Digital cameras have removed the need for film, meaning there really isn’t any additional cost associated with taking a bunch of photos.  The result is that people with digital cameras are pretty much taking pictures all the time and amassing huge photo libraries.  But what do you do with all those photos? 

Animoto is an easy-to-use slide show creation tool that gives people a compelling way to repackage all those photos they’ve been taking.  Animoto allows you to create a custom slide show (see sample above) in two very simple steps:

1. Upload the photos you want to use.  You can also simply get Animoto to pull photos you’ve already uploaded to sites like Flickr.
2. Upload accompanying music from your personal collection, or choose from the library of music Animoto maintains.

The resulting slideshows are really well done, as Animoto’s software automatically synchs the way the photos fade in and out to the rhythm of the music you upload.  I created a few tests and it took all of five minutes, with terrific results.

Animoto allows users to create short, 30 second slideshows for free but charges if you want to create longer videos.  For personal use, Animoto costs $3 per video or $30 for a full year of use.  Animoto also offers business accounts that run $249 a year and include value-added features such as DVD quality outputs and customized buttons.  It also has a pretty awesome iPhone application.

I’m really impressed with this service.  Give it a try.