Some screen capture packages take a simple “point and shoot” approach to taking screenshots while others turn it into a virtual art form.

Camstudio falls into this latter category. If Stephen Spielberg were to take screenshots instead of make films then he’d probably use something along the lines of this app. Camstudio is an excellent and fully comprehensive screenshot solution for anyone that needs to go beyond simple illustration and really needs to show the end user exactly how to use an application on program.

It’s an excellent choice for those that have to provide technical support or developer who have to design tutorials to explain how to use their programs. The range of output files is admittedly limited – CamStudio will only output in AVI format but you can also convert movies to Flash (SWF). You can also choose the codecs used to encode your screen capture shots and set the frame rate you need to capture at.

Ordinary screen captures are performed in much the same way as in most screen capture applications. Simply drag the mouse over the area you want to capture or tap in the coordinates. You can of course add text and for more complicated motion captures, a useful auto-tracking feature follows the movement of the mouse without you having to do a thing.

CamStudio is an excellent free screen capture tool merging the best of screen capturing apps with video editing packages into one very impressive program.