An excellent program, Premiere Elements offers professional results for the average photographer who doesn’t want to deal with a steep learning curve nor have to use a program daily in order to remember how it works. It isn’t made so simple that it has no power, however.

The interface is set up for ease of use. A task bar with six tabs gets you started immediately by offering fast access to key elements of the video-editing process: capturing video from the camera, editing, adding effects (and the program has many of these, including some templates to help you begin), titling, then exporting back to tape or DVD. A simplified timeline makes the editing work quick and easy (plus, most effects are shown in real time, although final quality requires rendering time).

In addition, Premiere Elements lets you do multiple tracks of video and audio beyond what most programs are capable of at this price ($99). This is a valuable asset because it gives you many options for visual effects and audio enrichments. Video looks its best with clear audio to support it.

Contact: Adobe, (800) 833-6687, www.adobe.com.