Camtasia Studio--Train. Present. Persuade. This is the power of screen recording. Delight audiences near or far with training, presentations, demos, and screencasts that get results and look fantastic. Camtasia Studio software is smart, powerful, and does the hard work for you. Easily record your screen, PowerPoint, Webcam video, and audio. Record in front of a live audience or from your desk. Edit for professional polish, enhance for emphasis. Share crystal-clear videos at any screen size on Web pages, blogs, CDs, or portable devices like the iPod. Make them wonder how you did it.

Camtasia 5 ads SmartFocus auto-zoom, ExpressShow for Flash playback, application locking, and interface enhancements.

Editor's review of Camtasia Studio Screencast central

If programs were people, Camtasia Studio 5 would be a body builder. More screen recording, editing, and producing muscle is what you get with the latest version. The full-fledged screen recording studio has tools and settings extensive enough to make a newbie's head swim, but the tips, video tutorials, and preset options help anchor and guide novice users through the process of creating screencasts from start to finish.

Camtasia Studio makes it easy to record any PC and PowerPoint screen action with or without sound, adding little gems like cursor highlighting, resizing apps within the recorder, and drawing on the screen. Audio and video clips are compiled, trimmed, and bedecked with visual effects in a production studio accessible to a cross section of users.

Well-rounded production settings rely on presets and manual customizations, letting users quickly format their video for common outputs like iPod and blog uploading in addition to hardcore audio and video configuration. HTML embedding assigns your video a Web site for easy sharing.

If that weren't dizzying enough, Camtasia Studio includes additional applications, like a standalone audio editor and the CD MenuMaker. Luckily, there are included wizards, tips, tutorials, and templates for easy maneuvering.

The price of a creative screencasting license is steep at $$300, or $$150 for an upgrade, but if the trial leaves you wanting more, Camtasia is a worthwhile investment for frequent screencast producers requiring a lush feature set. Users looking to develop skills with prolonged use should start here too.