Customer Rating: 
Summary: Can't read video, can't write video but middle is a little better
Comment: I have a fairly new video camera but this product was unable to import the video directly. I had to use the small app that came with the camera to import the data to disk and then "import" that into Premier Elements. The failure message is pretty bizarre and comes attached to a nearly phantom window; this is clearly a gaping whole in the program. Adobe support says that it just might not be able to work with that camera.
After struggling with the clunky interface I finally put together a video that I wanted to burn to DL DVD. However, as soon as I get to that menu the program crashes (i.e., a dialog pops up to send an error report to Microsoft). Adobe support just says to be sure that everything that can be updated (there are no updates to PE 7) is updated—they were.
When I looked into getting a consumer-level video editing program about 6 months ago Premier Elements 4 (they jumped a couple numbers here to line it up with (Photo) Elements) the consensus was what PE 4 was the best of a bad lot. My guess is that with this release, Premiere Elements 7 is no longer even the best of the bad lot. With a product with so many versions, it really ought to work much better than this. I would dub it the Vista of video editors, but even Vista is not this dysfunctional. I expected more from Adobe.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What can I saw - Adobe make good products
Comment: I thought I had reviewed this but apparently not. I use Adobe products on a daily basis. While this product is the pared down version of the Adobe Premiere product it provides excellent tools to make home movies. Some of the tools are a bit cumbersome and require some trial and error to get things correct but once you get the hang of it things get better pretty fast. Really, the key to any of these products is in the way the video is taken. When you take long segments they are a little harder to blend and manipulate. I have compared this application to the Corel product and found Corel to be easier to use and provides a bit more flexibility. Sony Vegas has more tools but is equally difficult to work with. I also own Pinnacle Studio which is easier than any of these products to use but has some limitations that the others don't. All that being said I still like the product and will use it for those video tasks that it works best on. I guess what I am trying to say is the right tool for all tasks may not exist in one package.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A lot to learn, but I'm taking it one step at a time
Comment: I've never used any video editing software before Adobe Premiere Elements 7, so it's all new to me. It can do lots of things, but so can Microsoft Word, and lots of people are comfortable using that program. Of course, most people don't use many of the features in Word. I many not end up using many of the features in Premiere because at this point I have pretty simple needs. I'm trying to learn it one feature at a time, instead of trying to produce a Hollywood block buster the first time I open the box. Is it easy? Yes and no, but I can't tell if the "no" part is due to the program or my inexperience.
If you're new to video editing, Premiere is okay, but also check out reviews for other products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: For PC only!
Comment: I assume this is a good product -- I had high hopes for it! But unforunately, it does not run on MACs. It did not specify this in the product information that I received, so unless I missed something, buyer beware! I was disappointed; it looks like a useful and engaging piece of software for the non-professional, but I cannot vouch for it myself.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's lame....
Comment: This is a decent video editor for the price you pay...I mean, you'll do more than you could with Windows Movie Maker at least.
If you're a hobbyist this might be a nice value, and like another reviewer states, you've got to subscribe to the DVD themes, which is even more lame!
If you're serious about video editing, I'd look into Sony's Vegas Pro, and if you're a little less serious there's even a trimmed down version, Vegas Movie Studio that would be more useful than this "lure" of a program.
Summary: Can't read video, can't write video but middle is a little better
Comment: I have a fairly new video camera but this product was unable to import the video directly. I had to use the small app that came with the camera to import the data to disk and then "import" that into Premier Elements. The failure message is pretty bizarre and comes attached to a nearly phantom window; this is clearly a gaping whole in the program. Adobe support says that it just might not be able to work with that camera.
After struggling with the clunky interface I finally put together a video that I wanted to burn to DL DVD. However, as soon as I get to that menu the program crashes (i.e., a dialog pops up to send an error report to Microsoft). Adobe support just says to be sure that everything that can be updated (there are no updates to PE 7) is updated—they were.
When I looked into getting a consumer-level video editing program about 6 months ago Premier Elements 4 (they jumped a couple numbers here to line it up with (Photo) Elements) the consensus was what PE 4 was the best of a bad lot. My guess is that with this release, Premiere Elements 7 is no longer even the best of the bad lot. With a product with so many versions, it really ought to work much better than this. I would dub it the Vista of video editors, but even Vista is not this dysfunctional. I expected more from Adobe.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What can I saw - Adobe make good products
Comment: I thought I had reviewed this but apparently not. I use Adobe products on a daily basis. While this product is the pared down version of the Adobe Premiere product it provides excellent tools to make home movies. Some of the tools are a bit cumbersome and require some trial and error to get things correct but once you get the hang of it things get better pretty fast. Really, the key to any of these products is in the way the video is taken. When you take long segments they are a little harder to blend and manipulate. I have compared this application to the Corel product and found Corel to be easier to use and provides a bit more flexibility. Sony Vegas has more tools but is equally difficult to work with. I also own Pinnacle Studio which is easier than any of these products to use but has some limitations that the others don't. All that being said I still like the product and will use it for those video tasks that it works best on. I guess what I am trying to say is the right tool for all tasks may not exist in one package.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A lot to learn, but I'm taking it one step at a time
Comment: I've never used any video editing software before Adobe Premiere Elements 7, so it's all new to me. It can do lots of things, but so can Microsoft Word, and lots of people are comfortable using that program. Of course, most people don't use many of the features in Word. I many not end up using many of the features in Premiere because at this point I have pretty simple needs. I'm trying to learn it one feature at a time, instead of trying to produce a Hollywood block buster the first time I open the box. Is it easy? Yes and no, but I can't tell if the "no" part is due to the program or my inexperience.
If you're new to video editing, Premiere is okay, but also check out reviews for other products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: For PC only!
Comment: I assume this is a good product -- I had high hopes for it! But unforunately, it does not run on MACs. It did not specify this in the product information that I received, so unless I missed something, buyer beware! I was disappointed; it looks like a useful and engaging piece of software for the non-professional, but I cannot vouch for it myself.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's lame....
Comment: This is a decent video editor for the price you pay...I mean, you'll do more than you could with Windows Movie Maker at least.
If you're a hobbyist this might be a nice value, and like another reviewer states, you've got to subscribe to the DVD themes, which is even more lame!
If you're serious about video editing, I'd look into Sony's Vegas Pro, and if you're a little less serious there's even a trimmed down version, Vegas Movie Studio that would be more useful than this "lure" of a program.