Opinions: Vegas vs. Premier Pro

K

kmcgrath

Well-known member
I just started learning Adobe After Effects and am extremely impressed by this software. It makes me wonder how Vegas (which I am quite comfortable with) compares with Premier Pro (which I know nothing about). Any comments by those familiar with both would be most appreciated.
 
Well, it's the same as any other NLE except Premiere. You can open Premiere Pro projects in AE, which is certainly an advantage. With Vegas (and everything else), you have to export a file, bring it into AE, do your thing, and export out another file to bring back into Vegas.

But then, you'd have to do that if you're using Avid, FCP, Edition, etc..
 
Premiere works well but i think Vegas does handle the pulldown much smoother. I like Vegas' interface much better it is easier and organized. I color correct in AE and build everything in Vegas. It is time consuming... The only con i have right now about Vegas 5 is that it does not let me export anything encoded as h.264 so i have to export a lossless AVI and then batch it from some other compressing application. Vegas works well for me.
 
Well i think Vegas gives you more for its money.

Vegas6+DVD gives you nice stuff like, MB look suite, ac3 5.1, a DVD maker.

To get the same things in premiere you got to pay alot more.
 
Don't know if this helps:

I've just completed a 1h 20m documentary with Vegas 6. There was a fair amount of compositing involved and at the beginning I dusted my old copy of AE 4.2 down and prepared to do battle. Not once, in the event, not ONCE did I have to actually use AE in the whole project. All compositing was done in Vegas with smooth bezier masks, etc, etc. I think the whole project was completed in 30% less time as a result.

The breakthrough here was being able to use Vegas for a big project. Vegas 6 enables the nesting of projects so I was able to complete complex motion graphics inside their own project and then simply place that sub-project on the master timeline.

I am not for a moment claiming that Vegas has the etended capabilities of AE but that for motion tracking, masking, and compositing, you need look no further. It's easy and intuitive to use too.

The other point I would make is that having used Vegas intensively now for a month, 15 hours a day (I had a deadline!) I would never, ever contemplate going back to Premiere Pro or Edition. Vegas is a complete breeze ...

Michael
 
go ask this question in a p.pro forum as well, before you listen to these guys(no offense)
 
TO answer STYLZ, I am familiar with both Premiere Pro 1.5 and Vegas. I have worked more in the various incarnations of Premiere since 4.2 than any other NLE. At first I couldn't work out Vegas at all - the workflow is all different and, on the face of it it doesn't have that 'pro' feel and look that programs like Pro 1.5, Edition and Avid have. My point is, that having now worked with Vegas on a long and important project, with a minimum of problems, with it's clear and simple workflow, I am clear that I would still be struggling to meet that deadline with any other NLE.

With respect, KMCGRATH did ask his question in a Vegas forum so I suspect his intention was to "listen to these guys"?
 
I'm also a Premier refugee. Tricky stuff I do in Apple Shake (which runs on a PC) and am now re-learning After Effects, but mostly everything can be done in Vegas.
 
With respect, KMCGRATH did ask his question in a Vegas forum so I suspect his intention was to "listen to these guys"?[/QUOTE]

Yeah I meant no offense. I'm actually using vegas myself as well. P.pro too.
Alls I said is ask the question in a p.pro forum AS WELL. They both have their benifits. Yes if one learned on FCP(like me) or p.pro then it is a user interface/workflow shock. I personally changed internal preferences timeline to true. No monsters have come out to eat me yet. Makes things alot easier.
Anywho just suggesting he get opinions from the other side of the track.
 
I would go with Vegas wihtout question. It is a superb package that a creative person would find it to be limitless in what it can do. All it takes is for one to tinker with it and you'll find your own gems....
 
I too have been wondering the same thing . . . I purchased the entire Adobe Creative Suite last year when it came out, including the full production version of Adobe AFter Effects (though I have NO clue how to use it yet). I've always heard good things about Vegas and have always been meaning to try it out. Good commentary on the long-form projects, which I hope to be doing soon.

Curious to hear about the post that the 24p capability in Vegas that's "better" than Premiere's. Premiere Pro 1.5 now supports 24PA 2-3-3-2 pull-down right out of the box. Does Vegas actually make the 24PA footage look somehow "better" than Premiere's 24PA capability does?
 
NBCshooter said:
Does Vegas actually make the 24PA footage look somehow "better" than Premiere's 24PA capability does?
Click to expand...

In short, YES, and here is why.
Premiere support for 24p was not only late, but when it did come, it was buggy. Do a search on premiere and 24p to find out the bugs. While they are not completely limiting, there are workarounds, vegas takes out all of the hassle. Just set the preset to 24p DV timeline, and put all your clip in it. Whether they be 24pN 24pA or even 60i, Vegas will handle them with perfection, without further hassle to you. So here is where Vegas will beat premiere in Image quality. Vegas does not have to recompress 24pA files, whereas Premiere has some issues with both 24pn and 24pA files.
Where Vegas also has premiere beat is stability. I never once got through a Ppro project with out it crashing at least 3-4 times MINIMUM. I have had Vegas crash twice, in the two years that I have owned it, once in version 5 and once in version 6 (when I was messing around with some stuff). I couldn't even use the audio mixer in Premiere without a guaranteed crash. I hate it when people say, "well there is this workaround so that it doesn't do that." don't give me that crap, using the audio mixer, or importing still images, or exporting 24p files should not give me errors, crashes and unusable footage. If it does, I get rid of the program, like I did with adobe. :)
 
I don't think Premiere has any problems with 24pA files. 24pN yes, but then if you have the capability to edit 24pA that really doesn't matter much in my mind. Premiere 5 and 6 are very different beasts than Premiere Pro. Adobe started from the ground up for Pro so it's almost like looking at an entirely different piece of software.

I've always been a fan of premiere. It's certainly not perfect and it's definitely got the complex adobe air about it ala photoshop. It works well for me though and that's all that matters to me. Adobe is a pain sometimes though as they tend to ignore users (unlike Panasonic). I'm really looking forward to the next release as it should be great.

That said, Vegas seems to one of the most stable NLEs around. I've never had trouble with Premiere crashing but I know others have.

Really the only thing that matters is whether you like the software. What I like doesn't mean much. They're basically all the same except the interface.
 
I can honestly say I have spent hundreds of hours in p.pro without one crash. Have spent alot of hours in vegas without one too. I appreciate p.pros "stability" and ease of use. I appreciate vegas's ability to be creative(or more so). Great apps. Dang all this heresay. Download trials and gets ta work.
 
Thanks all for the very informative and useful comments to my post. I now have a much better feel for how Vegas and Premier compare, which is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again. (BTW, two weeks of solitary confinement with After Effects/Trish and Chris Meyer book has been a great AE learning experience).
 
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