The New Camtasia Review
Reviews • May 1, 2020
Almost all laptops come with an HD front-facing camera and with a high-end configuration, you can record videos and edit video content in minutes.
The only thing you’re missing is the recording software.
Camtasia is actually a 2-in-1 software that doesn’t only help you record your screen, but it also allows you to edit your videos right within the software.
The newest version of Camtasia 2020 is updated with features that can help speed up video production, maintain quality & consistency easily throughout the number of videos, and even increase the productivity of a video production team.
Does Camtasia sound like something that would benefit your creativity?
Keep on reading, since down below, you’ll find a lot more interesting features of the newest Camtasia 2020 that will help you make your decision!
Camtasia 2020: new features and benefits
Whether you’re recording videos for your personal project or you’re looking for a software that will help you with your video production for a professional purpose – we’re sure that you’ve come across Camtasia.
You might have even used previous versions of Camtasia – but what’s so special about the 2020 version?
A lot of things.
Camtasia has always remained high-quality standard, but with the 2020 version, we believe that they’re also focusing on the way professionals use video recording tools.
Along with listening to the feedback of existing users, this allowed Camtasia to add features that every heavy-user will love to have.
Video templates
No matter why you use Camtasia, we are sure that most users would love to have a bit of help when it comes down to consistency.
Camtasia introduces video templates in the 2020 version that won’t only help you create & edit your videos faster, but it will also ensure that all of your videos have your unique touch to it.
If you’re recording videos for any of the video platforms where you have a following – it’s important to you represent your brand and your style throughout your channel.
Camtasia 2020 allows a very efficient way to edit videos right within the software, just seconds after you stop recording the new video, thanks to useful editing features.
Whether you’re working alone or you’re working in a team – video templates will bring in a lot more consistency and ability to keep your video quality up to your standards, even when you are in a rush.
Favorites
No one likes recording software that features hundreds of tools where you can’t organize yourself and where you can’t achieve an efficient workflow.
We really fell in love Favorites section inside the Camtasia 2020 interface.
This section was made so the users can add their favorite tools, effects, annotations, and other frequently used tools to have everything they require in one place.
If you’re someone who’s editing on a daily basis, this could definitely increase your productivity and help you edit your videos a lot easier.
And if you are one of the editors who like to stick to a template and use the same effects & annotations in every one of their videos – you’ll love this feature as much as we did since everything you need is only a click away.
Consistency
We were just saying how Camtasia improved a lot when it comes to consistency, but templates & favorites aren’t the only two features that will boost your consistency.
Even in the previous version, Camtasia used to be relatively efficient.
But what if you are working in a team?
Sharing the projects and working on a couple of different computers was possible, but it wasn’t as smooth as it is in the upgraded version.
If you’ve experienced this issue before, you’d understand what we’re saying.
However, we believe that TechSmith took consistency to another level in Camtasia 2020. The biggest improvement is the ability to bundle all your add-ons within Camtasia such as templates, themes, shortcuts, and even personal favorites – to easily carry it over to another device.
After all, no matter which license you purchase – you’ll have the ability to install Camtasia to two different devices. Even if you aren’t working in a team, you will still have a way to easily transfer everything you’re working on to another device.
Improved screen recording quality
Of course, Camtasia didn’t only improve in the terms of productivity & ease-of-use, but it actually improved the recording quality as well.
Even though this was one of the expected upgrades, users are now able to capture individual inputs at a higher resolution webcam recording. We feel that Camtasia is keeping up with technology and this is a great way to keep up with quality front-facing cameras placed in modern laptops.
So if you aren’t at the point where you are ready to invest in a new camera yet you are still fine with your laptop’s camera – Camtasia will help you keep up the quality no matter the recording source.
Add-ons to boost creativity
We believe that the newest Camtasia version is all about taking the quality to another level without forgetting the ease of use and user experience itself.
But still, we were surprised by a number of features added such as Track Mattes or reversible transitions.
Truth to be told, we felt that the interface was a bit busier than in the previous Camtasia version – but once you start recording & editing, it’s very easy to get used to it.
After all, once you start taking advantage of all new features – you truly start to appreciate the updated benefits.
