Beginner video editing software for Mac recommendation needed

[desidude]

Hello friends,

I hope everyone is doing well. I am looking for suggestions for an easy to use, preferably amateur, video editing software for use on a Macintosh.

This will be used to edit personal holiday videos taken using a DSLR camera or a smart phone.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks,
desidude

 

[Eug]

http://www.apple.com/mac/imovie/

 

[mmntech]

iMovie is probably the best for light video editing if you're a beginner. Final Cut Pro X is user friendly but will be a bit overwhelming for a noob. It's a steal though at $300. I remember when FCP used to cost over a grand.

Those are the only two editing programs you should be looking at for Mac.

 

[Rottie]

iMovie is for novice/beginner and Final Cut Pro X (FCPX for short) is for professional video editor so I started with iMovie when I first got a MacBook Pro. I think you will have no problem with iMovie. Oh it is FREE!

 

[JAG87]

I am unfavorable to the recommendations made so far, iMovie is a joke and FCP is not worth the learning curve. I vote for Adobe Premiere, and associated Adobe CC apps if you need them.

The advantage is that you can pay monthly and cancel any time, so you can pay only for what you use. If you can finish your project in 1 month or less, Premiere will cost you $20 each time. All tools will cost you $50. Unless you are travelling all year and editing video every single month, the subscription model is not a terrible choice. It is also the smallest upfront commitment. Also learning Premiere will give you an immense skill set for other Adobe CC tools, whereas learning FCP will make you proficient only in FCP and iMovie. So if you have to invest time to learn something, learn Premiere.

 

[redheeler]

I am unfavorable to the recommendations made so far, iMovie is a joke and FCP is not worth the learning curve. I vote for Adobe Premiere, and associated Adobe CC apps if you need them.

The advantage is that you can pay monthly and cancel any time, so you can pay only for what you use. If you can finish your project in 1 month or less, Premiere will cost you $20 each time. All tools will cost you $50. Unless you are travelling all year and editing video every single month, the subscription model is not a terrible choice. It is also the smallest upfront commitment. Also learning Premiere will give you an immense skill set for other Adobe CC tools, whereas learning FCP will make you proficient only in FCP and iMovie. So if you have to invest time to learn something, learn Premiere.

iMovie is fine as a simple, easy to use video editor, which is exactly what the OP is looking for.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I am unfavorable to the recommendations made so far, iMovie is a joke and FCP is not worth the learning curve.

This will be used to edit personal holiday videos taken using a DSLR camera or a smart phone.

iMovie a perfect fit for the OP's use case.

 

[Oyeve]

I am unfavorable to the recommendations made so far, iMovie is a joke and FCP is not worth the learning curve. I vote for Adobe Premiere, and associated Adobe CC apps if you need them.

The advantage is that you can pay monthly and cancel any time, so you can pay only for what you use. If you can finish your project in 1 month or less, Premiere will cost you $20 each time. All tools will cost you $50. Unless you are travelling all year and editing video every single month, the subscription model is not a terrible choice. It is also the smallest upfront commitment. Also learning Premiere will give you an immense skill set for other Adobe CC tools, whereas learning FCP will make you proficient only in FCP and iMovie. So if you have to invest time to learn something, learn Premiere.

So, upfront cost is 70 bucks, and 20 bucks a month. The OP can use imovie for free, then get FCP when hes ready and gets to keep the SW. Your proposal is expensive and adobe products, at best, are meh and huge bloated mess. The market, rightfully so, should be moving away from the mess that is adobe.

 

[JAG87]

So, upfront cost is 70 bucks, and 20 bucks a month. The OP can use imovie for free, then get FCP when hes ready and gets to keep the SW. Your proposal is expensive and adobe products, at best, are meh and huge bloated mess. The market, rightfully so, should be moving away from the mess that is adobe.

Why is the upfront cost $70? The upfront cost is $20 if he only needs premiere. $50 if needs other tools, which he probably won't. Bloated? Adobe CS is the standard for enterprise graphic design, and the latest CC applications work extremely well. Please don't confuse other Adobe products like Flash.

Of course if the OP is not up for learning a prosumer NLE application, then stick to iMovie. I just don't recommend jumping into FCP for $300 upfront, for one because it's a big investment for someone who is just getting their feet wet, and for two because it's not worth the effort to learn when compared with Premiere.

 

[mmntech]

I am unfavorable to the recommendations made so far, iMovie is a joke and FCP is not worth the learning curve. I vote for Adobe Premiere, and associated Adobe CC apps if you need them.

The advantage is that you can pay monthly and cancel any time, so you can pay only for what you use. If you can finish your project in 1 month or less, Premiere will cost you $20 each time. All tools will cost you $50. Unless you are travelling all year and editing video every single month, the subscription model is not a terrible choice. It is also the smallest upfront commitment. Also learning Premiere will give you an immense skill set for other Adobe CC tools, whereas learning FCP will make you proficient only in FCP and iMovie. So if you have to invest time to learn something, learn Premiere.

Premiere Elements maybe, which isn't a Creative Cloud app. That's geared towards beginners.

Premiere Pro CC is a professional grade app that's fundamentally similar to FCP, complete with the same learning curve. Most pro grade non-linear editors work in the same way. If you understand the basics, they're all fairly easy to pick up. The only radically different one I've encountered is Light Works. It's a bit more obtuse as it handles laying clips and edits in the timeline a bit differently. No cuts. Just ins and outs.

OP should really be using iMovie. It's probably already on his Mac.