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CS5.5 vs Sony Vegas Pro

J

JDMjosh

Hey, sorry if this question has already been posted, did a bit of a search but couldn't find a good comparison.

Within 10 days I will have either purchased Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium or Sony's Vegas 11 Pro.. I have very limited experience in editing but with that said, I plan on doing this for life, and even plan on making a living at it (i know i know). So an applied learning process is fine, rather than a generic intuitive program that gives me little creative freedom. I'd like to provide myself with a foundation I can build on.

I will be editing on a PC, filming with a T2i w/Magic Lantern and my music editing has thus far been accomplished with FL Studio 9 and Cool Edit Pro someversionoranother..

What are some of the more major pros and cons to either of these bundles? Any massive headaches?

Thanks in advance!

Josh
 
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JDMjosh said:
...I have very limited experience in editing...

I plan on doing this for life...

I'd like to provide myself with a foundation I can build on.

...filming with a T2i ...
Click to expand...

CS5.5 all the way! One of the largest user communities out there offering free education and support, all the pro features you'll ever need, and the only platform offering native DSLR support. You can edit footage straight from your camera with no pre-conversion or massive render times.

Plus, with the Suite, you get a powerful Video Editor, 2.5D compositor, Photo editor, Vector editor, audio missing software, DVD/BluRay authoring software, a powerful encoder and OnLocation for sorting, checking and adding meta info to your video (useful for large edits).

Vegas gives you a less powerful video editor, that's it.

Vegas big pros: Cheaper price, better in-editor audio tools. That's about it.

Hope that helps!
 
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I'm a Vegas fanboy, but if you're planning on going pro as an editor, it's not the wisest choice. Really, you should consider Avid, but between Vegas and Premiere, for an aspiring pro, have to go with Adobe because of its street cred and integration with other powerful softwares like AE.
 
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Avid is somehow related to M Audio, no? I've used M Audio products before, specifically their Torq audio interface for djing, which I still own but never use. It seemed very 'entry level' and I had multiple problems with software installation.. it was only months before I made the switch to Native Instruments' Traktor Skratch Pro and I haven't looked back..

No hard feelings, I mean, I still keep it around in case something goes wrong, or if I ever get the chance to help someone get started in the world of mixing music, .. but definitely don't consider it to be industry standard..
 
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Avid is the industry standard for video. FCP enjoyed some temporary success in the indie scene but with the release of the latest version, looks like Apple wants out of the editing business.
Avid is indeed part of Maudio as is Pro Tool which is also an industry standard for audio. I don't own any Avid related products, but I know it's what most professionals use.
 
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Avid bought M-Audio back in 2004. They also own Digidesign, who make ProTools (though these days that's under the Avid name). M-Audio is definitely designed for entry level gear (I have one of their old Oxygen8 controllers, which was cheap but did the job, and some speakers that were never that great, but a significant improvement over mixing on PC speakers/headphones).

I personally don't like ProTools, but can't deny it's great stuff. There's a reason it's sort of a standard.
 
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I use Vegas Pro 8. It is more powerful with greater control than Premiere. You have unparalleled frame by frame contrrol withVegas with built-in special effects capabilities like AE and programs that work with AE will run with Vegas Pro 8.

Drawbacks, third party plug-ins will make it crash. The folks of Particle Illusion should have a Sony Vegas version of PI next year. Some of my Vegas crashes I find are from another third party program that is an actual plug-in by DVFilms to give Vegas true HD capabilities and HD rendering of vai files called Raylight.

The plug-in makes Vegas compatible with Panasonic Prosumer HD cameras. I'm sure there are other plug-ins available for other cameras.

Sony Vegas Pro can be purchased with Sound Forge for audio editing and there are a good number of plug-ins available for it too.

If you wish to work for a TV network in the future, consider AVID. AVID is still their most popular choice. Sony Vegas Pro is used to edit the TV series Nightline with Ted Kopel. Sony Vegas Pro is also the most popular all in one post program used to edit music videos by today's leading recording artists.
 
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Adobe is better supported, has more features and available plugins, and will get you more gigs as it's perceived as more "pro". Vegas is more intuitive and easier to learn. You'll be up and running faster.

I have both installed and I'm trying to learn CS 5.5 right now, but it's a steep learning curve (wait, you mean I can't just drop a clip on the timeline...)
 
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richy said:
Avid seems to be mentioned much less often, if at all. It would be great of you to explain why you feel it should be considered. =)
Click to expand...

AVID is still commonly used in professional film and television editing, even more so than Final Cut Pro. It is not really geared towards amateur or low paying work, so it is not priced for that.

The majority of feature films made from Hollywood are edited with AVID.

That said, I think that between CS5.5 PRODUCTION PREMIUM suite, that includes Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, Audition, and Encore DVD.... versus Sony Vegas, that is a no brainer. If you're a student or know someone that is, have them buy the student edition for $349 for the whole suite. No offense to Sony Vegas, but you're comparing a host of powerful programs versus a very good Non Linear Editing program.

Gonzo_Entertainment said:
(wait, you mean I can't just drop a clip on the timeline...)
Click to expand...

Uh, I just dropped about 70 clips onto a Premiere Pro timeline with no problem... are you not clicking the left click when you drag?
 
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"Uh, I just dropped about 70 clips onto a Premiere Pro timeline with no problem... are you not clicking the left click when you drag?"

I THOUGHT I was. I haven't had time to play with it in a few days. I'll try it again. I was having to bring the media into the library and then to the timeline from there. In Vegas I can just grab it in a Windows Explorer folder and drag it onto the timeline straight from there. I'll try it again.
 
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Thanks for further explaining Avid, Brian and Sonnyboo. =)

Guess I hadn't spent enough time looking at Avid to know or understand what they offer.

Yeah, ouch, if I'm looking at the right thing, B&H lists Media Composer 6.0, if that's what we're talking about, at about $2,400. No wonder it doesn't get discussed as much here. On the other hand, if the OP is a student, B&H also seems to list the student price at a small fraction of that, or $283.20, if I'm reading and understanding their listings correctly.
 
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And an investor. Laugh out loud.

I noticed I could pay a fee and have a use license for Premiere over the net, but I would never actually own anything. But Even just After Effects and Premiere Pro will run me like 1,800 Can.

I realize I must pay to play.. Just want to make sure I pay for the right foundation..
 
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