When you are trying to pick out a webcam you want buy for brickfilming there are several factors that influence what webcam you should buy. The first is does the camera work for your operating system. This is normally not a problem for Windows but if you have a Mac it is way harder to find a webcam for it. Do some research to find out if it is compatible. If at any time you do not find the information you want from the description from the website you are using to research the camera just search for the information on your favorite search engine. Most likely you will find the information you are looking for but if it is one of the essential feature I list and it does not specify if it has it do not buy it.

List of Essentials

List of Essentials is a list of feature a webcam must have for it to good for stop motion animation. I will list the essentials and then go over each one in detail. The essential features are manual focus, good resolution, and manual controls.

Manual Focus

Manual focus is really important for stop motion because with out manual focus it will impossible to make the subject look sharp and in focus. Also make sure that it has the ability to focus on things that are close up. If the website says something like “fixed focus” that means that you will not be able to control the focus and will make the webcam useless for stop motion.

Good Resolution

When looking at webcam you need to check its image quality. The higher the resolution the better it is for stop motion. I would say 640×480 is a minimum but try for something like 1280×720 of higher. This will make sure your stop motion films looks great.

Manual Controls

The final must have feature is manual controls. This means that all the setting on the webcam can be controlled be you. You must have manual controls over white balance, contrast, brightness, and exposure.

Summery

If the webcam you are looking at has all these features I have talked about it should be great for stop motion. I have a couple suggestions on which webcams to buy depending on you budget. If you only want to spend around $20 for a webcam I would suggest the Logitech c160m. It has all the features needed and is really cheap. However it only takes 1.3 megapixel pictures. If you are willing to spend more money on a webcam I would suggest the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 or the Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910. These both take high resolution pictures and are great for brickfilming. I use a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 for my films and it works great. Be warned the Mac version of the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 does not have manual focus so it is no good for brickfilming.