When comparing HitFilm vs Olive Video Editor, the Slant community recommends Olive Video Editor for most people. In the question“What are the best video editors for Windows?” Olive Video Editor is ranked 4th while HitFilm is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose Olive Video Editor is:
This video editor has the ability to move things in the visual space straight in the viewer panel compared to the others where you need to change some value of x or y to scale or move things in your composition. This might not matter much in many cases but if you have a lot of elements moving or scaling throughout your scene, this is the fastest and a much more intuitive method than having to adjust the scale/position values of individual axes separately. This again is a big reason why I prefer an alpha (a damn good alpha) version of this software than a stable release of Kdenlive.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Beginner friendly
Amazing all-in-one starter software thanks to a lot of powerful presets and a simplified workflow. There are tips, guides, explanations and easy access to community support. The interface is intuitive and easy to overview.
Pro Combines editing, VFX and 3D tools in one package
True 3d that handles particle-effects and 3d models in unified space, optical flow 2d tracking, 3d planar tracking with a lightweight version of Mocha, color-correction and color-grading.
Pro Import 3D models
You can import .obj, .lwo or .3ds models right into your composites, then texture and animate them. No 3rd party plug-in required.
Pro Real 3D
Particles, models, lights, camera tracking, effects, etc are all in true 3D space. You don't have to manage object or effect depth or angles by obfuscation.
Pro Powerful presets & visual effects
Color grading, motion blur, lights, flares, 3D muzzle flashes, procedural fire, etc. They both work out of the box and can be heavily customized. More than 150 visual effects and more are added constantly.
Pro 3D camera data support
Pro Splash screen
Gives access to community.
Pro Mac & PC support
Works on both Mac OS X and Windows.
Pro Powerful particle simulator
Physics based 3D particle simulator that can interact with surfaces and forces. You can have custom particles, size randomness, bounce, different emitters, etc. It can even be set to animate based on audio waveforms.
Pro 2D & 3D motion tracking
A 2D track is built in HitFilm and the "Camera Solve" part of Mocha comes integrated with the software
Pro Scale / move elements directly on viewer
This video editor has the ability to move things in the visual space straight in the viewer panel compared to the others where you need to change some value of x or y to scale or move things in your composition. This might not matter much in many cases but if you have a lot of elements moving or scaling throughout your scene, this is the fastest and a much more intuitive method than having to adjust the scale/position values of individual axes separately. This again is a big reason why I prefer an alpha (a damn good alpha) version of this software than a stable release of Kdenlive.
Pro Blazing fast preview
GPU preview means a lot and I honestly cannot understand how other video editors do not have this as the default choice. Incredibly fast previews tested even on low end machines. This is the sole deal breaker for me when it comes to editing clips.
Cons
Con No OMFI support
Open Media Framework Interchange (OMFI) is a platform-independent file format intended for transfer of digital media between different software applications.
Con Lack of audio tools
HitFilm can playback, cut & rearrange audio, but it lacks even basic tools like EQ.
Con Still in alpha / No stable release yet
Not exactly going to be a long term con. The official website clearly states the same, which is why this piece of software should not be used for important projects. Then again it is so damn good that Olive editor is right now my primary editor for most projects. The fact that there is NO stable version of this software does bother a bit as it's ability to handle complex projects is almost unpredictable. But all said and done, it's still not crashed on me even once. Even though an alpha, the best damn alpha release ever.