Premiere Elements 9 or Premiere Pro CS5.5

[Luvfilm]

Hi,

I believe that I am getting closer to upgrading my video equipment.  A number of years ago when I was getting started, I had a small

exposure to Adobe Premiere 5.5.  Adobe Premiere 6 came out shortley after.  I was about to learn iMovie at the time, and

had been told that if I learn imovie, I will have to unlearn things when I go to a more powerful program.  I was also told that I will reach

the limits of iMovie and will want to upgrade anyway.  Also, I was told that I will find that I may find that something that took 10 minutes to d

do in iMovie may only take a minute in a more powerful program.  Taking this advice, I bypassed iMovie and went to Adobe Premiere.  There was a bigger learning curve, but it was worth it to me.

I actually decided to use Premiere after attending a Final Cut Pro Users group meeting in Los Angeles where someone from Adobe

had come to demo it for the group.  Since I have been working in MiniDV since, combined with budget, I have felt no compelling reason

to upgrade my software or cameras.

I am at the crossroads again.  I know that I have only slightly tapped in to Adobe Premiere's power.  A collegue of mine made a video with

iMovie HD6.  He pushed the software to the limit.  I think he would have had a much better editing experience had he had a more powerful

powerful program.

I am asking for your advice.  I can pick up Premiere elements for around $100.  I can also upgrade to CS5.5 for $300.  Will I find

Premiere Elements 9 limiting compared to CS5.5, or is it possible that I will find all of the tools I need?  I already see limits in the

DVD creation tool with 25 chapter markers.  But I could use iDVD.

If the programs are more different than similar, then maybe I should go ahead a get started with CS5.5.

My purpose besides this being a hobby, would be to make some how to and educational videos.

I haven't purchased a new computer or camera yet.  My present computer runs Premiere 6.5 almost flawlessly.  That is another aspect,

is one of the programs more stable than the other?

As you can see I work on a Mac, but don't necessarily have to.

Thank you very much for your time to read this and comment on it.

[Steve Grisetti]

It all depends on how deeply you edit and which interface you feel more comfortable in.

If you can afford it, Premiere Pro is definitely the way to go.

But don't sell Premiere Elements short. It's an amazingly powerful editing app!

And both are available for the Mac as well as the PC.

Why not download the free trials of each and give them a test drive?

[the_wine_snob]

This is a good question.

I agree with Steve, the PrE 9 is a worthy program, and at a good price-point. We do not know what PrE 10 will bring, but that is just a few months off, if history is any indicator - usually late Sept, or early Oct releases.

Now, here are some features that are only available in CS 5.5. I do not know how many would you would benefit from, and only you can make that determination.

Pros for going to PrPro:

• PrPro ships with, and installs Adobe Encore, a full-featured authoring program. Unlike the authoring function in PrE, it offers a great deal more power and control, however, that comes at a price - everything is done manually in Encore, where PrE does most of the "heavy-lifting" behind the scenes, albeit with limitations in the navigation allowed.
• With ADL (Adobe Dynamic Link), moving between PrPro and Encore is much easier, but you still need both programs.
• PrPro offers Sequences. Think of these as mini-Projects in a "master Project." There is a great deal of control and extra functions with these.
• One can Nest Sequences within Sequences, which allows for things like "global Effects" applied to the Nested Sequence.
• PrPro offers more Effects (more in PC, than in the Mac version), and while there are some Auto Effects, almost every one has a fully controllable manual
• PrPro offers the ability to do Custom Sequences to match odd footage.version, as well, so that there is much, much more power.
• PrPro offers several very good Color Correction Effects, that are much more powerful, than the CC Effects in PrE.
• PrPro has great Scaling algorithms (with the MPE/CUDA in certain nVidia video cards), so the quality is as good, or better, than Scaling in Photoshop.
• Many functions are greatly accelerated in PrPro (with the MPE/CUDA in certain nVidia video cards), so it can be MUCH faster.
• PrPro's Titler has more functions, than the one in PrE.
• PrPor offers a fully functional Multi-camera mode, for up to 4 cameras, and with Nesting, one can extend that, though it does require some planning and some work.
• PrPro offers native Importing and editing of some formats, that PrE does not, such as RED, or even FLV.
• PrPro is a full 64-bit application, so can take great advantage of things like tons of RAM
• There are many more plug-ins for PrPro, than PrE
• PrPro accommodates mixed sources in a single Sequence.

Pros for going with PrE:

• PrE is easier to use, as it offers a lot of Presets to do common tasks
• PrE's authoring function is semi-automatic
• PrE offers authoring to DVD, or BD from within the program. One does not need to go to a program, like Encore
• PrE is still 32-bit, so that one does not have to have a 64-bit OS
• PrE has a smaller footprint on the computer
• PrE offers native support for a few more consumer formats and CODEC's
• PrE offers Themes and Instant Movie, where with PrPro, one must do all of that by hand
• PrE costs much less, but still offers a lot of power

There are probably many more, like various scopes in PrPro, but most users, not doing broadcast work, would ever see them.

Good luck with your decision,

Hunt

[Luvfilm]

Thanks Steve and Bill,

I downloaded PE9 trial and did not feel much familiarity.  I downloaded the trial of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 and I feel

at home.  Obviously there are things I will need to know, but for the most part I was able to pretty much get going with the

program.

I will do some more with the trial, but I see myself buying the upgrade to cs5.5.  It may not be the answer for everyone, but it looks

like it will probably be the way I go.

Thanks again for your comments.  I really needed to look at both of them.

[the_wine_snob]

You know, how one adapts to an NLE program is what it is all about.

I would NOT trade in my PrPro for anything, and love it. I use most of the features, and PrE is a secondary program for me.

Go with what fits your needs and your style. Both are good programs, but aimed at different targets.

Good luck,

Hunt