Camtasia 2020 review: recording screen
Camtasia has always been known for its recording capabilities. We also believe that now, Camtasia will also be very well known as a video editing tool as well.
But there’s one thing every user loves about Camtasia.
It’s the big red button in the top left corner. This means that it’s very simple to get started recording your first video.
But what’s oftentimes overlooked is the capability of the built-in screen recorder. Camtasia’s screen recorder has the ability to record screen along with the audio, track mouse-clicks and even companion the video with the webcam input, all at once.
Once you’re done recording your video, the video will appear in the well known “canvas” part of the Camtasia interface.
Even though you might feel overwhelmed with the extra add-on features, once you add your recently recorded video to the timeline – you’ll love getting to know new Camtasia features.
Therefore, if you’ve ever used Camtasia before, we believe that there’s no learning curve at all. However, if you’re looking into Camtasia for the first time, you will have to learn how Camtasia screen recorder works.
Screen recording has only a few most important features you would need during recording and you won’t have a hard time learning your way around the screen recorder.
You will be able to record your video relatively quickly. However, you will have to spend a bit more time during the editing part since there are plenty of tools and features to learn about.
Camtasia 2020 review: editing video
It’s fairly easy to start editing your recently recorded video. The process is the same. All you have to do is drag your video to the timeline which adds it to your project and creates a new track if required.
This means that you will be able to start editing your video in just seconds.
We find that it’s a bit easier to cut and paste sections of the video in the new Camtasia version. However, there more options than before which can improve editing capabilities.
Once you browse through all features and add-ons available within Camtasia 2020, you could easily follow templates, stick desired effects in the favorites part of Camtasia interface, or even directly drag and drop features into the video to get on with editing.
For example, all you have to add scene transition into your newly recorded video is click on the effect and drag it to your video.
Even though Camtasia has many more features which makes the interface feel overwhelming at first – we think that it’s still very well organized.
Another great example is the feature which lets you know how much overlap you will need to make elements mesh successfully in your track.
Of course, Camtasia is definitely not an easy ride for beginners.
We find it easy to get confused with the number of settings available for preset effects. Things can get messy – but you still have to understand that Camtasia is a 2-in-1 software which is pretty powerful at both so there’s a bit of a learning curve when it comes down to the editing aspect of the software.
We think that the grouping of preset effects could be simplified a bit, because, even when you learn how to get the most out of the editing part of Camtasia, you will still need to spend a bit of time looking for preset effects in the groups unless you add your desired effects to the Favorites section.
Even though Camtasia 2020 kept the same 3-part interface design: timeline, canvas, and tools – we would love to see a bit more pop-up selection windows as we believe that this would make the editing process a bit smoother.
Don’t get us wrong – we loved almost every aspect of editing a video in Camtasia 2020.
But do you want to know what we like the most?
It is definitely the ability to avoid messing with keyframes of the video, yet simply rely on the arrow overlay on the track you’re editing.
All you have to do is drag and drop the arrow to the spot in your video to get to the exact frame without ever getting confused with various editing terminology.
But what if you would like to edit a video that wasn’t recorded on your desktop?
By installing the Capture app from TechSmith on your phone, you could record videos that can be easily imported into Camtasia editor. It’s a very simple process that’s very well explained within the app so you can’t go wrong!
Working with audio was also simple, and even though we were looking forward to seeing more audio editing features in Camtasia 2020 – this didn’t happen in the 2020 version.
However, you will still get plenty of features to do the most basic or even a bit of advanced audio editing for your video.
And now, are you ready to hear the best feature related to the audio editing? It’s narration.
With Camtasia 2020, you get to add narration directly to your video while it’s playing. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about syncing the audio and video together after creating your narration.
Our opinion is that most users won’t have to rely on other software to edit their audio. Yet instead, Camtasia 2020 is powerful enough to meet most standard audio editing needs.
But are you looking to take your video editing further with Camtasia 2020? If you have a green screen – you will love video effects available for chroma keying (green screen editing).
We believe that Camtasia’s editing part of the software is good enough to create quality green screen video productions without requiring any other software.
