This article was generously written by Stefan of Yellowhead
Studios. Yellowhead Studios took the Grand Prize in our first contest,
the Classical Movie Contest. He is also the author of a free bluescreening
program, Blue Screen of Life, which is soon to be released. His and his
brother's collective works can be found
here.
Many, if not all, aspiring Brickfilmers are faced with
this question. Some very early, some after their first few films. This
document tries to give these people some ideas to base their choice on.
Basically there are three different camera types that can be used for stop-motion
animation. I'll shed some light on the advantages they have, and the differences
between the various brands and types. I will focus on webcams because these
are used most often, and not as expensive as the other types.
Webcams
Webcams are the cheapest option available, and by far
not the worst: some of the best brickfilms around here have been created
with ordinary webcams. They work well with the software that's available,
and their small size makes it possible to put them in the middle of the action.
The disadvantage is that they are very light, and the cable is not too long
and flexible, which makes it easy to move it while filming.
The main difference between webcams is the light-sensitive
chip found inside. Most webcams, and all the cheap ones, have a so-called
CMOS chip. This one is not as sensitive as the higher-quality CCD chip
found in the more expensive ones (PHILIPS ToUcam Pro, Kodak DVC325 and
Logitech Quickcam Pro 3000 are the only ones I know of). The result of
this:
the most clearly seen difference - they have difficulties
with live motion (they adopt to changes in light intensity much slower).
Those who own a webcam: open the preview window, and set the frame rate
to the maximum value. Then wave your hand frantically in front of it. If
it becomes a blur before it starts hurting, you have a CMOS chip inside it.
Otherwise it's CCD.
Digital (photo)cameras also have CCDs, but they are
much more expensive because
they are self-operational and portable
they have better lenses (glass and aspherical instead
of the cheap plastic used in webcams. Also adjusting the focus is not the
same as unscrewing the lens from the camera, and finally many models support
optical ("real") zoom).
they have higher resolutions.
They have lots of internal software.
This last point is exactly what makes them less useful
for Brickfilming: the software is not very exact, so focus and even lighting
may change considerably from frame to frame. With the exception of some
very expensive models, where all can be set manually, they are not too useful.
A final reason that makes them less useful, is that
there is no camera I know of that can store the pictures taken directly on
the computer. It will always store them on an internal memory, and when connected
to the computer it will appear as a disk drive.
(Digital) videocameras
Digital video cameras are probably the best you can
get: they can be connected to the computer to store the images directly,
and have all the advantages like high-quality lenses, manual focus, zoom
and - not unimportant - a standard socket for a tripod
[2
]. Also they can be used for other (vacation) purposes. Unfortunately they
are terribly expensive, and you will usually need a capture card for your
computer before you can use it for stop-motion. The same goes for analogue
videocameras. The main difference between analogue and digital videocameras
is the way they store film on tape. The digital cameras have much higher quality
there. You won't notice this difference, however, if you capture directly
into a computer.
Conclusion
So, to conclude, if you want to limit the amount of
money you spend on equipment, go for webcam. Keep in mind the following points,
that determine its quality:
chip (CMOS/CCD)
maximum resolution
maximum framerate (usually connected to chip)
tripod socket/stability
manual focus (essential for a sharp picture. This
is not always mentioned on the box, so look for a ring around the lens
that can be turned.)
Also ask in the shop if you can try it out and return
it when you are not satisfied. In the Netherlands this is usually no problem
if you repack it neatly, and return it within 2 weeks. Also ask for the
amount of guarantee, and how this is settled in your shop.
Camera list
In order to give a more concrete idea of what a camera
is capable of, I have included a list of cameras that were actually used
for brickfilms. There's a link to a film with each camera.
Click the picture of the camera to purchase this camera
at 10-30% off at Amazon.com
Name: Philips ToUcam Pro
(PCVC 740 K) (webcam)
Link:
http://www.philips.com/
Link to buy: click picture (save 3%) Resolution/max. framerate: Still 1280x960,
video 640x480 @ 15 fps, 320x240 @ 30 fps
Chip: CCD
Other features: Cool design, extremely clear picture, friendly
software
Link to film:
Great Inventors Part 1: The Wheel by YellowHead Studios
Name: Kodak DVC 325 (webcam)
Link:
http://www.kodak.com/
Resolution/max. framerate: still 640x480, video 176x144 @
30 fps, 640x480 @ 8 fps
Chip: CCD
Other features: Clear picture, very adjustable
Link to film:
The Invention
, Girl
Name: Sony Handycam CCD-TR910
NTSC (Hi-8 video camera)
Link:
http://www.sony.com/
(this model is no longer on their website)
Link to buy:
(save up to 60%) Resolution/max. framerate:
270k pixels, tv framerate (don't know exact numbers)
Chip: CCD, video camera!
Other features: Zoom, tripod socket, many other features.
Link to film:
Xarkun 8 by Platypus Pics
Name: Logitech QuickCam
Pro 3000 (webcam)
Link:
http://www.logitech.com/ Link to buy: click picture (save 20%) Resolution/max. framerate: Still 640x480,
video 640x480 @ up to 30 fps
Chip: CCD
Other features: Lots of software included, tripod socket
Link to film:
Kyoko's Poetry
,
Name: Orange Micro iBot
(firewire webcam)
Link: http://www.orangemicro.com/ibot.html Link to buy: click picture (free shipping)
Resolution/max. framerate: Still 640x480,
video unknown.
Chip: CCD
Other features: Connects via firewire instead of usb, so incompatible
with standard computers.
Link to film:
The Gauntlet by Jay Silver
(frame averaging improved the picture of this one a lot)
Name: Kensington webcam
(note: Kensington discontinued this product)
Link: was
http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_1465.html Resolution/max. framerate: Still 640x480,
video 24 fps maximum
Chip: CMOS
Other features: Came with stop-motion software in its
bundle
Link to film:
Freedom
Name: The LEGO Studios
camera/ Mindstorms Camera
Link: http://www.lego.com/studios/ Link to buy: click picture (save 20%) Resolution/max. framerate: 640x480 (really!),
30 fps or something.
Chip: CMOS
Other features: This is actually the Logitech Quickcam
Web. Comes with Lego Studios, which makes picture quality worse than
what the cam can do, and has too low framerates. See
this article
for more on this.
Link to film:
Labour Union Riot by Cinmea of Champions
[1] There are several ways to work around this. The most obvious one is
better lighting. Daylight usually works best, but tends to change too quickly
for your film. Two 60 Watt light bulbs are a bare minimum when filming indoors,
usually a halogen lamp gives much better results. Frame averaging is also
a possibility, but there's not much software around to do this (
look here
). back
[2] The logitech webcams also have this. back
(save up to 60%)
