Working with a Video Camera

• Immediately see what changes in front of the camera
• Easily correct when you accidentally moved the camera
• More fun to use, recommended for working with kids

Supported Video Cameras

iStopMotion can be used with almost every camera that can be used with e.g. QuickTime or iChat. We can only test some cameras so if you want to be sure that your camera works with iStopMotion get a demo license and try before you buy.

USB Cameras

Any digital camera that works with QuickTime should work with iStopMotion. We uses several USB webcams with different features and they all worked fine. Popular webcams we've tested include:

• built-in iSight or FaceTime Camera
• Hue HD Webcam
• Various Agama Webcams
• Panasonic TA1 camcorder with webcam functionality
• Logitech Quickcam Pro
• Pico iMage

On our Blog we keep posting about new, compatible cameras we find, so you might want to take a look once in a while.

AVCHD/Harddrive based cameras or flip-sytle camcorders

The current generation of inexpensive consumer video cameras records to Flash memory or harddrives. However, most of these cameras do not provide a live video output or do not provide a suitable Mac driver, so they can not be used with iStopMotion.

HD/HDMI/SDI/Component Sources

Connecting an HD camera or other HDMI (also component or SDI) source through a Blackmagic Intensity and Decklink capture card or a Matrox MXO2 works with iStopMotion 2 and lets you capture in 1080p.
Tested with:

• Canon HV40
• Canon HV30
• Canon HV20
• Sony HDR-FX7E
• Panasonic AGHPX170PJ

Customers also have reported the successful use of the MOTU HD Express with iStopMotion.

DV Cameras

Most cameras connected via Firewire (also known as IEEE 1394 or iLink) work fine with iStopMotion, So far, there are no reports of any such cameras that do not work. We had great success using this cameras:

• Canon HV40 in DV Mode
• Canon HV30 in DV Mode
• Canon HV20 in DV Mode
• Canon MV-690 (PAL)
• Sony HDR-FX7E in DV Mode
• Sony DCR-HC27E (PAL)
• Sony DCR-TRV25E (PAL)
• Sony DCR-TRV60E (PAL)
• Samsung SC-D372 (NTSC)

HDV Cameras

Since Version 2.5, iStopMotion can capture from HDV cameras if the respective codec is installed. This is the case if Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro are installed. To use HDV cameras in other cases, switch them in DV mode and capture standard definition output.

High Resolution Video Cameras

We also tested these high resolution cameras:

• Allied Vision Tech (Marlin F145C-2)
• Basler A102fc with a 1392×1040 pixel resolution

Working with a Digital Still Camera

• More photographic options such as depth of field
• Longer exposure may yield better image quality
• Operate with flashlight

Supported Still Cameras

Your camera must support the Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) so that iStopMotion can import pictures from the camera.

Implementation of the Picture Transfer Protocol varies from vendor to vendor, and model to model.

Download Images

This is the basic support. You take a picture with your camera and download it later to iStopMoton

Capture Images

If your camera supports this PTP functionality, you can use iStopMotion to control when to shoot an image. It is also a prerequisite for taking time lapse movies with a digital still camera.

To find out if your camera works, either check the List of Supported Cameras or use the Still Camera assistant:

• Download iStopMotion
• Choose the "Test Still Camera" command from the "Source" menu
• Follow the instructions and report your findings to be included with the list

DSLR Cameras with video capture capabilities

As most of these devices do not provide a live video output or do not provide a suitable driver, they can only be used as a still camera.