Camtasia 7 Review
March 30, 2010
I’ve been using Camtasia Studio
since 2002 and I’ve searched over the years for a better video screen capture tool. Haven’t found one yet…
Today, Techsmith has released Camtasia version 7 and these are my initial impressions after having been testing out the software for a couple of weeks with a pre-launch evaluation copy from Betsy Weber. 
I’ll keep this short for now and give you some highlights. Of course, I’ll have more in-depth tutorials on the way!
Here’s a little preview video I did using the Search Story concept to show off a few of the features:
What’s New in Camtasia 7?
1. A New Look
The first thing you’ll notice is a sporty new look in Camtasia Studio.
I’ll be honest with ya…it does take a little getting used to if you’re a seasoned Camtasia user. It is, after all, a major interface change.
That being said, I’m finding it to be a well layed out structure as I work with it more & more. Especially as it incorporates some of the new features and how you access them.
Thumbs Up
2. Camtasia Library
One of the most useful things is a new Library feature that let’s you store all of your video elements (music, custom callouts, sound effects, video backgrounds, etc.) in one place! Nice…
One click access to all this stuff is useful enough but it gets even better…
You can also highlight any content on the timeline and right-click to ADD it to your library making it ready for future use! This is especially handy for Title clips & Splash Intros or anything else you might want to “re-use” in future projects with a simple drag-n-drop.
I like the fact that they have include some royalty free music tracks to use and some wicked cool new animated backgrounds, Title clips, and lower third “sets’” from folks like Digital Juice that you can use!
And also, you can share libraries with others.
Techsmith is providing some Library additions that you can grab:
Camtasia Studio Library Assets
Two Thumbs Up!
3. New Callouts
Camtasia 7 has some upgrades & additions to it’s Callouts. The legacy ones are all there but a new batch of shapes have a much nicer, less cheezy look and Effects like transparency, new Styles with greater control over how they look.
A few new “specialty” Callouts are also available:
Sketch Motion Callouts
I love these! They are animated callouts that you can use that “draw” themselves!
It’s like you have a pen (your choice of color, thickness, etc.) and you can have a circle or oval, square or rectangle, or arrows drawn in the video in real-time to highlight an area. I also like the “scribble it out” one.
Keystroke Callouts
These let you show viewers exactly what keystrokes you used and when you used them. I haven’t played with this one enough to decide if it’s useful but you can also just insert a “Control-C, or “ALT-D”, etc. image to indicate keystrokes for your viewer.
Two Thumbs Up!
4. Cursor Effects
This I find to be wicked interesting. In previous versions, you could add a little highlight, or rings when clicked, etc. to your cursor when recording.
Now, as long as you save your recording as a CAMREC file, you can add or modify all those attention-drawing items (and more) at editing time!
Included are also the long awaited “spotlight” & “magnify” effects and a cool new “warp” effect. You can also just make your cursor bigger!
No more having these effects burned directly into your recording. Add or change them while you edit. Nice!
Two Thumbs Up!
5. Audio Enhancements
OK…I’ve always had extremely mixed feelings about Camtasia’s “Audio Enhancements” like Noise Removal, Volume-Leveling, etc. More on that in a minute…
New to this version is the ability to get some nice control over fading in and fading out and volume levels for an audio track.
how to buy clomid online width=”445″ height=”378″ />
If you are adding intro / outro music or want a music track playing throughout your video but still be talking over it? This is awesome!
That’s the good news…
Three Thumbs Up!
Now…the BAD news:
The other audio enhancements like noise removal and volume level?
Still mess with EVERY AUDIO TRACK!?!? OMG!!! Ouch…
How can I use this neat feature to get my intro music just right…and then have it basically destroyed if I need to level the volume of my narration??? FAIL.
The workaround is to do noise & volume stuff first, render out to AVI and the pull it back into Camtasia…ugly.
Ya…oh well.
6. Widescreen Presets
As you saw in the video above, there are now more presets available including new widescreen dimension settings. This is becoming increasingly important for certain viewing devices and for uploading to YouTube.
7. YouTube Integration
This feature is now improved from previous versions. Basically, you can now connect directly to YouTube at production time. It works as a preset so…you can’t really change any of the quality settings.
I don’t know…not very useful in my opinion but for those looking for “easy” I guess it’s OK.
