3D, Business

3D TV might be returning

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When 3D TVs became a thing just over a decade ago, they were an impossible sale:

  • Consumers had just upgraded TVs to HDTV – and were not interested in spending more money
  • There was little 3D content available via special DVDs and DVD players
  • And 2009-2011 was a time when the economy was devastated by the Great Recession

Now, things are different including that 3D content can (or could) be made easily available through streaming media, which was not available a decade ago.

Plus there are new applications for 3D. A decade ago it was for watching 3D movies – today, 3D is for gaming and business applications (think CAD). And, there is VR, which is a natural option for 3D too.

It’s a long shot, but hear us out: The stars are beginning to align for the much-maligned technology.

Source: It’s Time to Make 3D TVs a Thing Again | WIRED

Drones, R/C aircraft, Radio-control, UAVs

Guessing will see a new round of drone regulations: “‘Swarm’ of drones spotted flying above UK nuclear plant”

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In 2019, in the lead up to the FAA’s proposed rules on R/C model aircraft, the media ran frequent scary stories about drone sightings (many of which were not even real). The stories were so frequent, and so often wrong or left out critical details – that they seemed to have been a coordinated public relations campaign by those wanting to regulate model aircraft.

The result was Homeland Security wrote the FAA’s proposed rules, largely based on an assumption that anyone flying an R/C model aircraft is a terrorist (the hobby has been around since the 1930s…)

The sighting was one of two in the space of four days.

Source: ‘Swarm’ of drones spotted flying above UK nuclear plant

Now we have recent reports of “Russians” allegedly flying drones on the Svalbard Island, and in northern Norway. Then this – 11 reports over almost 36 months of drones near or over nuclear facilities in the UK.

The US rules on mandatory remote identification of newly sold drones takes effect in December (postponed from September due to technology delays). All new drones must broadcast their position and owner information. By fall of 2023, all drones and most RC model aircraft – must broadcast their position, or no longer be flown except at FAA approved airfields.

Cameras, Other

Wearing Eyeglasses and Using Camera Eye Viewfinders

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Depending on the survey and the country, about 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 4 people have eyeglasses, even if not used all the time.

Most adults over age 45 have presbyopia, or the inability to focus at close range. They use reading glasses.

For those with distance vision and/or astigmatism or other corrections, they wear eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Most DSLR cameras have a diopter adjustment to enable one to look through the eyepiece viewfinder with or without wearing glasses or contact lenses.

My photo hobby involves 2D, 3D and video photography at events such as historical re-enactments, air shows, and character photography at comic-con.

All of these are “fast action” scenarios – taking off and putting on glasses in between photos has not been a great option. Consequently, I have been looking at other options.

I am fortunate in that I have had good vision all my life and did not get my first reading glasses until late 40s, and first distance vision correction in mid-50s, for use while driving. My distance vision correction is small enough I am not (yet) required to wear glasses while driving, although I do wear glasses as it is more relaxing on my eyes to do so.

Glasses and Photography

When I have been photographing at air shows, I tend to keep my glasses off so I can quickly put my eye up to the camera viewfinder. More recently, due to wanting to wear sunshades over my glasses, and making it easier to spot aircraft in the sky, particularly when they fly out aways before returning to the airfield, I’ve been wearing my glasses – then removing them rapidly into a shirt pocket so I could use my camera’s eye viewfinder.

But I have found this is not practical.

  • One, its time consuming to swap glasses off to take photos.
  • Two, lenses become dirty, quickly.
  • Three, I occasionally drop my glasses when doing this maneuver. Very bad.

I have myself carrying 3 sets of glasses.

  1. Generic dark glasses
  2. Distance vision glasses with or without clip on sunshades.
  3. Reading glasses
  4. And no glasses when using the camera.

At the last air show I attended, the “clip ons” for my prescription glasses broke. Then I dropped my generic dark glasses, scratching the lenses.

Juggling 3 sets of glasses and 2 cameras has become a fiasco – and I began looking for better solutions.

Continue reading Wearing Eyeglasses and Using Camera Eye Viewfinders →

Guide to 3D and Drones