As someone who is strictly an untalented hobbyist, I tend to do only what I have time and money for. That means I don't do animations because I don't have the time to pose the scenes or the money for BHV. If you're proposing an alternative... The snapshots you talk of could be converted to BHV files, posing will generally be quicker and more fool-proof. Personally something like that would interest me as soon as it hits the $200 gadget mark. Even rough and ready posing would be a plus and the ease of use is secondary. If it's $2000, I'm sticking with dials no matter how sophisticated the mannikin is.