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The Digital Still - Which camera should I use?
For a first time maker of digital animation the camera is not as important as the t ... [more]
For a first time maker of digital animation the camera is not as important as the t ... [more]
The Digital Still - Which camera should I use?
For a first time maker of digital animation the camera is not as important as the technique. Most any digital still camera will work to produce a animated project. Even a cell phone camera can be used to produce a low resolution learning project and as cell phones prices increase so does the pixel rate of the phones camera.
Pixels is the name of the game for sharp, clear and editable photos. The higher the pixel rate the better control you have over the final project and also how it will look and be handled on some video sites. Vimeo is a high definition video site and is able to display high quality video for those with a good fast broadband connection. If your camera can take 2 mega pixel photos, you are in good shape because photos of 2 mp or higher can handle the 1280x720 HD mode however if you edit the photo you could end up with a picture that is less than 2mp. This can happen on a number of editing functions but one that comes to mind is cropping. When you use IrfanView or any other photo editing software to crop out unwanted parts you reduce the final pixel rate. So I try to use a pixel rate that will allow me to crop and edit and still end up with a finished photo that is 2 mp or higher. With my cheap Kodak (under $100) I can shoot 4mp photos. This is more than what I need for most of my projects so far. If you want to do some really neat stuff with photo animation you may want to buy a camera that can shoot 10 mp. A lot of what Carlton does is shoot at a very high pixel rate to allow him to keep a extremely sharp and clear video in high definition and still do some heavy editing. So when shopping for a digital still keep in mind the projects that you will want to create. If this is just a stepping stone to your video adventure, you may want to use a less expensive camera and save those bucks for a better digital video camera instead.
Besides pixels you may want to look at how much control you have over the camera. Automatic exposure and focus cameras do a good job in estimating the focal point that you are trying to capture and a what setting the exposure needs to be to give you a clear and balanced photo. But if you want the best photo for animation you will need to look into a camera that lets you control exposure, focus, field of depth along with a number of features that come in handy. Just a note on exposure - If you take a few hundred photos to produce smooth motion in your video, you don't want to distract from it with a automatic camera that might change the amount of light entering the lens from photo to photo. This change will produce a flicker that can be annoying to watch.
Another great feature on more expensive cameras is the capability to automatically set shutter. Some cameras can be set to take a pictures at set intervals. You can set the camera to shoot one frame a second to one frame every hour. The more pictures per amount of time gives you smoother video project if that is your intent. Other cameras have the ability to add on external shutter controls such as the PClix ( pclix.com ).
One other option I will mention is the low entry level video cameras that can take still pictures as well as video, just keep an eye on what pixel rate the still picture will be.
You will find links to points in this blog in the "Link" section of the main page. [less]
For a first time maker of digital animation the camera is not as important as the technique. Most any digital still camera will work to produce a animated project. Even a cell phone camera can be used to produce a low resolution learning project and as cell phones prices increase so does the pixel rate of the phones camera.
Pixels is the name of the game for sharp, clear and editable photos. The higher the pixel rate the better control you have over the final project and also how it will look and be handled on some video sites. Vimeo is a high definition video site and is able to display high quality video for those with a good fast broadband connection. If your camera can take 2 mega pixel photos, you are in good shape because photos of 2 mp or higher can handle the 1280x720 HD mode however if you edit the photo you could end up with a picture that is less than 2mp. This can happen on a number of editing functions but one that comes to mind is cropping. When you use IrfanView or any other photo editing software to crop out unwanted parts you reduce the final pixel rate. So I try to use a pixel rate that will allow me to crop and edit and still end up with a finished photo that is 2 mp or higher. With my cheap Kodak (under $100) I can shoot 4mp photos. This is more than what I need for most of my projects so far. If you want to do some really neat stuff with photo animation you may want to buy a camera that can shoot 10 mp. A lot of what Carlton does is shoot at a very high pixel rate to allow him to keep a extremely sharp and clear video in high definition and still do some heavy editing. So when shopping for a digital still keep in mind the projects that you will want to create. If this is just a stepping stone to your video adventure, you may want to use a less expensive camera and save those bucks for a better digital video camera instead.
Besides pixels you may want to look at how much control you have over the camera. Automatic exposure and focus cameras do a good job in estimating the focal point that you are trying to capture and a what setting the exposure needs to be to give you a clear and balanced photo. But if you want the best photo for animation you will need to look into a camera that lets you control exposure, focus, field of depth along with a number of features that come in handy. Just a note on exposure - If you take a few hundred photos to produce smooth motion in your video, you don't want to distract from it with a automatic camera that might change the amount of light entering the lens from photo to photo. This change will produce a flicker that can be annoying to watch.
Another great feature on more expensive cameras is the capability to automatically set shutter. Some cameras can be set to take a pictures at set intervals. You can set the camera to shoot one frame a second to one frame every hour. The more pictures per amount of time gives you smoother video project if that is your intent. Other cameras have the ability to add on external shutter controls such as the PClix ( pclix.com ).
One other option I will mention is the low entry level video cameras that can take still pictures as well as video, just keep an eye on what pixel rate the still picture will be.
You will find links to points in this blog in the "Link" section of the main page. [less]
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