Trying to edit Olympus

Very newbie question, but one I'm having difficulty getting an answer to. I want to branch out with my E-PL5 (cuz it's what I got) into video and Premiere Elements was suggested as good, basic, affordable software upon which to start learning editing. There seems to be comment on the web--a lot of it--that despite advertisement to the contrary, various incarnations of PE won't acknowledge Olympus' .MOV or .AVI formats without it first being switched into some other format. Olympus' emphasis seems to be on photography, not video, and perhaps that's why contacting them directly was of very limited assistance. Has anyone else experienced and resolved this difficulty, or can anyone suggest other, perhaps better, video editing software suggestions that fit the above parameters (good, basic, affordable)?

Davinci Resolve 14

Thanks, Tiger Shark, but a little above my pay grade. Good reviews, though.

The standard version of Resolve is free.

(and Tiger Shark is his level, not his name )

Great information, Sperm Whale!

Oops. Pete L. And, "free" did you say? Well!...