Animator DV
Animator DV comes in 4 different versions depending on your animation needs. There is a free version called Animator DV Simple+ which has the basic frame grabbing features to allow you to capture still images. There are three further versions Educational/Personal at 199 Euro (350 USD approx.) , Professional+ at 699 Euro and Film Producer at 1499 Euro.
The standard edition and above has a lot more features if not all the features practically that a semi pro or professional animator might need.
Learning Curve
For beginners the learning curve is not steep for the Simple+ version.
Other features of the application worth mentioning include a time lapse capture and onionskinning.
A completed animation can be exported to AVI only for the Simple+ version.