Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio Dongle

You know that feeling when you just want to do something - anything - just so you get to use that awesome new tool you got? DaVinci Resolve is a tool like that.

I've started on a music project involving lengthy 4K video, where I want absolutely pristine quality, and since I just never got along with HitFilm Pro (had some tech issues, and it just feels glitchy and unpolished to me anyway), I decided to try the free edition of DaVinci Resolve...

...and I instantly loved it! Fast, stable, polished. Simple things are quick and easy, but you can also dig down and do very advanced stuff. In particular, being familiar with modular synths, I really like Fusion, which is basically that, but for video.

Since I have two GPUs, an interest in 4K and HDR and whatnot, I decided to upgrade to Studio - especially since it includes lifetime updates, and one can currently get the Speed Editor keyboard as a bonus with it! (HATE dragging things with the mouse, so that jog wheel was irresistible.)

I'm not sure where the "steep learning curve" reputation comes from - but then again, I'm a programmer, and a heavy Cubase/Nuendo user. ;-) Either way, Resolve is certainly a very capable professional grade application, but it's consistent and well designed, so don't let that scare you off! I could pretty much instantly get started doing basic edits and exports, and a day later, I was playing around with transitions, sky de-banding in Fusion, keyframe automated color grading and whatnot. If you want an application that can actually DO stuff, I don't see how it can get much easier than this!

As one would expect, the color grading part is of course brilliant, with a very effective UI. (It makes the color tools in photo applications feel terribly slow and awkward...) Now I kind of want those trackballs as well - but Resolve is already pretty smooth to use with the on-screen wheels and curves!

All in all, brilliant, powerful application with great price/licensing terms. Highly recommended!

The main reason I choose DaVinci Resolve Studio is that it is a professional tool and it feels like the future of editing.
Once you learn it you will be speaking the same language as professionals and be compatible with that whole world. It has all the functions you will ever need.
I am in audio and used to learning new software, so with the abundance of videos tutorials available, you will soon master this too.
It is amazing for editing, stabilization, tracking, delivering... and what I didn't know even existed, grading.
Watch tips on Youtube and you will be flying in a day or two.
Black Magic are doing everything right, from making the sensor to cameras to software. I upgraded to get the speed editor hardware and who doesn't like hardware!
I see Black Magic as an ecosystem and this will treat you well, much like UAD. I own a 6K camera so what can I say... this is the dogs boll... things that dangle, you know.
That's the thing with Black Magic.... it's a SYSTEM!
It's a creators tool!
Their products make you enjoy the process AND help you deliver top notch quality.
ATEM ISO is on my wish list...

Unlocking the studio version is a joy- all that extra format and res support, as well as various extremely fancy features like better denoising, more comprehensive GPU acceleration support, tracking and a bunch of other impressive stuff. Some of the AI-driven grading, scaling and other stuff is a real timesaver in the Studio version.

Compared to renting Premiere, Da Vinci Studio is a really good deal. The dongle lets me move between machines and unlike FCP-X, it's cross platform. Right now it feels like the sweet spot for NLE in a lot of ways. I really hope that BM don't ruin it- the features, stability and performance are really impressive right now.

One thing- I bought a short USB extension, as the last thing I want is someone accidentally snapping the dongle off while it's sticking out of a machine- might be a good idea.