Pinnacle Studio Review: creative control without a difficult interface
Pinnacle Studio is a video editing program originally developed by Pinnacle Systems as the consumer-level counterpart to Pinnacle’s former professional-level software, Liquid Edition.
It was acquired by Avid and later by Corel in July 2012.
Importing, editing and exporting videos requires little expertise. Still, the program offers a high degree of accuracy and creative control.
The most recent version, Pinnacle Studio, can be installed on a PC and a Mac.
The Pros of Pinnacle Studio
User-friendliness is the greatest asset of this editing software. The workspace (interface) is well-arranged and can be adjusted as desired.
For importing your video files, Pinnacle Studio offers a simple ‘drag and drop’ system. The program supports almost all common SD and HD files.
If you want to edit video in the higher 4K resolution, you will have to purchase the upgrade version ‘Pinnacle Studio Ultimate’.
When editing your videos with Pinnacle software, you are not obliged to build projects from scratch.
You can use various templates in which you only have to insert your video files, sound and titles. This saves a lot of time.
Of course, the program also offers ample opportunities to create your own projects and edit video with precision.
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To correct lighting and colours, stabilize shaky shots and perfect the sound, Pinnacle video has simple tools that deliver surprisingly good results.
Here too, you can either put the program to work (auto-correction options) or use keyframes to perfect your footage yourself in great detail.
To professionalize your videos, you get hundreds of effects, including advanced green screen effects and stop motion animation.
Choose Pinnacle Studio Plus or Pinnacle Studio Ultimate
There are three versions of Pinnacle video software on the market. In addition to the standard Pinnacle Studio program, you can also choose Pinnacle Studio Plus or Pinnacle Studio Ultimate.
While all renditions share the same workspace, tools, and shortcuts, there are significant differences in the program’s capabilities.
For example, the Standard version only allows you to work with HD video on 6 tracks at a time, while the Plus version offers 24 tracks and the number of tracks is unlimited in the Ultimate version.
There are also substantial differences between the versions in the number of effects and their capabilities. Options such as 360 video editing, Split Screen video, Motion Tracking and 3D Motion can only be found at Ultimate.
The options for color and sound correction are also a lot more extensive with Plus and Ultimate. Another important difference is the higher rendering speed of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate.
Especially with larger, heavier projects, this will affect the time it takes to edit and export files.
In short, the standard version of Pinnacle Studio is ideal for amateur editors who want to give their family vacations and other events a professional-like look.
Professional video editors and producers of serious web movies will be able to put together a nicer video more accurately and faster with Plus or Ultimate.
How much does Pinnacle software cost
It goes without saying that you will pay a higher price for more quality. You can already download Pinnacle Studio for +/- € 45.-.
Pinnacle Studio Plus costs +/- €70 and for Pinnacle Studio Ultimate you have to pay +/- €90.
Compared to the market leaders in video editing software, Premiere Pro from Adobe and Final Cut from Apple, the price for Pinnacle Studio Ultimate can be called quite reasonable.
The program is admittedly less stable and powerful (including rendering speed), but in average use it is not much inferior to the top professional software.
There is a one-time fee for all Pinnacle Studio versions. Moreover, you can count on a hefty discount as soon as a new version (23, 24, etc.) is released.
Hi, I'm Kim, a mom and a stop-motion enthusiast with a background in media creation and web development. I've got a huge passion for drawing and animation, and now I'm diving headfirst into the stop-motion world. With my blog, I'm sharing my learnings with you guys.
