ER
Dan,
PMJI, but having used ER, PhotoMorph, and Morph for Win, and not being
connected to any company, I thought I might dive in and give my unbiased 2
cents worth. ER allows you to morph or warp unlimited areas, each with their
own speed (which doesn't have to be linear) and opacities. The controls for
this are exquisite. Next, ER allows you to select an area by drawing freehand.
You can also select or edit a selected area using bezier curves (essential if
you want smoothly curved areas). Next, you can easily add constraints to what a
warp will affect, crucial for attaining precise results. BTW, for adding nice
touches to an animation, warping is probably more important than morphing.
Lastly, ER is a VERY fast renderer, and time is money. Even if you're just
noodling around, it's alot more gratifying to see your results quickly. Last
thought; I'm used to frequent crashes in first generation Win apps and ER 1.0
has been quite stable. It ranks up there with Photoshop 2.5 as the two most
stable first generation Win apps I've ever used. It has additional advantages
but these are the major ones for me (output options are quite good as well. But
presumably you don't need to output to a "professional" SGI or other format).
Photomorph is an outstanding product for the price, don't get me wrong. But ER
offers controls and options and speed the other packages just don't have.
Whether you think those extras are worth 3-4 times the price is a subjective
decision.