Two popular 3D consumer cameras shown as discontinued:
There have been rumors for some time, particularly of the W3, that a new camera is to be announced shortly, presumably at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
I took the photos below on Dec 8th. In light of the events of Dec 14th, I am posting them here.
This is in the children’s section of the Greenwood Terraces cemetery. I had to leave after taking these photos because I was crying.
Red/cyan stereoscopic anaglyph images. Red/Cyan glasses required for viewing. Click on any photo to view full size (3D always looks better in higher resolution, full size images)
If you cannot read the sign, it says, “Santa stop here”.
Update 2013: Two software updates later, the problems with the initial release of MEP 2013 appear to have been fixed. The 2013 version is significantly faster than previous versions too.
I wrote last October that the new Magix Movie Edit Pro 2013 product was introduced but was unsuitable for 3D editing. It runs faster than its predecessors but for 3D, many features arrived broken. For 2D video, MEP 2013 is a great product but for 3D – it’s got problems š
Since then, Magix released an update to the product that seems to have fixed some of the problems. But today I tried putting together a small 10 clip 3D sequence and quickly ran into more problems. This time, after I finished the edit and precise time synchronization, MEP 2013 decided that the red channels on two clips would go to black – in other words, the content of the clips simply vanished! There are also oddities such as selecting a menu item and the program locks up for many seconds and then finally comes back to life. Weird. When moving the cursor on the timeline, MEP fails to update the display until, after the move, you move the cursor a 2nd time. Consistently.
The 2013 version remains *not recommended for 3D editing* due to its continued unreliability. MEP 2013 works great for 2D editing.
Update: I went back to the prior version, MEP MX Plus. Unfortunately I now encounterĀ another defect in audio handling. An imported audio track MP3 file that plays fine in Audacity and Windows Media Player, plays choppy in MEP MX Plus. Even after conversion to a WAV file format, in MEP MX Plus, the audio plays stuttered and choppy. This also appears in a video file exported as MP4 or WMV format. Weird.
Gonzaga University Grotto, a spot for reflection, contemplation, prayer. Burning candles lit December 14, 2012. Photographed inĀ #3DĀ onĀ December 15th and many of the candles are still burning. Image isĀ #3DĀ Ā stereoscopic red/cyan anaglyph (red/cyan glasses needed for 3D viewing). Photo taken with Fujifilm 3D W3.
A comparison of inexpensive, consumer level 3D cameras in terms of the specifications that matter for 3D photography and video. There are other cameras besides these but these are affordable and available from many vendors. Another day I will look in to specifications of higher end cameras, such as the Sony TD10/TD20 3D video cameras.
Update: Since posting this item it appears that most of these cameras are in the process of being discontinued and you can find some great half price deals right now. It is likely that new 3D cameras will be introduced in a few weeks at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
| Fujifilm W3 | Lumix 3D1 | Toshiba Camileo Z100 | |
| Stereobase | 6.5 cm | 3.0 cm | 3.0 cm |
| Focal length | 35-105mm 35mm equivalent | 25-100mm 35mm equivalent | Fixed lens, 4x digital zoom in 3D, 35mm equivalent unknown |
| Stills | 2x 10.0 MP Sensor3D Resolution 7.2 MP in 16:9 ratio 8.9 MP in 3:2 ratio 10.0 MP in 4:3 ratio Stills recorded in full size side by side MPO format |
2x 12 MP Sensor3D Resolution 6 MP @ 16:9 8 MP @ 4:3 Stills recordedĀ as full size |
2x 5 MP sensor3D Resolution 4 MP @ 16:9 (2D 5M 2592 x 1944, and an āinterpolatedā 16 MP 4608×3456) Stills recorded in Ā full side-by-side JPEG |
| Video | Video 1280×720/24p MP4 encoding3D HD Resolution two separate video streams recorded as 1280×720/24p for left 1280×720/24p for rightEncoding AVCHD or MJPEG 3D-AVI format |
Video 1,920×1,080/30F in either AVCHD or MP4. Sensor is progressive but video is encoded as 1080i – end result is basically the same as 30p. 1280×720/30p 1280×720/60pEncoding AVCHD or MP43D Resolution 960 x 1080 for left 960 x 1080 for right |
Video 1920×1080/30p 720/60p MP4 encoding,3D file format is one half side-by-side formatmeaning 960×1080 for each halfFeatures external mic input plug |
| LCD | Glasses free 3D | 2D only | Glasses free 3D |
| Image stabilization | No, CCD imager | Yes, CMOS imager | No, CMOS |
| Battery | user replaceable | user replaceable | user replaceable |
| Sony Bloggie 3D | ||
| Stereobase | 2.0 cm | |
| Focal length | 16:9 stills and video: 47mm (35mm camera equivalent) 4:3 41mm (35mm equivalent) |
|
| Stills | 2x 5.15 MP sensor (3.1 MP @ 16:9) (5 MP S 4:3)3D 2 MP (1920x1080x)Encoded as full size MPO side by side images |
|
| Video | 1080 720/60p 720/30p 3D: 1080/30p onlyEncoding MP4Encoded in half size side-by-side 3D format for 960 x 1080 resolution per side |
|
| LCD | Glasses free 3D | |
| Image stabilization | Yes, CMOS imager | |
| Battery | internal, not replaceable |
An interesting observation – some of these cameras have 1920×1080 image sensors but actually cut the image in half when encoded into video. The reality is they are not 1920×1080 but 960 x 1080 x 2.
In addition, the frame rate offers additional temporal resolution.
Let’s compare the image quality in terms of actual resolution, as well as resolution in time by calculating a “mega pixels per minute” rate:
Interestingly, depending on many factors, your highest image quality might come from 720 x 60 fps because it delivers more potential information to your eyes over time.
Shooting 3D with my two Kodak Playsport Zx3 cameras, I think the 720/60p dual camera view looks on par with the 1080p/30p view. But that is also because after editing and 3D processing, the output of a 1080p video often ends up as a 960x1080p side by side video (as needed, for example, to upload to Youtube).
Figuring out which is best can get complicated!
