What camera should i get for stop motion animatios?

Question

I was wondering what the best camera to buy is for new and good looking animations. Im only 14 and have been using a very bad small web cam. I't would be good if it were a camcorder and i have been looking at the SONY HDR-CX11 High Definition Camcorder and the Sony HDR-SR11. Im not sure if these will even work for stop motion animation beacue of the issue of live view with hard disk drive cameras but the HDR-CX11 is a flash memory stick camera but i dont know if that makes a difference. Im also open to the idea of a digital still camera.

I'm open to any sujestions, thanks :D

Answer 1

If you're just starting out, don't use a digital camera, there's a sh itload of problems you need to overcome when using a digital camera for stop motion. A good webcam or camcorder is much easier to use for novice stop motion animators.

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 s***w 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. Any camcorder will be able to be recognized by stop motion software. Keep in mind that it will be hooked upand capture images through the video feed, so it is the resolution of the video that is important, not its digital still image resolution.

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. They even have a handbook section that has basic answers and info on a variety of stop motion topics (armatures, sets, cameras, etc)

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

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

AnimatorDV: Simple+ became freeware.

http://www.animatordv.com/download7

If you're on a Mac, you could try Framethief or FramebyFrame.

http://www.framethief.com/

http://web.mac.com/philipp.brendel/Softw...

Here are some online resources about the basic principles of animation. These principles can and should be applied to any genre or medium you choose to work in, whether that be drawn, CGI, or stop motion animation.

http://www.idleworm.com/how/index.shtml

http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute/lessonp...

http://www.animationarena.com/principles...

http://www.animationmeat.com/notes/notes...

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