If you think that there’s anything missing out and yet it could improve your video editing experience – it’s good to know that Camtasia also features downloadable video assets. These assets include additional templates, themes, intros, outros, and even motion graphics.
These assets are ready as soon as you download them and add them into your Camtasia software and yet they could help you spend less time editing your footage, adding effects, or messing with your video background.
Suggested uses for Camtasia 2020
Camtasia has been around since 2002 and ever since its first version, their 2-in-1 recording & editing software has improved a lot.
What once used to be a great little software for screen recording ideal for personal projects – it quickly ended up being one of the most conventional software that’s now used by professionals.
Everyone consumes a lot of content (especially on YouTube) and yet we don’t even realize that a large number of the videos were edited using Camtasia.
This includes everything from simple how-to videos & video tutorials to professional-looking screencasts or even green-screen videos.
We believe that Camtasia is even ideal for business & marketing sales presentations that could go along with a PowerPoint presentation or even replace the PowerPoint presentation at all.
Even if you are new to Camtasia, you could end up recording tutorial (instructional) videos or creating work-related (business) videos in no time.
The great thing about Camtasia is that it’s very versatile. The benefits of Camtasia go so far that you could even end up creating commercials or demo (micro) videos for product promotion, pitching ideas, or simply sharing your thoughts on a certain topic.
If you are content creator, you could even take advantage of Camtasia to record webinars, meetings, or improve your PowerPoint presentation.
Not all videos have to be published. However, having the ability to record & rewatch videos for learning purposes is also an efficient way to use Camtasia.
If you have any specific needs, we believe that you should still give Camtasia a try since it supports a wide range of file formats and exporting options so you won’t face any issues.
Pricing plans
Camtasia is a paid video editing software, and even though most people think that it’s a fairly expensive software – you should wisely choose your license type.
Free trial
Even though Camtasia is a well-established company that has been around for a long time – they still feature a free 30-day trial.
This means that anyone can experience the full power of Camtasia without any limitations. If you’re looking to do a quick project – this might be a good opportunity.
However, if you’re looking for an ideal software you will rely on for years, starting a trial is a great way to learn more about Camtasia
Free trial even includes both macOS and Windows support so you can test it out and know exactly what to expect if you upgrade to any of the pricing plans.
Individual
An individual license is the most common license purchased. This is ideal for individuals who would like to obtain a full license for a one-time fee of $299.
This license can be installed on two machines per user.
Therefore, if you are using two different devices and you’d like to record & edit on both of them – with this license, you get the rights to do so.
Business
A business license is a perfect choice for teams who require editing software that will be used by the whole team.
You get to choose a number of licenses required (depending on the number of team members).
- Single Business License starts at $299
- 5-9 members – $287
- 10-14 members – $278
- 15-24 members -$269
- 25-49 members – $248
- 50-99 members – $239
- 100+ members – Requires inquiry with TechSmith sales team
Education
Education license features a big discount which is ideal for educational institutions who are looking to feature Camtasia as a part of their learning program.
- Single Educational License starts at $209
- 5-9 members – $195
- 10-14 members – $189
- 15-24 members – $182
- 25+ members – Requires inquiry with TechSmith sales team
Government & Non-Profit
Government and non-profit organizations also have a discount on Camtasia’s license.
- Single Government License starts at $269
- 5-9 members – $258
- 10-14 members – $250
- 15-24 members – $242
- 25-49 members – $223
- 50-99 members -$215
- 100+ members – Requires inquiry with TechSmith sales team
Upgrade
If you are upgrading from the previous version of Camtasia to the newest version – you will still have to pay an upgrade fee.
This one-time fee costs $119 and it can be installed on two devices per user.
Final thoughts
Did you ever use Camtasia before? Are you excited to experience all features available in Camtasia 2020?
Whether you require a video recording & editing software for personal or business needs – Camtasia is a type of software that has the ability to meet all sorts of needs.
We like how Camtasia keeps developing further and not only that they improve the most important feature of the software which is recording, but they are also improving the video editing part. Of course, we shouldn’t forget the added improvements to the user experience either.
If you have used the previous Camtasia version – is the upgrade fee worth it?
It definitely is. The difference between version is very noticeable and the increase in productivity is worth the upgrade itself.
