci.i tried a few and settled on filmora ,if my pc was a very powerfull new build i may go and try divinci again.

 

[THE CYBORG]

Ok folks , have made a conscious decision to learn how to edit my drone videos better over the coming winter months using either of the above. Which do you recommend I go with ? Is there pro and cons for either . Any suggestions or is there other software out there I should consider. Thanks in advance for your advice

For RAW images Darktable or Raw Therapee are free instead of Lightroom

 

[icecoldgin]

Just to chime in and ask: so if you are going to do both video and photo editing, should you get Lightroom and Premier Pro?

Can Adobe Photoshop also do what Premier Pro can do?

 

[vindibona1]

Again.... Davinci is a no brainer. Full featured editor for FREE! The "Studio" version is just a suped-up version of the free one.

IMO there is one universal truth: Any software you start off knowing nothing about requires a learning curve. I believe that 90% of the battle with any software is knowing WHAT you want to do with with your videos or images. Once you know what you want if the software has the capability, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out the "hows". Something else that, while not universal, but certainly true of Davinci Resolve, is that once you grab the basics of it, the more advanced stuff can be learned in bite-sized pieces.

As far as Premier Pro goes it is reputed to be a very good editing program. However, Adobe has come up with a software rental scheme that perpetually picks your pocket. You're never done paying them. And that's my big beef with them. I'll save you all from the rant as I've vented about it on other threads. As far as the other most popularly named contender, other than Final Cut Pro (Mac only) is Filmora 9. I suspect Davinci Resolve isn't that much harder to learn than Filmora, but from what I've seen has way more options for advanced work.

So try Davinci Resolve. Unlimited free trial. What can you lose?

 

[Jeff A]

I would have to guess that one of the most posted threads on this Board would be "What is the best video processing software.......". I think this title gets posted at least once a week. If you use the search function on the forum, I'm sure you will be provided with more reading material that you could possibly read. Good luck!

 

[jagraphics]

I do a lot of Video editing (mainly ground based news and documentary work) . Rexolve is NOT a good choice to start with. yes it is free but it is very buggy, has no tool tips and a 3,500 page PDF manual that is so opaque you will need the other dozen how to PDF's (each of multiple 100 pages) that are slightly less opaque.
It depends what platform you are on.
On Mac use iMovie. and then look at FCPX.
On PC there are multiple options including lightworks.

BTW I have been video editing for about a decade and have been getting to grips with Resolve for the last 6 months. Unfortunatlry it is rooted in a history and workflow from the last millennium. Those in the Hollywood LA/London bubble love it. As for the rest... well. FCPX has more paying users than Resolve has paying+free users. BMD do seem to be adressing this slowly but not this year

 

[Drumsagard]

Ok folks , have made a conscious decision to learn how to edit my drone videos better over the coming winter months using either of the above. Which do you recommend I go with ? Is there pro and cons for either . Any suggestions or is there other software out there I should consider. Thanks in advance for your advice

These are the two programmes I use, one is for video (Davinci) the other is for photographs (Adobe Lightroom). I wouldn't dream of trying to process photos in Davinci or video in LR, horses for courses

 

[Squidinc]

I disagree with some that say Davinci Resolve is easy to pick up. I found it difficult even with the plethora of YouTube tutorials. All my devices are Apple, so I had no trouble in graduating from iMovie to Final Cut Pro X once I started getting a little more serious with my MA2 footage. I reckon the one time cost is worth every cent and I don’t get lost & frustrated like I was with Davinci. At the end of the day it really comes down to what you want out of your video editing, and what you feel more comfortable in learning and using. As for photo editing, I reckon Lightroom wins hands down.

 

[Edward Knight]

DaVinci Resolve 16 is incredible and not hard to learn. I recommend The YouTube Channel Ground Control run by Casey Ferris for learning. He takes you through literally the absolute basics all the way to complex tasks in short and easy to understand lessons. All of his YouTube videos are taken from his paid courses. So, you get just about anything you will need.

 

[theDRONEranger]

IMHO: the top 4 contenders for beginners are (not listed in any particular order)

1. Wondershare Filmora9. Free w/watermark or $99
2. Wondershare FilmoraPro. $99
3. Adobe Premiere Elements 2020 or 2021. $99 as pkg deal w/ Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 or 2021. No Cloud Rqd. R
4. DaVinci Resolve 16. Free and has D/L tutorial

My for what it’s worth: Adobe Premiere Elements 2020 or 2021 if available.

1. Beginner package, (has add on’s)
2. SemiProfessional Model, (has add on’s)
3. Adobe Is a world leader in video/photo production software varies with pkg. recommend dual pkg deal
4. Free DaVinci is a camera manufacturer/supplier that gives away the video production. They also have a higher capability for $$$

*. Pricing is often more relaxed when purchased as a dual product of Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 and Adobe Premiere Elements 2020. Beginner/Guided/Expert modes. NO monthly cloud required for these products. These are stand alone and excellent package. Many very useful photo/video elements included.

