• Joined: December 26, 2008

Topic: Frame Capture Software Census

When I started brickfilming, MonkeyJam and Anasazi seemed to be the dominant entry-level frame capture programs. A few days ago I was thinking about a project I've been working on, and I realized something surprising- that was seven years ago, and I really don't have a clue what programs people use these days.

Is MonkeyJam still popular? AnimatorDV Simple+ seems to be abandonware, but maybe it survives regardless? Are paid programs more popular than free? As more people employ DSLRs in place of webcams, what effect does that have on the animation software pecking order?

In the interest of answering these questions, I've created this poll. I'm listing as many animation programs as I can think of at present- if you use one that isn't listed, by all means shout out in a comment and I'll add it. Finally, feel free to post below with more detailed explanations and discussion regarding your choices- after all, knowing what programs people use isn't nearly as interesting as knowing why they use them.

Your participation is greatly appreciated!

  • Sean
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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

You forgot Stop Motion Pro.

I use Dragonframe.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Helium Frog
Why?-It can shoot HD without going beyond the screen like MonkeyJam, it has a better playback feature than MJ, it doesn't have to export the frames as well as the video. The exported video is high quality but still a manageable file size, it looks more professional and sleek, and it has a cool name. Onion skinning is nice, but rarely used.
And that's about it.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

About software I use Helium Frog. It can do hd without a large window. It has onion skinning, frame averaging, good playback. I also like how the video is automatically created so you don't have to wait for it to export. Its one downside is it can't import frames but I can easily use VirtualDubMod for that.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Could you add EOS Utility to the list please? I may sound picky but I only use it from time to time.

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Slurping Animations's Website

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Slurping Animations wrote:

Could you add EOS Utility to the list please? I may sound picky but I only use it from time to time.

That would probably count as the "I don't use frame capture software" option.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I don't. I take all my frames independently on a Nikon D3100 and then transfer them to my Mac, where I run them through FrameByFrame.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

After using both MonkeyJam and HeliumFrog for quite a while each, I've settled with HeliumFrog. I like it a lot, and it fills in many of the places that MonkeyJam lacks - it's not as slow as MJ, the frame capture window doesn't resize, taking up more than the entire screen when I want to film in HD, plus it has onion skinning, and an interface that's easier to work with overall in my opinion.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I don't really know why i need a capture program. I use the built-in capture feature that comes with Sony Vegas, and although i manually need to flip it to 1280x720, AND the capture shortcut is CTRL+Shift+R which i can't change, it works fine.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Voted. And, if you're wondering, I currently use MonkeyJam. I understand it's a classic choice, but MJ can be a very obedient software, when not freezing up right after you capture the very first frame.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I'm currently just taking each frame on my camera and then importing them to an editor to put the frames together. It works, but I really want to have onion skinning, etc. I'm planning on getting either AnimatorHD or StopMotionPro, but I've been putting off doing a full on comparison of the two. I wasn't aware that Helium Frog could do HD; I think I'm going to have to give it a try.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I currently use iStopmotion.

Last edited by Willow Tree (November 24, 2014 (09:11pm))

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I've been using Monkeyjam but after reading this thread I think I'm going to give Heliumfrog a try.

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I use DIYPhotobits.com camera control to capture the frames.  I use it to avoid touching (and possibly bumping) the camera.   Although not really much to it except capturing frames, I am quite please.   Oh, and I currently have the Nikon D3100, if you're interested.  (There is also a list of compatible cameras).

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Heh, odd that I'm the only one that voted for Canon EOS Utiliy. Foreveralone

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I have been using a basically advanced version of Monkey Jam that came on a disk. It worked well for me for the past few years, but it has a problem with crashing when an animation exceeds a certain number of frames. This has led to a few projects being unfinished. After what I've read, I'm thinking of switching to HeliumFrog.

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Lavamation's Website

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

I have been trying to decide what Software to get. Dragonframe or HeliumFrog, I'm just not sure. which is the best in your guy's opinion?

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Locker 74 Productions's Website

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Well, Helium frog is free, whereas DragonFrame ain't.
Dragon is pretty expensive but has some amazing features and works with DSLRs.
Helium Frog is a solid piece of software, and is more than capable of doing everything you need...Maybe just not everything you want. But if you're using a webcam, the money would probably be best spent elsewhere and I'd highly suggest HeliumFrog.

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Pritchard Studios's Website

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

Helium Frog and DragonFrame are pretty much the two opposites ends of the frame capturing software spectrum! mini/lol
Since Helium Frog is free simply download to see what it is like and with Dragonframe there is a trial version you can try out. I'd agree with Pritchard, Helium Frog is perfect for most people's needs. (and probably yours)

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Re: Frame Capture Software Census

It's not on the list, but I use corel Capture for screen capture and VLC player for video frame capture.

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