Getting into video editing, need to know the basics

[MonicaMM]

I am buying the Canon EOS 20.2 MP DSLR with the EF-S 18-55 mm Lens. I plan on using this camera for photos and making You Tube videos. What type of computer do I need for rendering? My laptop right now does not have the graphics capabilities. How do I convert MOV files to another format that is compatible with an editing software such as Light works, without ruining the video quality.

 

[drtweak]

I would suggest Adobe Create Suite. Me and my buddies do video editing and we have some pretty power full computers and and still takes a while but then we are working with a Black Magic 2.5K Camera. We use CS6 for everything. Editing, Converting, ect. There are free programs out there that can convert different file formats and also a few free video editing programs as well.

 

[kenrivers]

What is your budget for a computer? Are you looking for a desktop or laptop computer? You shouldn't need to convert the video before importing into your video editor but one free software that could do the job is MPEG Streamclip (http/www.squared5.com/) or Handbrake (http/handbrake.fr/). Do you plan on using the free version of Lightworks or the Pro version? The free version lacks many of the codecs you will need. The Pro version is $60 a year. If you decide to subscribe to Adobe Creative Cloud you will have access to all of the Adobe products (Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, and SpeedGrade just to name a few) you would need for about $60 a month. Another possible professional editing tool is Avid Media Composer.