Camera or Tablet for Kid's Stop-Motion Animation?

November 26, 2022 11:59 AM

Our 10yo wants to create stop-motion animation. They like the Stop Motion Studio app. We just need a decent, positionable tool to take the pictures! Their friend uses an iPad, but we're a PC family that doesn't love Apple products, and it's so pricey. We don't want to loan them our phones. They have a Lenovo Yoga laptop, but it doesn't run the app. We have an Amazon Fire tablet, but it's glitchy and the camera is lousy.

Do we get a Samsung tablet just for this? Is there some kind of point-&-shoot camera that can run the app? Should we buy them a refurbished phone that doesn't have phone service? I would love something affordable that doesn't have a bunch of other uses -- I don't want them to get distracted by games, etc. -- but I'm not sure if something like that exists!

posted by equipoise to Technology (5 answers total)

When I worked with student artists doing stop motion animation at the university lab where I used to work, they were using a tool called DragonFrame. That runs on a PC and uses a connected digital still camera for capture. That might be overkill along several axes (the student license looks to be $205, more for a license including a bundled hardware keypad) but as far as I know it’s what the industry uses. A Google search suggests that there are several other alternatives that are less fancy and less capable, but do a similar thing. I can’t speak to any of those in particular, though.
posted by Alterscape at 12:31 PM on November 26, 2022

Stop Motion Studio is a great app - you might be able to use the Amazon Fire version of the app and import images from any cheap second hand point and shoot stills camera. You might have to experiment a little with SD cards and a USB adapter to get the files across, or use the windows laptop as an intermediary.

Really any camera would do from the last ten years as you’re not going to need any images bigger than 1080p (2 Megapixels). You’re also probably going to get a lens on it that at least matches a pretty high spec phone. Invest in a good gorilla pod as an adjustable tripod and you’re good to go.
posted by brilliantmistake at 2:32 PM on November 26, 2022

Inspired by an ASK lower down, I searched on cartooning for kids and came across Animation Lab.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:12 PM on November 26, 2022

Would you consider an older model of iPhone or iPad? You can buy an older refurb model of Ipad Mini for under $100. This one just got its final OS update in August 2022, so it should run a while longer, despite it having been introduced back in 2013.
posted by kschang at 6:08 PM on November 26, 2022

Coming here to say that I asked a very similar question last year and have tried mightily for the better part of the year to get my kid's Kindle Fire to work for this exact scenario. Unfortunately, I can't find a decent app to rival Stop Motion Studio, though there is a lot of advice about side-loading some of the better ones on to the Kindle (did not try). A friend gave us an old Mac laptop and he just took off with his movie making. He recently started complaining that it was hard to lug around for some of the filming so, sorry to say, we just purchased an old version iPad for his Christmas present. I just got tired of trying to find something that doesn't really seem to exist the way I want it to for him! In the end, his ability to make movies completely on his own with minimal intervention from the adults was the trump card. I'm sure his ability to work with other platforms and apps will grow as he gets older!
posted by LKWorking at 2:46 PM on November 28, 2022