The hype in early 2010 preceding Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 release turned out to be warranted-and, not surprisingly, our readers wanted to learn more about the feature set inside an editing application they may have written off years before. This didn’t surprise us. But our look at the most-read reviews and tutorials featuring new products did uncover some interesting results. A few older reviews popped into the top five this year, including our early and in-depth  look at the RED ONE (reviewed by James Mathers in November 2007) and Sony’s Sound Forge 9 (reviewed by David English in April 2007). At StudioDaily.com, we understand the appeal of older cameras like the RED ONE, which has evolved in fits and starts but still maintains an extremely loyal user base while drawing new users each year. We also know that not everyone will upgrade upon the release of a new camera or software version; you want reviews and tutorials that help you get more out of what you’ve already got in your arsenal (especially in 2010, when budgets were squeezed even more). When you do upgrade, you know where to turn. We’ll be bringing you more software and camera reviews, including looks at RED EPIC and Sony’s F3, in the new year.

Top Reviews of 2010

1.) Adobe Premiere Pro CS5

This long-awaited and much touted upgrade to Premiere brought back former users and doubters who had drifted to Final Cut Pro in recent years. Exciting new features included the 64-bit GPU accelerator Mercury Playback Engine, which Adobe had been developing secretly with NVIDIA for about three years. Said reviewer Charlie White, “Premiere Pro’s been drastically improved, to such a profound extent that it could save you dozens of hours on every project you produce.”

2.) Autodesk 3ds Max 2011

Autodesk, beginning with its original media and entertainment division, Kinetix, has consistently packed the features into each successive upgrade of this 3D modeling, animation and rendering software package. This version delivered plenty of new features and improvements to those in the 2010 version, including   an improved user interface (UI) and workflow, great additions to the modeling tools, a new and improved system for building materials, integration of CAT, and “best of all a top-notch 3D/2D paint system,” said reviewer Mike de la Flor.

3.) HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation

It’s not an Apple-only world after all (as many of you working on the PC know), and interest in this souped-up laptop from HP confirms that. For color-critical work, this workhorse “is currently the best solution with its 30-bit DreamColor display and Intel Core i7 processor options,” said reviewer David English. Other pluses include a choice of fast dual-core or quad-core mobile processors, support for up to 16GB of system memory and two USB 3.0 ports.

Top Tutorials of 2010

1.) Design a Title Using Artbeats HD Clips and After Effects

The popularity of this tutorial was enhanced by a nice little extra: a selection of free HD clips we were able to offer readers, courtesy of Artbeats.

2.) Edit and Create Subtitles in Apple FCP

A perennial favorite that was first published in Studio/monthly magazine, this simple and common task, explained well, continued to draw record readers this year.

3.) Create a Fluid Plasma Effect with Trapcode Particular

Motion designer Harry Frank, in an excerpt from his Class on Demand DVD on Particular, shows readers how to take advantage of turbulence fields to create a believable plasma effect. First posted in 2008, this tutorial continued to draw readers in 2010 who can’t get enough of the wonderfully varied particle effects possible with this plug-in.