DaVinci Resolve

I have switched to DaVinci only because of Adobe's annoying subscription model. Knowing that, I must tell you the interface is about the same, the power is about the same, and it will use the RED codec natively.

Time line layout familiar, and it was an easy switch over.

The software doesn't crash once per editing session like the other, more expensive products in existence.

Not a lot to dislike here. It's powerful, and I was up to speed in a few hours.

Firstly, it's free. It has everything anyone would ever need to make a film. From sound editing to colour correcting, all the tools it provides are professional and easy to use. Did I mention that it's free? Another great thing about the software is that it actually uses your GPU. I also particularly like its trimming tools as I find that there aren't many free video editing softwares that give you the ability to make such precise cuts on a video. This is especially useful if you're a video creator who HAS TO cut 'that scene' at just the right moment else the whole film is terrible. Yes, I'm that video creator. Visual playback isn't too shabby either- it does lag sometimes but a feature called optimized media reduces that. Lastly, the thing I probably like the most is the endless options for editing the actual video appearance. You can zoom in on it, crop it, stretch it and keyframe each change to create an animated effect.

It's system requirements. The software needs AT LEAST 16GB of DDR4 RAM to run smoothly. I currently run it on just 8GB which is fine if you don't mind lag and random software crashes. Davinci Resolve also comes with the default settings for Autosave being off. I learnt that one the hard way. It also sometimes has problems with audio output, particularly when you use more than one output device (like headphones and external speakers). Sometimes it doesn't automatically change to the system device. Another thing I noticed is that, for some odd reason, it randomly outputs mono audio from a stereo audio file but this does eventually fix itself.

All I need for editing my video's is in Davinci Resolve. I can edit op to the frame, which is exactly what I need. Also, all settings (that I use either way) are editable with numbers. That makes it easy to copy settings and values. Those were the main reasons for me to use Davinci Resolve over other products like Camtasia.

The learning curve can be a thing. I definitely needed some time to get familiar with the software. But it was worth it. Also, I needed a pretty decent computer for smooth editing of my video's. So , that might be somewhat costly for business starters.

Da Vinci Resolve is an extremely comprehensive product and offers an unbelievable range of utility and functionality. What I found most amazing was how intuitive it was. Unlike other professional video software, you don't get particularly overwhelmed on your first attempt if you've only previously worked with amateur software. The interphase is neatly designed to tuck away all the advanced tools and features just within reach as you progress, but not so upfront that you get overcome. Also, for a program whose free version far outperforms paid versions of its competitors, the amount of guidance resources and free tutorial material readily available is awesome.

The installation process can be quite tedious. They could improve it by automating the entire process. Available plugins for additional features could also be better packaged. But honestly, compared to how great the product is, I feel like these minuses are quite petty. Haha