Hi there!  I have Dragonframe.  I started out by downloading the trial version first to see how it works and to find out if I would like it.  It's very easy to use.  The interface is very intuitive.  I ended up buying a licensed version.  You get a keypad controller once you do that, which is quite handy because almost all the controls needed to animate is right there.

I haven't tried Stop Motion Pro, but I believe it also has a trial version.  Maybe you can try both to see which one you will like best.  I am with Nathan Wells and Mindgame, though: if you can afford it, go with Dragonframe.

Oh, before you do, make sure the program that you are getting supports the camera that you have.  Dragonframe has a list of cameras that they support which can be found on their website.

I'm in the same software hunt right now, and am planning on comparing trial versions hopefully sometime this week. When I've done so I'll report back here with my findings.

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I've used Stop Motion Pro before and have now migrated over to DragonFrame (Which I used to make my BRAWL film, btw.) I've used Stop Motion Pro for ever single film I've made before.

At first the program functioned well for me. But as I went along, the program became very prone to crashing (there were several features I was unable to use because the program would just crash and blue screen when I tried). This started in about mid-2012, and from here on it was all downhill.

• Frequent crashings and blue-screens as I mentioned

• Some part of the code would mess up almost every month causing the program to forget that it was licensed to me, requiring to contact tech support to sort it out.

• Since the program uses the full resolution stills when playing back your film while you were in the middle of animating, I was unable to make a film in any resolution higher than 480p because the program would suffer horrible buffering problems that made me unable to tell how good my animation looked. Keep in mind, I am able to play full HD videos anywhere else on my computer and suffer no lag.

• The UI looks like crap, but that's my opinion.

After two years of putting up with this bull, I finally decided to just give up and make the switch to DragonFrame.

AND IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Playback is always smooth mid-animation, the keypad is a god-send and it speeds up my work immensely due to not having to touch the mouse most of the time or figuring out shortcut keys, and it pretty much has all the features SMP has except for in-program masking (which I think most people who are using this program will be well beyond using, as it only offers very basic erasing tools).

Also, arc motion looks freaking amazing. And since this program is used by basically every animation house worth their salt, you'll be ahead of the curve if you ever choose to go into pro-animation by already knowing the program.

All in all, GET DRAGONFRAME. I know that the lower priced versions of SMP look enticing, but Dragon Frame will pretty much be all that you need for anything you want to do animation wise. I do not know if the problems I experienced were also seen by anyone else, but even so, DragonFrame is just a little more money for a lot more functionality.

Youtube @TheRealSonjira I consider it a personal defeat if my pee is not perfectly clear every time.]

Not going to bother parroting all the reasons that have already been said, but I'll throw my 2c in and vouch for Dragonframe. I moved to it from Stop Motion Pro many years ago and have been a very happy camper ever since.

Ah - I see - looks totally awesome and totally out of my depth.     Thx.

My next project after my film will be to get some Arduino'ed up motion control on Dragonframe, but it's unlikely I'll be getting 6 axis of movement, I have the stepper motors for 3 axis, and circuit boards for 2, but I don't have all the time for building, wiring and programming right now.

Keep in mind a motion control rig like that is easily going to cost more then Dragonframe, but it's still better then spending far more then a years pay $25k on something like this

Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

Danboard, thanks for pointing me toward the trials, they are really helpful in decision. From the trial, I'm really liking Dragonframe, whereas SMP is okay. SMP is also much slower in taking pictures, but that might be because it's branding each one with a watermark.
From what I've heard, there are people on both sides of the fence with SMP, but everyone loves Dragonframe, which is making me lean toward that.

So both SMP and Dragonframe have student discounts, but with Dragonframe it says, "The software will be for non-commercial use only." Does this mean I wouldn't be able to use the program if I was to be paid, or does it mean something else?

I'm using SMPro. I will be transitioning to Dragonframe though. I would highly recommend it if you can afford $295

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