CamStudio

Features

For a free program, CamStudio comes with a nice set of features that should enable you to create most of the screen capture videos you have in mind. Unfortunately, the program is only compatible with Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000 and XP, so Mac OSX and Linux users will have to look elsewhere.

Like all screen capture programs, CamStudio allows you to set the region you’ll be capturing. While you can create custom-sized windows if you know you’ll only be recording in a specific area, generally speaking you’ll want a little more flexibility. You can, of course, record full screen, but that tends to make the videos you create too large in file size. Thankfully, CamStudio comes with an “autopan” feature built in which tracks your cursor movements, capturing only the area where your cursor appears.

Recording is a snap once you set your keyboard shortcuts. You can record in either .swf (Macromedia Flash) or .avi, but .avi is preferable for uploading to Metacafe. CamStudio also comes with an assortment of video compressors and other advanced options that let you determine the quality and size of the video you output.

Although not exactly an advanced feature, CamStudio’s cursor options can come in handy for certain videos. You can either display or hide the cursor, or if you’re feeling adventurous you can make the cursor appear as a different shape, size or color. You can even make the cursor a custom icon like a floppy disk or clock depending on the video you are producing.

The audio options are straightforward in most respects. You can record audio from the microphone if you’re planning on creating voiceovers or record directly from your speakers if you have something playing on your computer you’d like to include in your video.

In addition to the aforementioned standard features, CamStudio also lets you add screen annotations (like speech bubbles) if you don’t like the sound of your voice. CamStudio’s Video Annotation feature is also useful, as it allows you to record yourself via a webcam “picture-in-picture” alongside whatever it is you happen to be capturing onscreen.

While many users will probably prefer to shoot video of themselves separately and edit it together with the screen capture footage, it’s nevertheless a nice touch by the CamStudio developers – especially if you don’t have a separate editing program or want to create your video ASAP.

The newest edition, version 2.5 (currently in beta), has added a number of new features and fixed some problems in older versions.

Shortcomings

On the whole, CamStudio doesn’t have too many bugs or flaws to complain about, but there are a few issues worth highlighting. For one, if you record to .avi, the files tend to end up rather large, so you may need to compress them with a video editing program to keep them under Metacafe’s 100 MB limit. While capturing in .swf will yield smaller file sizes, .avi is more reliable.

If you use an editor like Windows Movie Maker to compress your video file, always make sure that the original has a 4:3 aspect ratio. Otherwise, the video will get distorted to fit 4:3.

Another minor annoyance is that screen annotations are saved in a layout to a fixed location on your screen. This means that when you use the autopan feature, the annotations won’t follow your movements. Therefore, you may end up recording a portion of the screen and completely miss the annotation you included. This issue is avoidable with a little planning, but it’s still something that CamStudio should fix.

The only other problem worth mentioning is that you can’t watch the .swf videos you create with CamStudio in Firefox and Netscape (only Internet Explorer). While there’s a relatively easy workaround for this (see Issues on Camstudio.org), it’s still a hassle. CamStudio 2.5 supposedly rectifies this error, but the version is still technically in beta. For now, it’s best to stick with .avi.

Summary

CamStudio is a straightforward, effective tool for anyone creating how-to videos or presentations. While it won’t blow you away with its features, it should provide you with more than enough to get started if you’re only a casual screen capture video maker. As the program is open source, make sure to check back periodically at CamStudio.org for updates and bug fixes.