A newb question about editing!
 

Hi all,

I'm a pro photographer, but haven't fiddled with video since my Optura 100MC and Vegas Video 3 (or maybe it was 4)... anyway, that was back in 2002.

My question is -

I'd like to be able to edit my footage much the way I edit my photos - correcting color casts, changing saturation and contrast, etc.

Is Premiere Pro my best option (I use Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom currently for still photos), or are there other NLE's where I can edit these things for an entire video or scene (does Vegas allow this?)?

Cheers!

Yes, Vegas does that.

So does Premiere, Final Cut, Avid, Edius, and a handful more.

Great - but let me ask you this -

Is there one that has more control or is more intuitive? I'm very used to Photoshop - would Premiere be better for me, or are Vegas' adjustments just as powerful?

Good question... you know, we say this when we don't know the answer...

This has been debated for the last 10 years on this and a dozen other fora, and we need about another 100 years to decide... bottom line is, it's a matter of preference. You will hear people swearing by their editor of choice, getting into fights (even getting banned from the forum because of that). Truth is, you can do pretty much the same with any of them, give or take - depends on how well you learn to use it. Unless you have very narrow, specific, highly specific needs, you can use either one, except their entry level versions.

If I were you, I'd go with Premiere, it's a great tool with awesome integration into the other components of the Adobe Suite. Because it's so popular, you will find tons of free tutorials on the internet to help you started.

Arguably, the fact that you know Photoshop will help you learn it faster.

I think Ervin's right. I don't know if Premiere is necessarily more intuitive, but its interface is more typical of other, similar apps. I tried Vegas just to learn a little bit about it and after Premiere, I found the Vegas interface and way of "thinking" so odd that I gave up.

But many of those who first learned on Vegas swear by it. Certainly it takes up fewer resources and runs more stably, which are pretty strong pluses, in my opinion.

I think it's almost like a Mac/PC thing. Those who know nothing about computers find Macs incredibly easy and intuitive, while those who are used to PCs find Macs unbelievably cryptic and confusing and not the least bit intuitive. (Well, at least that was my experience.)

3 point color correction
 

If you are looking for powerful color correction, Premiere should be high on the list (but by no means is it your only good choice). The three point color correction allows you to do everything you would to correct a photograph. You can process the shadows, midrange and highlights separately, and there is even a white balance eye-dropper to help ballpark you towards a neutral white. Coming from Photoshop, you shouldn't have much of a learning curve for that realm. The editing is a different matter. 90% of what you'll do on a regular basis (cuts/dissolves/titles) are easy enough on any system you wish to try. When you want to try something more difficult, you should have easy access to answers on the various forums.

Awesome - thanks so much for the replies!

I first learned on Vegas (back in 2002), but now I'm so used to Adobe products that I might as well learn Premiere...

Cheers!