DaVinci Resolve 21
DaVinci Resolve 21 adds a Photo page with color grading tools, nine AI-powered features, and improvements to editing and audio workflows.
DaVinci Resolve 21 introduces a new Photo page integrating Hollywood color grading tools for still photography, with node-based editing, album organization, and AI IntelliSearch for content discovery. AI features include face age transformation, blemish removal, speech generation from text, focus adjustment, motion deblur, and sharpening. The Edit and Cut pages gain keyframing improvements, HTML graphics and Lottie animation support, and enhanced text tools. The Color page adds MultiMaster trim passes for generating multiple HDR and SDR deliverables, layer list node graphs, and group version management. Fusion includes the Krokodove VFX library with 70+ new graphics and audio-driven animation. Fairlight gains folder functions for audio track management. The software supports immersive and VR workflows.
What HN community is saying
Commenters split on AI marketing fatigue versus practical utility. The top sentiment criticizes labeling features "AI" as marketing-speak that fails to reach end users, preferring descriptive names like "smart background removal" or "face aging." However, counterarguments note that naming "AI" signals these tools actually work now, distinguishing neural network implementations from older algorithmic approaches that produced poor results. Several users praise the software's specific utility for professionals: one notes free major updates across versions and calls it excellent value; another argues that real workflows benefit immensely from automation that saves hours on tedious tasks. A thread subcomment disputes this, arguing editing is a craft requiring human viewing of all footage, and that relying on AI selection produces uninteresting results.