Moving from MacBook to Windows. Help.

[SDS]

I am beginning to dive into the realm of simple aerial real estate photography and video. I was told by a few experienced operators that my older MacBook would not even come close to being usable for what I needed to do, so I bought a prett high performance Windows machine with decent storage and speed as well as a pretty good graphics processor. Please give me some suggestions on some decent but relatively user friendly processing software for video and photos. Take it easy on me. I’m just beginning this venture and I’m starting out slow so that I fully understand each step of the process. Once I’m comfortable, I will begin more complicated tasks. My eventual goal will be to replace my Mavic 3 Classic with a Mavic 3 Thermal set up.

 

[GFields]

I am beginning to dive into the realm of simple aerial real estate photography and video. I was told by a few experienced operators that my older MacBook would not even come close to being usable for what I needed to do, so I bought a prett high performance Windows machine with decent storage and speed as well as a pretty good graphics processor. Please give me some suggestions on some decent but relatively user friendly processing software for video and photos. Take it easy on my. I’m just beginning this venture and I’m starting out slow so that I fully understand each step of the process. Once I’m comfortable, I will begin more complicated tasks. My eventual goal will be to replace my Mavic 3 Classic with a Mavic 3 Thermal set up.

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!
Drop by the pilot’s check-in to introduce yourself.

I use Adobe products. Premier for Video, Photoshop, and Lightroom for photos. They do require some learning but in my opinion they are top of the line products for professional output

 

[anotherlab]

I am beginning to dive into the realm of simple aerial real estate photography and video. I was told by a few experienced operators that my older MacBook would not even come close to being usable for what I needed to do, so I bought a prett high performance Windows machine with decent storage and speed as well as a pretty good graphics processor. Please give me some suggestions on some decent but relatively user friendly processing software for video and photos. Take it easy on me. I’m just beginning this venture and I’m starting out slow so that I fully understand each step of the process. Once I’m comfortable, I will begin more complicated tasks. My eventual goal will be to replace my Mavic 3 Classic with a Mavic 3 Thermal set up.

As @GFields mentioned, the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite apps are very good. Not cheap, but very good. Plus they pretty much have the same functionality on Windows and Mac.

If you don't want to pay Adobe's subscription costs, DaVinci Resolve is really good for video editing. You can start out with the free edition and move up to Resolve Studio if that fits your needs.

 

[Mavikhan]

I use DaVinci Resolve. Very happy with it.

 

[MS Coast]

Quick and simple photo editing - Irfanview.com, free software, powerful and straightforward. It handles all the common and first level editing chores - cropping, sharpening, color, saturation and contrast adjustments, ...

For something more advanced, consider Adobe Photoshop Elements. Upgrade to the full Photoshop version if you need to,

For video, try Adobe Premiere Elements. For more power and features, move up to DaVinci Resolve. Consider the combo deal with the speed editor

 

[Deleted member 170519]

I am beginning to dive into the realm of simple aerial real estate photography and video. I was told by a few experienced operators that my older MacBook would not even come close to being usable for what I needed to do, so I bought a prett high performance Windows machine with decent storage and speed as well as a pretty good graphics processor. Please give me some suggestions on some decent but relatively user friendly processing software for video and photos. Take it easy on me. I’m just beginning this venture and I’m starting out slow so that I fully understand each step of the process. Once I’m comfortable, I will begin more complicated tasks. My eventual goal will be to replace my Mavic 3 Classic with a Mavic 3 Thermal set up.

How old was your MacBook? Graphics was what they are made for. Last window machine I ever owned was with windows 2000. I have never regretted going over to a Mac.

 

[JeffreyS]

You what?? You will miss the Mac. Why not just a new iMac since you are already there with the OS? Good luck with Windoze.

 

[Deleted member 170519]

You what?? You will miss the Mac. Why not just a new iMac since you are already there with the OS? Good luck with Windoze.

My reaction as well. My pain in the side is windoze 10/11 at work. I opted to take and use my MacBook Pro to work instead.
Much more productive

 

[anotherlab]

You what?? You will miss the Mac. Why not just a new iMac since you are already there with the OS? Good luck with Windoze.

I have a Macbook Pro with the M1 Pro and the performance and battery life are insane. I still have not yet heard the fan kick in, even with the PhotoShop, Xcode, Visual Studio, and Windows 11 running all at once. I built a new Win11 box this Spring with a 3060 card and it renders video faster with Premiere. After getting an Apple Silicon Macbook, Windows laptops are dead to me.

 

[SkyeHigh]

I have a Macbook Pro with the M1 Pro and the performance and battery life are insane. I still have not yet heard the fan kick in, even with the PhotoShop, Xcode, Visual Studio, and Windows 11 running all at once. I built a new Win11 box this Spring with a 3060 card and it renders video faster with Premiere. After getting an Apple Silicon Macbook, Windows laptops are dead to me.

