Okay, so I bought a dslr with a movie mode. I really had no plans on using it, but ended up shooting my daughter playing at a piano recital. This has me thinking.

1. Can I easily get the file sizes down without losing a lot of quality? I shot 80 seconds at the camera's lowest quality and still ended up with 38Mb (I wonder how big the hd mode would have been?). It shoots .avi.
   
2. Can I adjust exposure with editing software? There was a bright window behind the shot, with very little room lighting. Since shooting the video was a last minute idea, I didn't look into locking the exposure on the camera so ended up with a darker exposure than I'd normally want.
3. Pinnacle Studio has gotten favourable reviews here and elsewhere. I tried learning about it on their web site, but they don't seem to actually say anything. Is there a better place to find out its capabilities? Are the upgraded versions of much use for a starting amateur? They have a free version under a different title, but I forget what now. Is it of any use?
   
4. What else is out there these days? I'm not against spending money, but I'd like to keep it under 100 bucks. I have Windows Movie Maker on this computer which seems to have basic capabilities, but not the exposure adjusting I'd like.