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My kid wants to make movies with his articulated toys moving - I think
that's called stop action animation.

For Christmas, I want to buy him a camcorder that can do movies but also,
fixed in one place on a tripod, can take a snapshot every few seconds (or
manually) and make those snapshots into a movie.

The camcorder I'm looking at is in Target and it's a Sony DCRSX44 for
about $250.

I can't tell from the specifications if it has this stop-action animation
into a movie feature.

What "feature" do I look for in the specifications?

http://www.target.com/Sony-Handycam-...4-Internal/dp/
B0031RGKYO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&keywords=sony%
20dcrsx44&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchNod eID=1038576%
7C1287991011&searchPage=1&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-3&qid=1293041844&rh=&searchBinNameList=subjectbi n
%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%
2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=target104545&frombrowse=0

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:18:58 +0000, Harold Lathom wrote:

> My kid wants to make movies with his articulated toys moving - I think
> that's called stop action animation.

I just realized that URL to the Sony DCRSX44 camcorder specifications
was too long so I tinyurl'd it to make it easier for you to see the specs:
http://tinyurl.com/3ahq2b2

What do I look for in camcorder specs that tells me the camcorder can do
stop action animation (either manually or every so many seconds) and then
turn the results into a movie?

"Harold Lathom" <> wrote in message
news:ietfr0$bo1$...
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:18:58 +0000, Harold Lathom wrote:

>> My kid wants to make movies with his articulated toys moving - I think
>> that's called stop action animation.
>
> I just realized that URL to the Sony DCRSX44 camcorder specifications
> was too long so I tinyurl'd it to make it easier for you to see the specs:
> http://tinyurl.com/3ahq2b2
>
> What do I look for in camcorder specs that tells me the camcorder can do
> stop action animation (either manually or every so many seconds) and then
> turn the results into a movie?

"Digital camera" should do it, but you would need to bring onto a
timeline all the 640x480 photos in order, specifying in the editing
program how long each should last. Preferably, the camera should
have a cable release socket or Lanc socket (which it won't have),
but it may have a wireless remote that can be used for taking the
individual photos. A reasonably sturdy short tripod would help.
Could be fun, but this takes a lot of patience to do well...
--DR

On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:52:51 -0500, David Ruether wrote:
> "Digital camera" should do it

Thanks for the advice.

I understand that all it needs is a "camera" feature and then we can
manually assemble the series of pictures with software into a movie.

The short tripod is a good idea (less shaking); but I don't think the
Sony DCRSX44 comes with a remote (too bad) because a remote would make
the series of picture without shaking.

But what I was hoping for was a video camera that could take pictures
ever, say, 10 seconds, and even better, automatically assemble those
pictures into a video.

I guess if the "frame rate" was adjustable to 10 seconds, that might do
it.

If the Sony DCRSX44 can't do that, does anyone know of a comparably
priced (less than $300) video camera that can do that for my kid?

"Harold Lathom" <> wrote in message
news:iethnj$fsc$...
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:52:51 -0500, David Ruether wrote:

>> "Digital camera" should do it

> Thanks for the advice.
>
> I understand that all it needs is a "camera" feature and then we can
> manually assemble the series of pictures with software into a movie.
>
> The short tripod is a good idea (less shaking); but I don't think the
> Sony DCRSX44 comes with a remote (too bad) because a remote would make
> the series of picture without shaking.
>
> But what I was hoping for was a video camera that could take pictures
> ever, say, 10 seconds, and even better, automatically assemble those
> pictures into a video.
>
> I guess if the "frame rate" was adjustable to 10 seconds, that might do
> it.
>
> If the Sony DCRSX44 can't do that, does anyone know of a comparably
> priced (less than $300) video camera that can do that for my kid?