No Thumb Opinion…yet.
8. Improved Recording Engine
This is really kinda sweet. Under the covers, Camtasia now records your content much better and faster. On XP machines you’ll notice a significant difference in the speed at which it captures and records motion on your screen.
Vista and Windows 7 users will see upwards of a 40-50% improvement in capture frame rate.
If you are recording videos playing in your browser, Flash animations, full screen motion, stuff like that…this is a big enhancement!
Worth the Upgrade?
The pricing for Camtasia Studio 7 is the same as previous versions and the upgrade bill is still $149.
When you look at the performance improvement, new features and gadgets I think an upgrade is a reasonable consideration.
I think most users will have to weigh in the factor of a bit of a learning curve since there is a new interface (I’m still getting used to how you “select” with the new Timleline Playhead…) and my feeling is that…
As with Camtasia 6 when it first came out…lots of users will take a wait-and-see stance.
You can download the 30-day free trial and check it out for yourself:
This is a fully functioning trial. You can install it and run version 7 right along with any previous versions you have installed…it doesn’t write over your current installations.
Love to hear what YOU think!
Lon
Posted in Camtasia, Screencast News
content rss
March 30th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Hey Lon, fab review.
I always listen up when you review new versions of Camtasia because you know it like the back of your hand.
I have downloaded the trial and will give it a whirl later, also re-tweeted so people interested can access your review too.
Sally
March 30th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Hey Lon,
First of all, nice job on the review. I’ve not been a Camtasia user but am considering it and you captured some of the essence I like to feel about any product I’ll live with for a good while. I especially like that you didn’t just run the laundry list, but focused on features that make a difference to you.
So thanks for this fast great coverage of a breaking new version of the biggest product in the category.
Rock on, Lon!
Bruce Brown
BeingBruceBrown.com
March 30th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
If anyone has purchased Camtasia in the last 30 days, they will give a free upgrade.
If over the 30 days I was able to purchase the maintenance agreement for an additional $74-ish and that included the upgrade.
March 30th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Hey Lon,
Camtasia 7 looks so much better, hope it handles well on a netbook.
Hugh
.-= Hugh Fraser´s last blog ..Podcast Number 2 in the wild! =-.
March 30th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Hey Lon,
Excellent review of the new features!
I’m flabbergasted (tech term) that they left that audio issue in this version. Having separate control over the audio tracks has always been a niggling pain with Camtasia.
Another workaround is export the clean, leveled audio as an mp3, than bring that back in. Then you can still have control over the visual editing elements.
I used to export, then layer my audio fades etc. in an audio program, then bring the whole finished audio back in. Now maybe I’ll do the audio work in V.7.
Thanks!
Howard
P.S. Guess you’ll have to REDO screencast profits 2.0! OMG!
March 30th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Thanks Lon for the ‘peek’ into 7 (another 7…)!
Looks like some really useful improvements.
Are there any changes to the ‘theater’ or express presentations?
Another great job from our ScreenCast Hero!
Thanks,
Paul
March 30th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Hi Lon,
Thanks for the review. I have been using the CS7 beta and most of my work is recording classes and webinars. The new recorder makes capturing system audio so much easier and the quality of my audio recordings has improved (without editing.)
Once you become familiar with the new UI, look for your editing time to decrease too!
I really enjoy working with CS7, but please keep your instruction coming as I have much to learn!
Shanna
March 30th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
They’ve put a lot of effort into making it look like a “real” video editing program, closer to Vegas or Final Cut.
And the new audio features look really nice as well. You can’t fault them for not loading up an entire audio editor into the program, but the amplitude envelope controls are a really great start.
But I think the clips library has the potential for being the biggest time-saver.
I’m getting ready to grab a free upgrade!
-David
March 30th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Hi Lon,
Nice detailed review.
I was looking forward to the audio enhancements and now really want to play with the new audio features.
I am waiting for a time when there will be no need for a tool like audacity and everything we can do there will be done from inside Camtasia.
Ankur
.-= Ankur Jain´s last blog ..McAfee IPS not compatible with QTP =-.
March 30th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Great review! Looks like Techsmith have made some major upgrades which might make Camtasia harder to learn for newbies. I’ve been using screenr more and more just because it’s a lot more easier to use. Have you used that yet?
