WebCamImageSave is a new application by Nirsoft for the Windows operating system that can capture periodic webcam images. This can be handy for documentation purposes, the creation of art (e.g. time lapse movies) or as a personal log.

The program is portable and can be started right after it has been downloaded and unpacked on the computer system. It can be used with any webcam that is compatible with Video For Windows, which should be the majority of available webcams.

The program displays a configuration window on startup. Here it is possible to change the file name format and other settings. The software supports variables for the file name, for instance to add the date and time to it.

The interval in which captures of the webcam are taken and the jpg quality, in case jpg is selected as the image format, can be selected in the options as well. The program supports png and bmp next to jpg, the file name determines the image format.

A custom label can be added to captures. This includes date and time as well as custom label text. This is optional and can be disabled in the settings. The position, text color and shade color can be configured in the options.

The software will start taking captures of the webcam automatically once the options window has been closed. It is optionally possible to disable the automatic capturing and take stills manually with the F8 key.

Advanced users find command line options at their disposal to capture and save webcam stills from the command line or batch files.

Users who run into troubles or configuration issues should read the known problems and limitations section over at the Nirsoft website for troubleshooting help.

WebCamImageSave is compatible with recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Users need to pay attention to the program’s installation as the standard installation will install a toolbar, change the default search provider, homepage, tab search and page not found errors. All of these changes can be disabled if custom installation is selected.

SMRecorder displays a small video control panel on startup that is always on top. The control panel offers options to create a new recording, pause and stop recordings and open the save folder and help file.

A click on the new recording task button opens the recording configuration options. Here it is possible to change general, video and audio related settings. The general settings define the audio input, capture size, save path and duration of the recording.

The three capture types desktop video, camera video and desktop / microphone sound can be selected here as well.

Desktop video records part or all of the Windows desktop, camera video records footage of a webcam and desktop / microphone sound saves only the sound of the computer or cam.

Video and audio settings offer additional options. Users can change the video compression quality and frame rate or the audio volume and quality. It is furthermore possible to disable audio recording completely in case it is not needed or if the user plans to add audio to the video separately.

Videos are automatically saved in avi format once the recording is stopped by the user. It may be a good idea to experiment with different video quality settings to find one that’s suitable for individual tastes and purposes.

SMRecorder is a convenient video recording software for the Windows operating system. The program is available for download at the developer website. It tested fine on a 64-bit Windows 7 Professional system.

Debut can capture the entire screen or a rectangular area selected by the user plus it can record sound from any source connected to the computer if so desired. It has a wide range of output formats and quality settings. Videos can be captured in avi, mov, flv and several other formats. Several video encoder options can be changed in the program’s settings.

Minor video capture editing is supported as well. The user can change the framerate and size of the output video and apply video effects and text annotations which comes in handy for demonstration videos.

It can capture fullscreen which it does ok for desktop applications. Before you can capture applications that hide the program interface of Debut you need to set global shortcuts in the program options.

Debut Video Capture Software is definitely more a software to capture the screen or part of the screen that it would be a replacement for applications like Fraps which is great for games. What I really like is that it can capture the sound from a microphone which means that you can create demonstration videos on the fly without having to record the sound in the editing process.