Wisdom of Veterens Needed...

[joshsiao]

I am in the bout of upgrading software in my computer and have already gotten Office 2003. Now the only thing that I need else to compete this is:

1. A good graphics editing software (preferably if it has features for designing graphics too. I heard that Corel Draw 12 is coming out but I am not sure if its good becasue some people say that Photoshop is 10x better. But I like Corel's Graphics Suite becasue it has a editing software and graphics creation software in one package.

2. A good movie editing software. I am sort of in charged of my family's digital album and have to edit both pictures and movies. I need a good program for editing movies taken by my cam. Windows Media Movie Maker just dosen't cut it anymore. Its getting quite lame. I want a more professional feel to my movies.

I would be very grateful if you can help me make some choices. Thanks. :)

[phishhead]

well alot of people use photoshop. but I like psp8.0. Tinker can fill you in more since I just do simple picture corrections and fix scratches stuff like that, but if you have questions more advanced then tinker can help you out. now with the video I use Ulead and Pinnacle. both are about the same. you can edit, add/remove frames, add images/sounds, transitions the normal stuff and its fairly simple to use. but just to encode and burn a movie straight from the camera I use easy cd creator 6. 3 click proccess and you have a s/vcd.

[Coffee]

It depends what type of graphics you want to be creating or editing. Corel Draw is more a 'vector' based package, whilst something like Adobe PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro are more for 'raster' graphics. If you after touching up things like DigiCam photos etc, your best bet is PhotoShop, whereas Corel Draw is more for creating things like clipart.

If your running Windows XP a nice and easy movie editing software package is it's very own Movie Maker. If not, there are plenty of packages for creating movies, as phishhead (http://www.techzonez.com/forums/member.php?u=5) mentioned, Ulead are a very good company to look into. If your wanting to compress your video then also take a look at DivX or XVid.

[joshsiao]

Hmm yes. I need to do touch up on photos from my digi cam but I also need to create graphics. They say that Corel Draw Graphics Suite can provide this. But I am more into editing photos rather than creating graphics. But It'll be good if its 2 in 1.

Yes, alot of my friends use Ulead. And yes I do need to compress video. I am hoping to find a program that can do both rather than look for program specificially for a purpose. I am those type who like all in one kind of thing. And I have also heard of Adobe Premier Pro 7.0. Is this good?

[Coffee]

From my experience i'd probably say, generally go with any Adobe products. They usually provide very user friendly applications and don't overload you with too many options unlike Corel. Pluss you don't need too much free space on your computer if you havne't got it to spare. However, they are probably more expensive when compared to someone such as Ulead who also do a full range of graphics products.
For video compression usually they will have standard video codecs to use when installed. However for additional codec you can simply download more, install them and they should be selectable by most applications.

[joshsiao]

Hmm... I am thinking of Corel Draw... Can you tell me if the photo editing program that comes in the suite (Photo-Paint) is as good or better or worse than Photoshop? Becasue I know that the suite already has Corel Draw, the graphics creation software. Becasue the last time I used Corel Draw was Corel Draw 8, meant for Win 95 but I was using it on XP. And don't worry, I have lots of free HDD space. About 77GB out of my 80GB HDD.

Yes, I have used Movie Maker but its quite low level. I've tried the iMovie on the Mac in my school and its really professional. But I don't have a Mac... So yeah, I've gat my search narrowed down to Ulead and Adobe Premiere Pro. Thanks.

[joshsiao]

Oh yea, I must tell you that I do very much prefer to get entire suites rather than singular programs by itself. Such as Macromedia Studio MX 2004, Corel Draw Graphics Suite 12 etc... to name a few. And I guess that you are all familiar with Microsoft Office. I had gotten the entire thing, from Professional Edition with Infopath to Frontpage, Visio, project and OneNote.

The reason here is becasue the websites or sources that provide the infomation is just plain marketing and is very vague. I like hands on usage before buying becasue later I may reliase that the other "sister" program would have better suited my needs. Trial editions are not good enough becasue they don't come with all the features activated. I didn't buy Office 2003 becasue its new. I almost wanted to stay with Office 2000 until I had a hands-on fully activated Office 2003 self-tour on my friend's computer. I snapped it up immediately. What i really liked is the many new features. I am a feature guy. I look not just for the standard old stuff which even Movie Maker or Paint can do but also for "value-add" programs.

[Coffee]

As a 3D artist I would have to say Adobe Photoshop generally procudes much better graphics than Corel's PhotoPaint. However that's only my opinion and you may find it better suites you. The Corel suite seems to generally have most the tools you'll be needing by the sound of things, without knowing exactly what you want to do.

[joshsiao]

As a 3D artist I would have to say Adobe Photoshop generally procudes much better graphics than Corel's PhotoPaint. However that's only my opinion and you may find it better suites you. The Corel suite seems to generally have most the tools you'll be needing by the sound of things, without knowing exactly what you want to do.

Yes, I will seem to have a tough time deciding on either of these 2 softwares. Are there any major disadvantages or advantages to each of these softwares?

And regarding Windows Movie Maker, are there much visible differences from other more professional software like Ulead or Adobe Premiere Pro? If so I will choose between Ulead or Adobe if not, I will just continue sticking to Movie Maker. The main problem I find with Movie Maker is that its a bit unprofessional. Most of my movies that I created are quite lame except for 1 which I did on iMovie on the iMac in my school. (Mac rocks but lack the expandibility and compatibility)

[joshsiao]

Ok. After what Big Booger said in this thread,
http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7129

I think I may want to get Premier Pro, the reason being I like to learn complicated software. Simplicity is not on my list. I like having to fiddle with all those complicated functions :D The simpliest yet most complicated program I ever used was MS Office. Remove the uneeded toolbars and you get simplicity. Just add a few more and you get to use advanced functions. No wonder people use less than 10% of most Office Programs.

Now its just choosing between Corel Draw 12 and Adobe Photoshop. My prefrence is complicated with lots of functions. The more advanced the better. Yet its user friendly.

Corel Draw 8 wasn't, its been the second most difficult program that I've encountered. The most complicated was the 3-D environment program, Solid Edge in my school when I was learning simple engineering. Now they've switched to a function packed yet user friendly program known as PTC's Pro Desktop. :p

[Coffee]

One thing i would say is, don't forget that Corel Suite because of being a suite means there are many more applications to use as opposed to just Adobe Photoshop. Once again it dpends on exatly what it is your wanting to do that should make your mind up on which to go for.

Corel Suite contains...

Corel Draw, for vector illustrations
Corel PhotoPaint, for photo editing
Corel R.A.V.E, for motion graphics
Corel Trace, to convert bitmaps to vector illustrations

As for video editing, Premier is certainly a more advanced piece of software than most others, especially when compared to MS Movie Maker, and if your the type who likes complicated applications then this would certainly be a good choice. Although I would probably say it's not as complicated as it looks. :msnwink:

[joshsiao]

Ok. This is my verdict: I have choosen on Corel Draw 12, seeing that it will meet my needs. I think the vector illustrator and motion graphics will help me on my site. I have also choosen Adobe Premere Pro.

Thank You very much for your help Coffee. And not to metion phishead who gave me a starter insight. :D

[joshsiao]

Er, one question to ask, what is the difference between Adobe's After Effects 6.0 and Corel's R.A.V.E.?

[Big Booger]

Corel Rave Review @ PC MAGAZINE.com
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,18848,00.asp

Adobe After Effects Review @ PC MAGAZINE.com
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1264767,00.asp

Those should give you the basic rundown of both.
:D

[joshsiao]

Ok, thanks to Big Booger, I am going all out for adobe now!