Jeff
.-= Jeff´s last blog ..Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-28 =-.
March 30th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Lon – this is a freaking sweeeeeet review! The callouts look great as well the the cursor effects in EDITING mode. I’m sure I’ll update it just for the improved performance enhancement.
How does the editing work – I know on my 2+ hour long videos after the first 10 minutes or so of editing it’s so SLOOOOW to respond. Any improvements there?
March 30th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Great review, thanks! Looks like Techsmith has made some major changes to make it a better product. I’ve been using the product for years, better now.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Thanks Lon!
Great review — I always like to see both pro’s & cons instead of just gushing — greater credibility and indicates some REAL research and use.
Best always,
Carl Street
March 30th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Thanks Lon, have downloaded the trial version and it certainly renders faster and plan to play with it as I have a new project starting.
Looking forward to playing with the call outs etc….
Library is a good addition…
Cecil
March 30th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Hi Lon.
Right on the money again friend.
Excellent review.
Not sure I’ll upgrade yet as there didn’t seem enough to tempt me.
A real shame they didn’t do something about the audio enhancements, although I tend to do most of my audio work seperately if I can using Audacity. It’s not always possible of course.
Cheers
Mike
.-= Mike Seddon´s last blog ..Business to Business Website Promotion and more! =-.
March 30th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Hello Lon,
Great review!
I’ve been toying with investing in Camtasia 5 or 6 for a while. Now version 7 has joined the party.
What a delicious dilemma!
Time to check out the upgrade vs outright purchase price and see if it’s better to get an older version cheap and then upgrade or to go the “whole hog” and go straight to 7.
All the best,
Jeremy
March 31st, 2010 at 2:20 am
Lon,
Thanks man; I just re-rendered a video I created last night in version 6 and it rendered in half the time..now that is awesome. It now appears I can use many of my Digital Juice assets directly in version 7 and that is awesome. Can’t wait until screencast profits get’s into this new version.
Thanks Lon
March 31st, 2010 at 7:47 am
Hello Lon,
I am inspired by your video Camtasia 7 to create my own and present it to my French friends.
I now see all the opportunities Camtasia 7.
Thank you for the information you give us and I wish you a long way.
Christian – France
.-= Christian – France´s last blog ..Camtasia 7 est arrivé =-.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Ahhhhhh, now you’ve done it. I didn’t want to upgrade, but now I have to. Those are some really cool upgrades. I love the fact that you can easily use motion graphics as backgrounds now.
I have version 5 and it seemed good for my purposes, but I’m getting lots of ideas of what I can do with 7.
Thanks for the review and since ya talked me into it, ya got an extra 150 bucks that ya don’t need?
Good stuff!
John P
.-= John P´s last blog ..WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com =-.
March 31st, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Nice Review!
While I have not used this product, it might be time for me to look into this again.
Good job, thanks, Dave
March 31st, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Can you use this software with other social websites beside yotube?
March 31st, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Thank you Lon, this was really helpful and YES YES please, more Camtasia 7 Tutorials!!!! You are the best,
D’vorah
.-= Dvorah Lansky´s last blog ..Christine Gallagher =-.
April 2nd, 2010 at 4:35 am
I put 7 through it’s paces tonight. I like the way they set it up but the playhead is a real pain. I’m used to making a selection EZ-ily in 6 but with 7, having to put the right and left points in on the timeline is a waste of time.
.-= Judith´s last blog ..Formatting Your Fiction Book For the Kindle =-.
April 5th, 2010 at 3:32 am
I upgraded to Camtasia 7 and I really like the Camtasia Library. How can we easily create our own sequences?
May 23rd, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Congrats for the review!
I purchased Camtasia Studio yesterday night, and spent almost the entire night working on the software and trying to found how to use the lot of features and improvements it has.
I loved Camtasia 7. It has so many features! I suffering a lot with some “so called” screencast tools, that I am amazed with Camtasia.
.-= Marcos A.T. Silva´s last blog ..(Vídeo comentado) Genie Timeline Professional 2.0 – Seus dados totalmente seguros =-.
December 29th, 2010 at 8:59 am
[...] last, but not least, Screencaster Lon Naylor from Screencast profits has done an extensive review and in which he grades all the new features. Lon likes the new [...]