I need a good Web Camera - For Stop Motion animation...?

Any stop motion or animation experts here can recommend me a good web camera, with a good image censor and a manual focus.


I want a answer from someone who know their web cameras please.


Thank you.

I already own a digital camera ...this one Samsung S1050

If you're new to animating and not familiar with digital photography, a good webcam is preferred to a digital camera. Using digital cameras for stop motion is still in its infancy, and the majority of point and click cameras are terrible and not suitable at all for animation purposes. Absolute manual controls are necessary when using a digital camera, otherwise your white balance and automatic focus on your camera will keep changing from image to image, which will royally screw up your shot. Plus, an AC power adapter is necessary since stop motion takes a long time to shoot. If your battery runs out in the middle of your shot, as soon as you pick up the camera to recharge/change batteries, you've screwed up your entire shot. Even with a camera that has manual settings, digital cameras have flicker problems when used for stop motion due to incandescent electrical lighting which buzzes and fluxes. Also, the majority of digital cameras (especially point and click ones) will not be recognized by stop motion frame-grabbing software. As such, it's preferable to use a high-end webcam or a camcorder with a usb or firewire connection.

midnknight_6, I suggest you try to know what you're talking about before posting an answer and end up screwing someone over and wasting their time.

Shooting at 30 fps is unnecessary and just creates undue added work for yourself. People typically shoot at 24fps, as that has been the film standard since sound was introduced to film. Now with the advent of the web, you can shoot at even lower frame rates. Check out this little animation loop that runs at around 15 fps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKuUaZ81x...

I'd suggest shooting at 24 fps on two's (12 images per second, each image onscreen for 2 frames). If you need to, you can interlace your movie when you export it afterwards to accommodate video's 30fps.


I have a logitech quickcam, but I only use it for pencil tests. Your best bet is to read up on reviews, see which cameras come with what features, how the video quality is affected in low level light conditions, see if the camera has frame averaging, etc.

http://cowboyfrank.net/webcams/index.htm...

I've read some good reviews for the high end logitech Quickcams, as well as the latest Quickcam pro's for notebooks.

For any specific questions, you should check out http://www.stopmotionanimation.com
It's a message board filled with stop motion animators helping eachother out.

To actually frame-grab and compile the movie, I'd suggest using Monkeyjam if you're on a PC.

http://www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.co...

If you need more help or info, let me know.

You use a regular digital camera!! Not a webcam. Make sure it has a macro setting. And remember you need to take 30 still shots for one second of video. Good luck!!