Dragon Stop Motion 2 [OLD VERSION]

I am new to stop motion animation and spent about a month researching the different software programs available. Since I use a Mac, I restricted my options to software that runs native on OS X. I also tried all available evaluation software before making my decision. I received my Dragon Stop Motion package last night and spent the evening playing with it. I am completely blown away by it's ease of use and how quickly I was able to get everything up and running. Here are some of my favorite features:- Runs native on Mac OS X. I am using Snow Leopard 10.6.6 on a MacBook Pro.- Full support for live view mode using a Canon EOS T2i (550D) with the standard 18-55mm lens. They have easy to follow setup instructions for all the EOS compatible cameras on their website under"Cameras\Canon EOS DSLR". Follow this and you will have no problem setting up. Using live view mode is essential. The onion skin view where you can preview a dual layer of your previous shot with your live view (next shot), is extremely helpful with the animation process.- Cinematography Window, you can adjust ISO/Shutter/Aperture, etc. directly from the software. You can also take test shots to evaluate your settings.- USB keypad. Considering that even a short animation is still hundreds of frames, you really want the process to be as efficient as possible. The keypad does exactly this and it has a long cord so you can conveniently place it near your set.- Technical Support: I haven't needed to use it yet, but I have read other reviews saying it's great.- Video Tutorials. These are really helpful when you first get started. Tutorials are on their website under "Tutorials".Follow this link to see a short experimental claymation video. This was my first attempt at claymation.[...]

I've tested dragon out before and the full version with the interface is absolutely amazing. Thank you for such a rock solid product that is easy to use.

I spent the last days trying both Claymation and Dragon softwares, and here are my thoughts:I read some reviews claiming that Dragon support is good. I'm afraid I have to disagree. I wasn't able to use Dragon in my laptop since it depends on an Internet connection to validate the trial use, but somehow it doesn't find the internet connection preventing me to use the software. I tried the support, and I have a ticket opened there for almost a month without any response.... So I had to try Dragon on my wife's netbook (worked there), but I'm very disappointed with Dragon support.Pro: SLR and usb mini keyboard.Cons: Support, price, output video format (.MOV only)Claymation, on the other hand, does the job. It is very simple to learn and use and, it's cheaper, produces an excellent final video (avi).As I don't intend to use SLRs anyway, and Dragon doesn't work on my PC, my choice is Claymation.

My girlfriend and I were newbie filmmakers when we picked up Dragon Stop Motion last year. But with absolutely no experience, we were able to make a pretty darn professional looking piece of stop motion magic in just a couple of weeks. While DSM is already well known to be the most powerful stop motion software out there, it's also the easiest. Not to mention the fact that about 6 hours after posting a usage question on the website, one of the creators of the software called me to talk out the problem. Here's a link to the video we made with Dragon. Great, right?[...]

At first I was not sure why they were sending a free USB keypad with the Software. As soon as I started my film - the keypad became indispensable. The interface is easy on the eyes and it works perfectly. I was nervous at first, thinking it might be too "Pro" for me, but it was easy to figure out. I love the software and I can't recommend it enough.