Fraps or Irfanview for screenshots?

[Paul Riley]

Good day all,

I was wondering which software you prefer for capturing screenshots,either Fraps (which I have just downloaded and have yet to try) or Irfanview? ,which is ok for converting .TGAs to .JPEG but I am not too impressed with the image quality of the screenshots,as there are usually strange colours,false lighting and sometimes artifacts present in the images.Last night for instance I managed to capture a close up of a 2 torpedo spread impact against a medium merchant,and as I had the game paused ready for the shot the scene looked bloody amazing,with a huge funnel of water bursting high above the ship,yet when I later looked at the image through Irfanview the water funnel looked like a group of squares joined together.Maybe I need to 'tweak' the image to get better quality out of it? If I DO could you give me some tips on what I could do to improve the quality?
I have heard some very good comments about Fraps and the ability to also record the action from your games is enough to make me want this software,I am even prepared to buy the 'full' product if the free version is any good.

Let me know what you think.

Cheers :salute:

[Hottentot]

I use Fraps to take screenshots. Irfanview to edit them (or any other).

[Paul Riley]

I use Fraps to take screenshots. Irfanview to edit them (or any other).

Can Fraps convert files?

[Feuer Frei!]

Can Fraps convert files?
Video files, use StaxRip to encode and merge fraps videos.
in answer to your question: no.

[Hottentot]

I don't think so. The unregistered version takes only .bmb pictures and I use Irfanview to convert them to .Jpg

[Paul Riley]

So,I can take the shot with Fraps,hopefully giving better image quality in the first place then convert to JPEG using Irfanview?.
As I said earlier,Irfanview doesnt seem to produce an image not nearly as good enough as the original,and I have seen some screenshots here at Subsim that look far better than the ones I have been able to do so far.
Regarding my graphics card (ATI X800 Pro),it may be old but its still a decent card and able to hold its ground with some of the older games,pre 2008 - 2009 for example.Please,no graphics card flaming here,I hate that!.

Thanks for the replies so far.

[Hottentot]

So,I can take the shot with Fraps,hopefully giving better image quality in the first place then convert to JPEG using Irfanview

Yep. Or you could register Fraps and take JPEGs directly. It costs something, though methinks.

[Paul Riley]

Yep. Or you could register Fraps and take JPEGs directly. It costs something, though methinks.

Yes,I was expecting it would cost something.But from the reports i've read so far about the software it may prove worth it,so long as its not TOO expensive.

Thanks then! :up:

[Paul Riley]

Hottentot,

Just finally,I have now installed Fraps and can see that the default capture button is F10 and will be saved in .BMP format.So it appears that the application needs to remain running in the background when playing games,does it impact on performance at all?. I can see it uses 18,566k of memory.

Thanks again!

[Hottentot]

Try it? :doh:

It doesn't affect the performance on my rig anyway.

[danasan]

Did you try this?[/URL]

[URL="http://www.howiesfunware.com/install%20-%20Howies%20Screen%20Capture.exe"]Howie's Quick Screen Capture Tool: (http://www.howiesfunware.com/loadSideBarShareware.html)

[Paul Riley]

Try it? :doh:

It doesn't affect the performance on my rig anyway.

I was just asking :doh:

[Paul Riley]

Did you try this?

Howie's Quick Screen Capture Tool: (http://www.howiesfunware.com/install%20-%20Howies%20Screen%20Capture.exe)



No I didnt,but I will now,thanks.

[Paul Riley]

No I didnt,but I will now,thanks.

I like the look of this one,especially the different grades of quality you can choose from.Does it need to be running in the background/minimised etc?

Thanks for this :up:

[danasan]

Yes, it has to run, but it does not take too much resources...

[Paul Riley]

Yes, it has to run, but it does not take too much resources...

Do you run it minimized? as there is no utility in the system tray like there is with Fraps.
Thanks,I appreciate it :cool:

[danasan]

Just start it and leave it as is. Choose your own key combination and select a folder to save the shots - done.

[Paul Riley]

Just start it and leave it as is. Choose your own key combination and select a folder to save the shots - done.

Fantastic,cheers :salute:

[Paul Riley]

Well,i've just tested out Howie's Quick Screen Capture and I like it,its only using about 950k of memory,I have configured it to save the shots directly to an external 250 GB hard drive I keep connected (which houses all my mods,saved games,game screenshots etc) keeping them away from my main drive where SH3 is installed,and the convenient little camera sound each time you use it is a nice touch. But more importantly the screenies now look like like they should look,they looked terrible in Irfanview for some reason.
I still need to try out Fraps,but to be honest why bother if this is doing its job?,AND it saves them directly as JPEGs (no converting needed),in high quality too.

All in all a nice little tool :cool:

Thanks!

[Madox58]

Paul,

I use both Howie's program and a fully registered version of Fraps.
I prefer Howie's program for just standard screenshots.
The registered version of Fraps I own includes all future updates!!
So for the price it is worth it!
:yeah:
And I don't find Fraps a very demanding program in anyway.

[Paul Riley]

Paul,

I use both Howie's program and a fully registered version of Fraps.
I prefer Howie's program for just standard screenshots.
The registered version of Fraps I own includes all future updates!!
So for the price it is worth it!
:yeah:
And I don't find Fraps a very demanding program in anyway.

I may buy Fraps someday,but for the time being you cant grumble with a great free little tool like Howie's :03:

[Madox58]

Fraps is the best I've found for recording in Game video.
Howie's for just taking screenshots.
I did write my own version for screenshots only and it works just as well.
But I don't use it and I really could not tell you why!
:haha:

[Jimbuna]

Fraps...every time whether it be movies or screenshots :yep:

[Paul Riley]

The most convenient thing for me so far with Howie's is the ability to save the file straight into JPEG without the need to convert,whereas with the 'free' version of Fraps you only get to save the file as a Bitmap.Naturally with the 'full' version users get a whole plethora of formats to choose from.

[Jimbuna]

The most convenient thing for me so far with Howie's is the ability to save the file straight into JPEG without the need to convert,whereas with the 'free' version of Fraps you only get to save the file as a Bitmap.Naturally with the 'full' version users get a whole plethora of formats to choose from.

Steer clear of the free version :03:

[Paul Riley]

Steer clear of the free version :03:

I hear ya.
I'd better not hit a mine :dead:

[Jan Kyster]

For superior video recording, the utility MSI Afterburner must be mentioned.
More options, better image quality, smaller files, no 4GB limit and less strain on system than Fraps.


Some good advices on settings: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18276235

Downloads: http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm


And it's free btw...


Since I've already gone off-topic :D
... why not also mention that Microsoft have released the good, old XP MovieMaker 2.6 - now ready for Windows Vista and 7.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=34

[Paul Riley]

For superior video recording, the utility MSI Afterburner must be mentioned.
More options, better image quality, smaller files, no 4GB limit and less strain on system than Fraps.


Some good advices on settings: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18276235

Downloads: http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm


And it's free btw...


Since I've already gone off-topic :D
... why not also mention that Microsoft have released the good, old XP MovieMaker 2.6 - now ready for Windows Vista and 7.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=34

Thanks for the tips :up: