A freeware screencasting alternative to Camtasia Studio

I do a lot of screencasting and in the past, I've used trials of Camtasia Studio to create demonstration videos for software.

Problem is that Camtasia is very expensive. I've also found it to crash on some computers.

Well I've been using CamStudio recently and I can say that it is very good, in combination that is with other programs such as Windows Movie Maker.

There are a few limitations in CamStudio that I have found that you should be aware of. One is that I like to use digital zoom and pan. You won't find that in free screencasting software yet, however. Camtasia in comparison has a lot of built in movie producing stuff, which personally I find to be a bit of overkill. Windows Movie Maker is pretty good for that sort of thing. The concept of CamStudio is simple - just do one thing and do it well. And that thing is recording what is happening on screen.