 

[macfawlty]

Again.... Davinci is a no brainer. Full featured editor for FREE! The "Studio" version is just a suped-up version of the free one.

IMO there is one universal truth: Any software you start off knowing nothing about requires a learning curve. I believe that 90% of the battle with any software is knowing WHAT you want to do with with your videos or images. Once you know what you want if the software has the capability, it shouldn't be that hard to figure out the "hows". Something else that, while not universal, but certainly true of Davinci Resolve, is that once you grab the basics of it, the more advanced stuff can be learned in bite-sized pieces.

As far as Premier Pro goes it is reputed to be a very good editing program. However, Adobe has come up with a software rental scheme that perpetually picks your pocket. You're never done paying them. And that's my big beef with them. I'll save you all from the rant as I've vented about it on other threads. As far as the other most popularly named contender, other than Final Cut Pro (Mac only) is Filmora 9. I suspect Davinci Resolve isn't that much harder to learn than Filmora, but from what I've seen has way more options for advanced work.

So try Davinci Resolve. Unlimited free trial. What can you lose?

I wouldn’t characterize Adobe as continuously picking your pocket. Adobe Creative Cloud provides access to every piece of software in the catalog for about $60/month. It’s the best deal in the history of software considering the majority are professional industry standards. I believe, however, they have only 2 subscription packages; $20/mo. for a LR/PS package and; $60/mo. for everything.

I started on Adobe Premiere over 20 years ago, also used FCP7 and FCPX. I currently use Resolve Studio 16, but I can see the loyalty to Premiere & AfterEffects. Motion graphics in Resolve using Fusion I still haven’t figured out.

Excepting the motion graphics issue, the free version of Resolve makes a lot of sense. The node-based color grading has a learning curve, but it was considered one of the best even before BMD added the editing component. Non-linear Editing In Resolve is similar to Premiere, whereas FCPX is not. FCPX is very capable and has motion graphics built in, but editing feels quite different than all other NLE’s. I use it for adding special effects from the huge library of pixel film studios.

 

[TreeHugger]

Davinci has grown on me. I haven't done anything really cool with it yet but am now familiar enough to be able to quickly cut & "splice" things together with transitions that are not "horrible"

 

[theDRONEranger]

Davinci has grown on me. I haven't done anything really cool with it yet but am now familiar enough to be able to quickly cut & "splice" things together with transitions that are not "horrible"

For those that do desire to learn DaVinci Resolve 16, there is a downloadable tutorial available in the same website. Download and unzip.

 

[vindibona1]

I wouldn’t characterize Adobe as continuously picking your pocket. Adobe Creative Cloud provides access to every piece of software in the catalog for about $60/month. It’s the best deal in the history of software considering the majority are professional industry standards. I believe, however, they have only 2 subscription packages; $20/mo. for a LR/PS package and; $60/mo. for everything.

I started on Adobe Premiere over 20 years ago, also used FCP7 and FCPX. I currently use Resolve Studio 16, but I can see the loyalty to Premiere & AfterEffects. Motion graphics in Resolve using Fusion I still haven’t figured out.

Excepting the motion graphics issue, the free version of Resolve makes a lot of sense. The node-based color grading has a learning curve, but it was considered one of the best even before BMD added the editing component. Non-linear Editing In Resolve is similar to Premiere, whereas FCPX is not. FCPX is very capable and has motion graphics built in, but editing feels quite different than all other NLE’s. I use it for adding special effects from the huge library of pixel film studios.

As far as my comment about Adobe "picking my pocket", I have one major beef: The Photoshop(CS3) software that I PURCHASED, WITHOUT STATED LIMITATION OR EXPIRATION can no longer be activated- in spite of the fact that is it is still fully functional on all Windows OS systems and computers! As a mostly retired professional photographer who found there is nothing in the current versions of Photoshop that I couldn't do in CS3, in spite of some of the newfangled automation, unlike when I was using it every day, all day, I resent having to pay for upgrades when I don't need them (or want them). I pay the same whether I use it one day per month or every day-- or no days. I guess you could (metaphorically) put me in the "pro-choice" category. FWIW, I find the later versions of Photoshop slower and clumsier than older versions, unsuitable for my older computers that don't have high-RAM accelerated graphics cards and are still running Intel Duo processors. The other thing that I've not seen mentioned is that Adobe can raise their prices at will, making the choice to pay up binary; eat it or leave.... [EDIT]... One more thing... I find Lightroom clumsy and there are other (IMO) better alternatives to LR. I suppose that goes back to my original statement that you have a learning curve on any software. Early days of LR just sucked.

