Blackmagic Design has released the latest version of DaVinci Resolve 21, marking a significant leap forward in video editing software. This update brings a host of new features and improvements, particularly in the areas of photo editing, keyframing, and motion graphics. The software now includes a dedicated Photo page, which seamlessly integrates still image editing into the Resolve workflow, offering a comprehensive set of tools for colorists and photographers alike.
One of the standout features is the new Photo page, which provides a robust image library with tagging, favorites, ratings, and album collections. It supports major camera formats and offers native RAW support, making it a powerful tool for photographers and colorists. The Photo page also integrates well with the existing Resolve toolset, allowing users to apply Looks, LUTs, and ResolveFX to images, and it supports GPU-accelerated batch exports and conversions.
The Cut and Edit pages have also received substantial updates. Keyframing has been enhanced with 4-point bezier controls, allowing for more precise adjustments. The system now supports keyframing and adding curves to multiple selected clips simultaneously, and it includes ease options for loop, ping pong, reverse, and stretch behaviors. Keyframing has also been extended to Fusion effects, generators, and text, and subframe support has been added for both keyframes and markers.
Fusion, the motion graphics page, has seen a major expansion with the introduction of Krokodove, a library of over 100 new motion graphics effects and tools. The page now includes a Macro Editor with an inspector view and the ability to publish macros for editing effects. Fusion animation can be driven by Fairlight audio, and it supports native OGraf HTML and Lottie animations, along with spell checking and emoji and color font improvements for Text+ and MultiText.
The 3D side of Fusion has also advanced with support for USD SDK 25.11 and the Hydra 2.0 API for the Storm renderer. It now includes native creation of Relief Maps, the ability to change inspector properties across multi-tool selections, and a Lens Distort tool with checkerboard calibration and GPU acceleration.
In terms of media handling, the software now supports tabbed layouts in the media pool, with thumbnail, list, and metadata views customizable per bin. Clips can be starred, and the Cut page supports smart bin views. The software also includes automatic smart bin and clip filters for offline clips, and it allows for the export of media bin thumbnails as PDFs.
The Color page has been extended with customizable HDR and nit scope ranges, ACES AMF improvements, Adobe RGB colorspace and gamma support, and OpenFX 1.5 color management APIs. Advanced panel controls now cover 2.39 and 2.4 safe area aspect ratios, and multi-user projects can bypass color management on the Color page.
DaVinci Resolve 21 also offers a wide range of codec support, including new RAW decode support for Canon CR3, Panasonic LUMIX RW2, FUJIFILM RAF, and Apple ProRAW, alongside improved Nikon NEF decode and support for compressed ARW from Sony A7V cameras. It supports Sony Burano V3 clips and Insta360 I-Log in color management, and it has enhanced EXIF metadata handling for stills formats.
The software is available in both free and paid Studio versions. The free version includes high-quality processing and can handle unlimited resolution media files, but it has limitations on project mastering and output resolution. The Studio version unlocks advanced features such as multiple GPUs, 4K output, motion blur effects, and AI-based tools.
In conclusion, DaVinci Resolve 21 is a powerful update that significantly enhances the video editing experience. With its comprehensive set of features and improvements, it is a must-have tool for professionals in the film, video, and photography industries.