At this price (and far higher), I don't think you will find this
feature. An alternative is a very sturdy tripod combined with
careful shutter-pressing, or if you have a firm object to mount
it on, a Manfrotto clamp with an added articulating camera
mount may work best. BTW, I have several of these, and
would be willing to sell one set...
--DR

Harold Lathom <> wrote:
>My kid wants to make movies with his articulated toys moving - I think
>that's called stop action animation.
>
>For Christmas, I want to buy him a camcorder that can do movies but also,
>fixed in one place on a tripod, can take a snapshot every few seconds (or
>manually) and make those snapshots into a movie.
>
>The camcorder I'm looking at is in Target and it's a Sony DCRSX44 for
>about $250.

The difference between digital camera and camcorders is that
camcorders are optimized for video with video image stabilization
(which is very different from photo stabilzation) and silent,
continuous (but slow) autofocus and low resolution (0.3 megapixel).
And single-frame shooting is a rare feature - I'd be surprised that
that camcorder has it. Check the camera's manual - you can probably
find it at Sony's web site.

A camera will have much faster autofocus but it won't be continous,
it'll have much higher resolution, probably won't have image
stabilization at that price point.

These days animators don't use motion picture cameras much anymore.
It's far easier to take stills and then assemble the result into a
film with a computer.

Regardless, whatever camera you get should have a remote shutter
release, a tripod is essential, and the ability to set a manual
exposure is important. You want a consistent exposure for the entire
film and not have the camera try to adjust it for every frame based
upon the brightness of objects in the scene.

--
Ray Fischer | Mendacracy (n.) government by lying
| The new GOP ideal

In article <ietfei$ade$>,
Harold Lathom <> wrote:

> My kid wants to make movies with his articulated toys moving - I think
> that's called stop action animation.
>
> For Christmas, I want to buy him a camcorder that can do movies but also,
> fixed in one place on a tripod, can take a snapshot every few seconds (or
> manually) and make those snapshots into a movie.
>
> The camcorder I'm looking at is in Target and it's a Sony DCRSX44 for
> about $250.
>
> I can't tell from the specifications if it has this stop-action animation
> into a movie feature.
>
> What "feature" do I look for in the specifications?
>
> http://www.target.com/Sony-Handycam-...4-Internal/dp/
> B0031RGKYO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&keywords=sony%
> 20dcrsx44&searchSize=30&searchView=grid5&searchNod eID=1038576%
> 7C1287991011&searchPage=1&fromGsearch=true&sr=1-3&qid=1293041844&rh=&searchBin
> NameList=subjectbin
> %2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%
> 2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&searchRank=target104545&frombrowse=0

<http://www.boinx.com/istopmotion/overview/>

Doesn't matter what video camera you use. iStopMotion controls the
camera through the USB port and records the animation to disc. The only
thing this app does is stop-motion digital video. I believe you can use
a DSLR as well.

I used a previous version with Canon and Sony camcorders. Works great.
Macintosh only.

Harold Lathom wrote:
>
> On Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:52:51 -0500, David Ruether wrote:
> > "Digital camera" should do it
>
> Thanks for the advice.
>
> I understand that all it needs is a "camera" feature and then we can
> manually assemble the series of pictures with software into a movie.
>
> The short tripod is a good idea (less shaking); but I don't think the
> Sony DCRSX44 comes with a remote (too bad) because a remote would make
> the series of picture without shaking.
>
> But what I was hoping for was a video camera that could take pictures
> ever, say, 10 seconds, and even better, automatically assemble those
> pictures into a video.
>
> I guess if the "frame rate" was adjustable to 10 seconds, that might do
> it.
>
> If the Sony DCRSX44 can't do that, does anyone know of a comparably
> priced (less than $300) video camera that can do that for my kid?


My Kodak P850 digicam (5 megapixels, 12x optical zoom) boasts a rare
feature, known as "Time Lapse" (a.k.a., "intervalometer").

Page 31 of its "User's guide" states the following:

"Camera takes specified number of pictures (2–99) at specified
intervals (10 seconds–24 hours; 60 seconds–24 hours in TIF &
RAW)."

The superb P850 was discontinued, several years ago. Used models
are still available on eBay, for far less than $300 USD.

--
Cordially,
John Turco <>

Marie's Musings <http://fairiesandtails.blogspot.com>