I am thrilled to have a program like Davinci Resolve to learn on FOR FREE. It has motivated me to do more flying and more videos in general. I am currently plotting my cash flow as I intend to pay the $300 for the studio version, primarily for the GPU acceleration, and will take the other features as a bonus gift.

Re: Node based color grading....
I've learned to think about nodes much like layers in Photoshop. Nodes that come later are like layers on top. If it makes it easier, you can arrange the nodes vertically rather than horizontally to mimic layers. But the nodes are more complex because you can merge nodes at any point, so it's like 3 dimensional layers. You can color grade on one node, or use several. Each node can be dialed down for it's affect, much like opacity in layers. The thing is that success in color grading is largely knowing what you want to achieve before setting out to do it. The "how" then becomes largely intuitive once you have the concept of how it works in your head. I think coming to Davinci Resolve with no routines from other editors it's easier to learn than if you have to shift gears from something else. JMO

As far as motion graphics in Fusion, yeah, it's more complicated, largely I think because of the power, but also because it lacks any kind of automation in this regard. I think the key is to understand how keyframes work in Davinci and aren't innately intuitive and I've found to be where the initial complexity resides in this program. Fusion does have the steepest learning curve, but IMO is the least important thing to learn for those (like me) just getting into video editing. I think learning this module is where one transcends after mastering the basics. I'm certainly not there yet, but will be some day soon, I hope.

 

[eaglesurfing]

IMO.....
I would not use any Adobe because I had to install and keep updated the software when I was working.
I never like the pricing or the time it took to keep it updated.
There will be certain people who will like certain software and you should check to see what you can use to learn how to use it for free.
If you can use the software without being require to pay more for add on to make it work.
I settled on buying lifetime plan for Filmora 9 and still learning how to use it but there are several free video showing me how to do it.

 

[SkyeHigh]

I gave up using Premiere Pro many years ago (for personal use). It was slow, buggy and Adobe still could get in their heads that audio tracks should be mono. They persisted with stereo tracks for years. Stereo isn’t for editing it is an output format. And of course there is the subscription model, which I will never entertain. I still heavily use Lightroom, Photoshop and InDesign CS6 and there is nothing in more recent releases that are of any use to me.

I’ve edited with Avid MediaComposer for more years than I care to remember. It is the broadcast and film industry NLE editor of choice. I ended up working for Avid and teaching people who had never seen an NLE before. It’s probably the toughest one to learn but once familiar it is by far the fastest to use.

I’ve also used Apple’s Final Cut 7. An immensely capable editor for the Mac platform. Sadly Apple decided it no longer wanted to support the professional world and dropped it like a ton of bricks. Instead they came out with the consumer FCPX, an appalling piece of software unlike any traditional editor. They rewrote the book and lost many an editor - including me.

So I turned to Davinci Resolve and have never looked back. It’s very similar to Premiere Pro and follows the traditional, and logical, editing process. I certainly haven’t found it buggy. It’s fast, reliable, fully featured and costs nothing.

iMovie has its place. It’s very basic, by comparison, but can produce impressive results and may be enough for many people.

 

[Dale D]

Adobe Lightroom is for photographs. Premiere Pro is Adobe’s video editor.

Davinci Resolve is a no brainer. The free version is very little different to the full version and a very capable editor. It’s easy to use and relatively quick to learn.

Premiere Pro will cost a lot in the long run due to the subscription model.

I have been an Adobe customer for many years, starting with Photoshop 1!!!! When Adobe finally went to the annual subscription model, many photographer's rebelled. I stuck with it, purely out of laziness, although I have installed at least 3 different photo editing softwares (Luminar, Viveza, and Topaz). Then, I bought a Mavic Air 1 and for about a year and a half, I was frustrated in not being able to edit video. I eventually taught myself and with help, learned Adobe Premier Pro. I am, by no means, an expert but I did manage to learn enough to put out a half way decent video.

I was also able to finagle a free Adobe Creative Suite through the local university since was on the faculty of the medical school and used their university program for free for about a year or so. They then cancelled me after I left the university volunteer teaching program.

I now have been able to buy into Adobe's discount program, so I am now getting the entire Creative Cloud suite (Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and many other softwares) for $24.99 a month. I have stuck with Premiere out of sheer LAZINESS. I just cannot go through another learning curve, although I am sure that Da Vinci Resolve would be relatively simple to learn, and it would be either free, or a small, one-time cost, which I would have no problem paying for.

My advise as a beginning video editor would be to try to lean the free Resolve watching a lot of You Tubes. If it doesn't serve your needs, you can always buy the expensive Adobe Creative Suite.