Upgrade Pricing...?

[Felasco]

Hmm...

The Elements 2018 upgrade package costs more than I paid for the previous version about a month ago.  I get that upgrades should not be free, it's reasonable to charge something for new features, but more than the entire package one just purchased??

Isn't Abobe really saying....

Throw away the package you just bought, and buy it again, at a higher price.

What am I not getting?

[Steve Grisetti]

The "upgrade" is actually the entire program -- but at a special price for current owners of the software.

It's not necessarily the best price you'll find on the internet, however. Often people have found better prices on Amazon and through other retailers offering the program on sale.

[Felasco]

Thanks Steve,

I get that it's the entire program.  That is, it's what I already have, plus some new features.  Apparently, in Adobe's eyes, the new features are worth more than the entire package was worth just a month ago.

I dunno, it's Adobe's call obviously.  One does wonder if they are aware that there are free programs which compete with Elements and Photoshop that are arguably better.   I'm working with a free alternative to Elements now that is definitely better.  I'm sure you're aware of it too so I don't mention it here.

Anyway, I thought I might be confused about the offer.  Guess not.

[Bill Sprague]

The best prices on Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements comes a couple times a year from retailers such as Amazon and B&H.  My habit has been to buy a new version when it is on a "Black Friday" Sale.   If I recall, last year it was about $65 for Premiere Elements alone.  Core features (like codecs and file formats) evolve more slowly than creative features.  My personal choice is to buy a new version every two years. 

Felasco, I'm curious about the free video editing programs you like.   Both Microsoft and Apple have provided some.  My teen granddaughters are pretty good with the (discontinued) Windows Movie Maker.  What are the other choices?

[Felasco]

Well, after two requests I suppose I should answer the question.

After purchasing Premiere Elements I discovered Hitfilm, a free video editor for both Mac and Windows.  While I am far from expert on either app, here are some thoughts for what they may be worth.

I claimed that Hitfilm is better than Premiere, but that's too simple a way to say it.  As usual, it depends on who the user is, and what they are trying to do.  Premiere seems aimed more at the consumer hobbyist market, whereas Hitfilm is aimed more at those with more video editing experience.  Hitfilm has more power, which is however only a benefit if one wants that power and is willing to learn it.  If one is focused on mostly simple routine video editing tasks, Premiere may be a better choice.

In my case, I'm very interested in tracking objects in videos.   I found the tracker in Premiere to be largely worthless, and prefer the much more sophisticated tracker in Hitfilm.  For others, tracking might be irrelevant to what they are doing. 

I found the manual keyframing to be much more to my liking in Hitfilm, as it works just the way I was hoping Premiere would.  That is, you can advance down the timeline and at any frame adjust position, scale and rotation from a single interface.

Hitfilm seems to excel at what they call "composite shots", that is, managing multiple layers of video, photo and audio to create a new video creation.  I've been using this so much that I haven't even really learned the standard editor panel where you line clips up along the timeline to create a movie etc.

Hitfilm has a _very helpful_ forum, including regular contact from Hitfilm employees.  A few members here and there are a bit touchy about any challenge to Hitfilm, which is pretty normal for any forum.  And, to be fair, I'm above average annoying.

I struggled with both Premiere and Hitfilm in the beginning, and found both interfaces baffling at first.  Once I wrapped my head around the logic of each app, it's been fairly smooth sailing in both cases.

If I had to choose between the apps, I'd go with Hitfilm because 1) it's free, 2) better support, and 3) it can take me farther than Premiere can.  That said, I don't really regret purchasing Premiere, and am sure I will find uses for it for some projects, though I doubt I'll be upgrading it any time soon if ever.   I'm also looking forward to further exploring Photoshop Elements, which I see has some appealing features not available in Gimp.

I have no advice regarding whether Hitfilm is something members should explore given that I know nothing about members and what they are working on.  If your projects are proceeding as you wish within Premiere, if it ain't broken, why fix it?

[Steve Grisetti]

As I've often said, in the world of software, there's rarely a "better" and "worse". It's whatever best meets your workflow. So, if you've found something that works, go with it. No one is going to try to convince you otherwise.

BTW, I'm not only familiar with HitFilm but I've actually created a course on the Pro version of the program for lynda.com. It's an excellent program, but more closely related to After Effects than Premiere. The free version is nice, but its main role is to serve as an introduction to the Pro version.

But as I said, if it works for you, go with it. No need to try to sell it to anyone on this forum though.

[Felasco]

Steve, are you, um, you know, going to lecture us about selling on this forum?  🙂

Yes, I should have made it clearer that Hitfilm 4 Express is a feature reduced free version of the more advanced Hitfilm Pro, which if I remember correctly sells for around $350.  I know nothing about Hitfilm Pro.  I'm guessing that most Premiere Elements users would find it overkill. 

Various paid add-on packages are available for the free version of Hitfilm, such as for instance a supposedly higher quality tracker (Mocha) for $50.   I don't know much about this either, but it appears that if you want to use the free version, and then go more advanced in some particular specific direction, that may be possible for a price.

In fairness I should also mention that Hitfilm does have trouble importing some of my mov files, a problem I've not seen in Premiere, or any other Mac video app.  I was able to engineer a work around.  I have no idea how this might or might not affect other users.

[Bill Sprague]

Felasco  wrote

Steve, are you, um, you know, going to lecture us about selling on this forum?  🙂  .....

It is not unusual for an "Adobe Creative Professional (ACP)" to politely promote what they professionally do.  After all, they somehow found a way to become an income earning professional. 

[Felasco]

I was not objecting to the promotions, but instead cheerfully declining sermons about promotions from promoters in the spirit of teasing fun.  Enough said, not important.

[Steve Grisetti]

Actually, I think Felasco called it right! The ripping was taken in the spirit it was intended, guys.