After years of domination in the pro video field, Apple, many believe, made a strategic error with the release of Final Cut Pro X ($299.99 in the Mac App Store), a misstep rival Adobe has benefitted from in its efforts to reclaim lost market shares for Premiere Pro ($799, adobe.com). The front line in this ongoing battle now shifts to the consumer market with the release of Premiere Elements 10, Adobe’s latest video editing suite for regular folks.

Do you remember when iMovie was easy to use and had a bunch of exciting features? For only $9.99 you can regain control of your amateur auteurism as well as access video effects and editing tricks that iMovie—and even Final Cut Pro X—would be proud of.

Apple's built-in Camera app leaves a lot to be desired -- hence the glut of third-party apps aiming to provide more features. QuickPix lets you shoot both video and stills, but its primary focus is taking pictures, with some nifty features that might quickly become indispensable.

Instead of jumping ahead one full version number every 18 months as usual, Adobe surprised us this spring with Creative Suite 5.5, a mid-cycle upgrade that brings new features to applications snubbed in the last release. The company plans to continue this trend in the future with major updates (like CS6) coming every two years and “point five” releases in between. Users of earlier versions can also graduate slowly to CS5.5 if they so desire -- our older copy of CS4 Design Premium coexists nicely with the latest and greatest version -- but as usual, preferences don’t transfer from older versions.