Me too. I would never go back to Windows after having a MacBook Pro for 11-years and it’s still going strong. That said I am upgrading this year to an M2 MacBook Pro. Even the M1 iPad edits and plays 4K video faultlessly.

 

[waynorth]

Wise choice going for Windows PC.
I agree with post 5, Photoshop Elements for photo and Premeiere Elements for video. The Elements-versions are easier to use versions of Photoshop and Premiere Pro, with most of the functions most non-professional users will need.
Another good alternative for video already mentioned is DaVince resolve, not very steep learning curve, and it is free.

 

[SDS]

You what?? You will miss the Mac. Why not just a new iMac since you are already there with the OS? Good luck with Windoze.

I know. I may regret this big time. I hate Windows machines, but I got much more bang for the buck with this one. I felt that it had more capability than I will need without having to upgrade any hardware in the foreseeable future. My Macbook Pro that I'm using is a mid-2012 machine. It handles day to day tasks fine, but I wanted something dedicated to for pics/vid only.

 

[Deleted member 162835]

I use multiple programs for photo editing. If I'm doing HDR work I use Aurora. If I'm stitching photos or doing intensive edits I use Affinity. I use Capture One also but only for portrait work so not applicable here (at least in my case). I also use Luminar neo for finishing work after Ive used the other programs for my detailed edits. Affinity does pretty much what photoshop does with some things being better and some not as great as Adobe. It's also a one time fee.

For video I use Premiere Pro. I'm a Windows user also and have strong build. I edit 4k videos all day no issues. Only problem I've ever had was editing some h.265 video from my Mavic 3. Premiere did not like it so I had to convert it to something more manageable.

My suggestion is to pick a program, get to know it, and if it does not work for you, try something else out. Most companies offer a free trial. Make your software usage and workflow unique to you the artist.

 

[SDS]

I use multiple programs for photo editing. If I'm doing HDR work I use Aurora. If I'm stitching photos or doing intensive edits I use Affinity. I use Capture One also but only for portrait work so not applicable here (at least in my case). I also use Luminar neo for finishing work after Ive used the other programs for my detailed edits. Affinity does pretty much what photoshop does with some things being better and some not as great as Adobe. It's also a one time fee.

For video I use Premiere Pro. I'm a Windows user also and have strong build. I edit 4k videos all day no issues. Only problem I've ever had was editing some h.265 video from my Mavic 3. Premiere did not like it so I had to convert it to something more manageable.

My suggestion is to pick a program, get to know it, and if it does not work for you, try something else out. Most companies offer a free trial. Make your software usage and workflow unique to you the artist.

Thank you! Your last paragraph is very sound advice and was something I was just sitting here thinking about. Considering advice from this forum and another forum that I've been a member of for a very long time (actually a boating forum with a drone/quadcopter photography discussion thread), I think I will give the DaVinci product a try and proceed from there. I will learn some basics, see how the program works out for my needs, upgrade if needed, or move to a different editing platform.

 

[Dale D]

I am beginning to dive into the realm of simple aerial real estate photography and video. I was told by a few experienced operators that my older MacBook would not even come close to being usable for what I needed to do, so I bought a prett high performance Windows machine with decent storage and speed as well as a pretty good graphics processor. Please give me some suggestions on some decent but relatively user friendly processing software for video and photos. Take it easy on me. I’m just beginning this venture and I’m starting out slow so that I fully understand each step of the process. Once I’m comfortable, I will begin more complicated tasks. My eventual goal will be to replace my Mavic 3 Classic with a Mavic 3 Thermal set up.

One of the smartest decisions I've ever made with regards to photography was to finally dump my hated PC (top of the line Dell machine), and go to the iMAC and Mac Book Pro for traveling. Along with that, I am a complete devotee of Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro. The new MAC and Mac book Pro have the amazing power of the M2 chip which replaced the Intel chip. Apple designed this for the MAC and it is now in the M2 stage which is quite fast. Apple products have always been more graphics oriented and user friendly for me.

With the PC I always needed a support tech visit from my local guy who would come over the house for an hour or so to fix the numerous PC problems. With Apple, their APPLECARE support is free and easily available with their screen sharing abilities. I will never go back to PC.

Sorry to advise that no matter what software you use, there is going to be a stiff learning curve.

Dale
Miami

 

[Ed H]

mac

 

[anotherlab]

If you get a new Mac, just get it the way you wanted now...

 

[GordonH]

I use DaVinci Resolve. Very happy with it.

2nd DaVinci Resolve for video. It’s quickly replacing Adobe Premiere as standard and is much more stable.

There is even a free version with some limitations and the payment model is perpetual (you do have to pay for new updates past 1 year IIRC)

 

[GFields]

and is much more stable.

What do you mean?

 

[GordonH]

What do you mean?

One of the biggest complaints with Premiere is the numerous crashes which can cause headaches and of course lost work. I haven’t run into that too much because I only used Premiere for a bit before switching, but lots of bigger content creators mention that frequently in their videos about switching.