In the world of screencasting, there is no shortage of available tools (unless of course you’re on linux), but the question is which one is best for you? In this article, I’ll share with you my thoughts on a few of the more popular apps and also detail my personal setup for recording my screen. Before you continue reading, it should be noted that the software that I am about to talk about is currently available for Mac ONLY. I’m not trying to spark a Mac vs. PC debate here, but it seems most people who do serious screen recordings, do so on a Mac. However, if you are a PC person all is not lost. There are some great screen capture tools available to you as well, like Camtasia.

1. Screenflow by Telestream, Inc. – $99
The first app on our list is ScreenFlow. This is without a doubt one of the heavyweights in the screen recording business. ScreenFlow is not JUST a screen recorder, it’s actually a “Screencasting Studio” that allows for editing, titling, and exporting video directly from within the app (and quite nicely too I might add). However, ScreenFlow’s most powerful trait, in my opinion, is the ability to zoom on foreground windows. As you’re recording in the app, ScreenFlow recognizes what objects are in the foreground and keeps track of them after you’ve stopped recording. This allows you independently zoom on these objects during the editing process if necessary and also gives the ability to change opacity and blur background elements. This ensures that your audience focuses only on the window you want them to. In addition to that, you can also edit your video, add graphic/text titles, change your mouse cursor and export directly to YouTube. All of these features make ScreenFlow a great choice for a seasoned screencaster, but its $99 price tag and advanced feature set might be a little overwhelming for a beginner.

2. iShowU HD by Shinywhitebox LTD. - $29.95
The second app on the list is iShowU HD. This happens to be my personal favorite, and according to a recent Twitter poll, seems to be the most popular amongst creative professionals. The great thing about iShowU is the speed and flexibility. Recordings render instantly and can be scaled to just about any size with minimal delay. You also have the ability to set your capture window size, allowing you to only record certain areas or windows at a time (very helpful). Unlike ScreenFlow, iShowU does not have extensive editing tools, which may be a deal breaker for some. However the exporting is lightning fast (faster than ScreenFlow in my opinion) and it also supports uploads to YouTube and Blip.tv. While it isn’t a mini studio, iShowU HD is the perfect app for quick and painless screen recordings and for $30, you can’t beat it!

3. SnapzProX by Ambrosia Software, Inc. – $69
The last app I’m going to talk about is SnapzProX. This is the first screencasting program that I ever used for my Photoshop Quicktips podcasts and it really is a great app. My main point of contention with this app is the fact that is has to render your movies after you record them. When I first started, this wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t know any better… However, now that I’ve evolved and my schedule is much tighter, I simply don’t have time to sit around and wait for a screen capture to finish rendering before I can edit/export it.  On the other hand, this app may actually be the best in terms of actually capturing the screen. So, if you have the time to wait, maybe you can give it a try, but at double the cost of iShowU, I’m not sure it’s worth it. Some other good features of SnapzProX include customizable screenshots and the ability to add watermarks to your captures.

Now that you have an idea of what’s available out there, let me talk a little bit about my own personal setup. I do all of my current screencasts with iShowU HD. I find this to be the best fit for me because of its speed and flexibility and I also really like the customizable keyboard shortcuts. Most of the time I don’t need to record my whole screen, but that’s mostly because most Apple monitors and Laptops don’t have and/or support true 16:9 resolutions. Therefore I like setting iShowU to a capture size that is true widescreen. This makes it easier to upload to various video repositories without having the video letterboxed.

In case you’re interested in the mic that I’m using, I currently use a variety of them. Two of my favorites are my Plantronics headset mic and my Rode Podcaster USB condenser mic. The headset mic goes with me on the road and the USB condenser stays in my office full-time. Fore more information on USB mics check out Terry White’s Tech Blog. After I’ve done my recording, the video is immediately accessible in the finder and I can load it into my video editor of choice. Lately I’ve been using iMovie as my editor because of how easy it is to get in and get out. I’m not big on flashy titles or intro scenes, so iMovie allows me to keep it simple and focus on the content rather than the polish. Once I’ve done all the editing I export to Quicktime format. If necessary I use Handbrake to convert the video into a variety of formats or Adobe Media Encoder to convert it to Flash.

No matter what you use to create your screencasts, the most important factor is still the content. If you don’t put out worthwhile content, your choice of microphone or software is totally irrelevant. Study other screencasts before you go record your own. Learn what works and what doesn’t, and try to find your own style.