Camtasia Screen Recorder Review| Features |Alternative

Alma Elliott
2024-04-18 16:33:55 • Filed to: Screen Recorder Software Reviews

Camtasia is one of the most powerful video editing software available for both Windows and macOS supporting a broad range of media formats. It offers an impressive array of control over the projects while maintaining a user-friendly interface.

It's easy to learn and start editing on Camtasia. Presets, effects, and templates are provided to enhance your video in all aspects. You will have everything you require to make high-quality content engaging your viewers. Increase interaction and reach out to your audience with the help of Camtasia screen recorder and video editor.

Camtasia enables you to share your recorded and edited files directly to platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, and even screencast.com. The application has made transferring media files more comfortable than ever with the help of the mobile app for iOS and Android. Moreover, the app has been developed by Tech Smith (maker of Camtasia), and it is available to use for free.

Interface

Camtasia's interface is essentially the same on every platform except for the keyboard shortcuts. Cross-platform media sharing is only possible when you're using version nine on Windows and version three on Mac. Camtasia has a lot of features, and it's essential to understand the interface, which might appear to be challenging to navigate. However, since it is intricately designed, you will appreciate the UI better as you keep using it.

camtasia app interface

Camtasia starts with a sample project file and a video tutorial of the basic layout to help the first-timer users. TechSmith has tutorial content on their website, which you can find by referring to the video tutorial in the software. The interface can be broken down into three main areas. These are the timeline in the bottom, the media and effects library on the left, and the preview area on the right. A properties panel will follow as soon as you starting adding customizable effects.

Screen Capture

Camtasia comes with a built-in screen recorder that can be accessed by the red 'Record' button on the top left. Complete with audio settings, mouse movement, and picture-in-picture effect with webcam recording. The finished recording appears in the project's media bin along with other project media. You can add it to the timeline like any additional file and edit or export.

When you are done recording and editing your video, there's a range of options for rendering the final file. You can store the last video in a local folder on your PC, or you can have Camtasia upload it to YouTube, Google Drive, Vimeo, or even screencast.com. The rendering is smooth, and so is the upload process.

Screen Recording

You can record anything on your computer screen, be it PowerPoint presentations, software, or even video games. The record button is on the top of the tools panel, and by default, it captures everything on the desktop. To customize the record settings, you can choose to record the full screen by clicking on the 'Full Screen on' button. To capture a particular area of the screen, go to 'select area to record.'

Camtasia also gives you the option to choose the source of media relay along with the display. You can choose between a webcam feed, microphone, and system audio feed. Click on the dropdown icon on the camera or microphone to select the input source. You can end recording in Windows by clicking on the recorder icon in the panel and then the stop button. Click on the Camtasia icon in the Apple menu and click on 'Stop Recording' to finish recording in macOS.

camtasia screen recording

Audio Effects

Camtasia comes with a basic set of audio editing features, but it gets the work done. You can quickly detach audio from any imported video file, which you can use it as a separate track for cutting and trimming. Camtasia Screen Recorder gives you standard audio editing options like noise removal, volume leveling, speed customization, and fades.

However, they also offer a handy feature which is the ability to add narration or voiceover directly from the application. You wouldn't have to worry about syncing up your audio with the video since you can record your narration in real-time. Other than the essential functions, Camtasia has a lot of powerful features that can meet your audio needs, so give it a try before moving onto a third-party application.

Annotations

With the help of annotations, improve your video and focus your user's attention; Camtasia lets you add and customize annotations to bring attention to essential elements in your video. To add an annotation, click on it and drag from the tools panel to the canvas or timeline. You can change the text, edit the font, choose the background color of the annotation by clicking on it, and going to the properties panel. Click and drag the handles to resize, reposition or rotate.

There are many types of annotations available in Camtasia. Shapes and Blur are used to hide sensitive information; Sketch Motion callouts are used for drawing on your video and bringing attention to essential aspects. Lower Thirds lets you add information to your video, and you can also add themes to your annotations to change the look and feel.

Video Sharing

Camtasia has a wide array of video effects for chroma keying, speed adjustments, and general color adjustments. Chroma key is straightforward to use in Camtasia screen recorder for PC. You can remove colors with a few clicks of the eyedropper tool. Even with such high-quality editing, rendering is not a problem.

Once you're satisfied with the project file, Camtasia screen recorder lets you create a local file path on your computer or create a file and directly upload it to Google Drive, YouTube, Vimeo, or even screencast.com. You can visit the official website and click on Camtasia screen recorder for PC free download to install it.

Suppose you chose to upload to Google Drive, Camtasia will open a popup browser to let you sign in. Google enables two-factor authentication in such cases, so you have to approve that too. After you sign in, the rendering and uploading will begin automatically.

Price

You can purchase Camtasia Screen Recorder for $249, both Windows and Mac versions of the software. If you have bought the older version, you can upgrade to the latest for $99.50. The application is pretty costly as compared to other high-quality Camtasia screen recorder and video editor like Final Cut and Premiere Pro. So, a lot of people ask how to get Camtasia screen recorder for free.

While the app isn't free, you can opt for Camtasia screen recorder download free trial version. The trial period lasts for thirty days, and any videos you render will be exported with a watermark. If you buy this software, you can re-render the project files you created during the trial without the watermark.

Camtasia Alternatives

Wondershare DemoCreator

Camtasia's vast number of features may be a little formidable for some, and Wondershare DemoCreator's lightweight and well-designed application might just be the thing you need. Some of the main features of DemoCreator include recording high paced games at up to one hundred and twenty frames per second, screencasting and webcam simultaneously.

settings

DemoCreator provides you with a fully-featured video and audio editing suite. With its dynamic features, the interface has been made easy for people of all ages and backgrounds. Navigating around the application is made easier to make the best use of the options available.

Movavi Screen Recorder

This is one of the best options of powerful yet light screen recording tools as an alternative to Camtasia. This application can be used for streaming video, grabbing music from different websites, recording desktop, creating interactive tutorials. It is popularly known for its user-friendly interface. Its built-in editor supports all features of the Screen Capture tool with fresh filters, editing tools, and video effects.

movavi

Movavi Screen Recorder comes with an intuitive interface; users can select customized portions of screens, areas, windows. The app can easily record audio signals from the system as well as the microphone; it also offers advanced editing tools like video stabilization, slow motion, chroma key for green-screen effect.

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic is a great alternative to Camtasia Screen Recorder for PC. They offer a lot of features, which are hard to find in other screencasting software. They offer JAVA applet launching, which refers to not installing the software to be able to use it. Screen-O-Matic provides straightforward tools, which make it easier for even a beginner to navigate their way around the application.

screen o matic

You can instantly publish the video you make directly to YouTube, even with the free version. Screen-O-Matic also lets you record screen and webcam video simultaneously. The paid version comes equipped with more features like drawing on-screen, zooming on essential details, audio synchronization, video editing features.

Conclusion

For those looking to enhance their video editing to a professional level, Camtasia is the perfect software for you. It's easy to learn the ropes, especially for a beginner. The price may be steep as you can get an industry-standard application for less. But TechSmith is always rolling out updates and making improvements to the software daily.

If you're on a budget, then you can consider other screen recording software like DemoCreator or Movavi. However, if you've got the resources and the appropriate goal, then you can knock yourself out with an extensive range of features. Configuring your requirements would make it easy for you to understand how Camtasia Screen Recorder can help you achieve what you want.