George Styer doesn't like frame lifters.  As for myself, I keep one in my bee
tool bucket, and it sees frequent use.
 
Frame holders are good for the times you have to hold the frame with one hand
and do something else with the other (e.g.; pull a queen off a frame).  I also
use frame lifters when I have to give a frame that extra shove to get it back
into the colony, or otherwise handle a frame full of bees a little roughly.
 
And another plus, it's hard to put your thumb on a bee when you are using a
frame lifter.
 
W. G. Miller
Gaithersburg, MD