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What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:37 am
by Colombo
Hello I have a question I would advise you want to buy a 3D camera deciding between the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 or Samsung NX300 with 3D lens which is better for 3D photos. Thank you

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:39 pm
by Vapymid
If your priority is a 2D camera that you can use for an occasional 3D shot, then, maybe, Samsung would be OK.

If your primary aim is 3D, then Samsung is not the way to go - the stereobase is so narrow that pictures will have very little depth in them unless you do macro close-ups. It also takes left and right shots consecutively, one after the other, so, rapidly moving objects (cars passing or tree leaves on a windy day) may create an unpleasant effect in the pictures.

Regards

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 3:17 pm
by payt01
The fujifilm is supposed to be a nice cam. I've been using my LG optimus for a while, since it has a 3d cam as well.. but i have to say that the quality isn't great.. it's fun to make some quick snapshots, but the 3d base is rather small so the 3d effect wears off quickly as distance increases.

Right now i'm using my Panasonix Lumix TMZ 6 to shoot 3d pictures of static objects/sceneries. This works great on wind-free days in sceneries where there aren't any people/cars etc, which is fine with me since i mainly like to snap pictures in nature anyway. I snap the pictures using the Cha Cha methos (shoot left picture, then the right picture a few cm to the right of the first one). Then i merge these pictures in stereomaker, which is an amazing program to do just that.. it allows you to align the pictures, and then save them as MPO files. The effect is usually fantastic (imo), and a lot better than all the cheapo 'stereo' cams out there.

Of course the disadvantage is that i can't make 3d movies this way.. I can use the Optimus for that, but i'd like to be able to change my stereobase depending on the kind of shot i'm taking. So i guess i'll have to buy 2 syncable camera's sometime and make my own rig.

Of course i could buy one of the available stereo cams, but i find them to be either too limited or too expensive for my purposes..

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:12 pm
by bulkinav
payt01 wrote:Then i merge these pictures in stereomaker, which is an amazing program to do just that.. it allows you to align the pictures, and then save them as MPO files. The effect is usually fantastic (imo), and a lot better than all the cheapo 'stereo' cams out there.

For this you can also use our software - Phereoshop for PC.

Please read the main features of the Phereoshop - http://phereoshop.com/features

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:48 am
by IckyChris
I really like my Fuji W3. So much so that I bought another one :o

The glasses-free 3D display screen is really nice for viewing, but of course I also edit (rotate, crop, adjust plane of view) with the free StereoPhotoMaker program, before posting to Phereo.

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 12:02 pm
by tractorboy
I use the Fujifilm W3 and I am very happy with it.

Its size makes it very easy to just stick in your pocket and take 3D photos when out and about.
It obviously has the same limitations as other compact cameras compared to the top of the range DSLR models, but what do you expect from a relatively cheap camera. The zoom is only 3x, but I would imagine that beyond this, you would start to lose most of the stereo effect anyway.

I also like that I can plug it directly into my 3D monitor (through HDMI, so this would probably work for a 3D TV too) and view the photos without having to download to a computer first.

I have found it to be a great introduction to 3D photography. My photos may not be proffessional quality, but I am happy with what I have achieved for very little cost.

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 3:50 am
by IC3D
I'm surprised no one mentioned that cyclopital3d.com has adapters for various cameras that over come some of the limitations. They sell a base extender(for hyerstereo landscapes), lens adapter(so you can do wide angle and telephoto), polarized adapter for water shots and a macro lens adapter for ultra close ups for the Fuji. They also have a remote for it and sell some external flash units. The Fuji is quite a convenient snap shot camera but you can't expect the tiny sensor to do portrait size blow ups. For that you need a twinned pair of DSLR's. And guess what they're working on? You got it - a twin pair DSLR sync device. So look for your best deal 2 DSLR's and check Ken's webpage for more news. To get the cameras as close to normal interaxial spacing you should consider the Twin Vertical mount available at http://www.berezin.com/3d/slidebars.htm
I bought the "toe-in" type but some prefer the fixed type. For the sync cable I used an audio cable y adapter hooked to an intervalometer. The nice thing with the DSLR is the sensor is many times the size of the Fuji 3D so the images are awesome and can be enlarged much bigger.

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 9:15 am
by Lindyshutterbug
I bought a Fujifilm W3 a few years ago primarily as a dive camera (next level up in 3D dive camera options is extremely expensive). I just used (and still uploading pics) at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) Prime 2013. I do love the portability of the camera. Since it looks like a simple point and shoot I get ignored by the pros and I tend to get more natural reactions from subjects (unless I have someone watching over my shoulder). The fine art printer in me does miss shooting with better sensors and in RAW.

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 8:31 am
by linuxluver
If you want good 3D still images, get the Fuji Real 3D W3.
If you want good 3D video with excellent sound, then get the Fuji Real 3D W3.

A few things about the Fuji Real 3D W3:

1. The stereo base is 75mm - like human eyes. This means you start having problems with parallax if the subject of the photo is less than 2 metres away. There is a parallax adjustment capacity in the camera, but it isn't the same as having the optimal interaxial distance.

2. The two lenses can be vertically mis-aligned. I have two of these cameras and in one of them the mis-alignment is greater than the adjustment possible in the Settings. I correct for this when i edit the videos or stills. No big problem, but it's there.

3. If you want the camera to be "online", then buy an SD card with Wifi. I have 2 x "EZ Share" 8GB SDHC (class 10) cards for my Fuji. I can turn the wifi on and copy photos to my phone....and edit'align them on the phone using 3D Steroid Pro (only "Pro" can handle large images and MPO). It's a bit cumbersome, but it works for a few photos at a time.

4. The sound recording capbility of the Fuji is AMAZING. I have recorded audio that sounded terrible to my own ears, but in the video recording the extraneous noise is filtered out and the sound is much clearer. This was unexpected and it's really nice to have it.

5. Video is only 720p. Not really that great. But the sound often makes the Fuji the better choice over a camera with higher resolution (like the DXG-5F9V).

LG 3D Max

I also have an LG 3D Max phone. It has a small stereo base (25mm), so is best used for close-ups / portraits. Great for anything between 400mm away and about 5 metres. After that, the images go flat. I usually have to adjust the contrast and saturation after taking any photo as the cameras in the LG make things look very slightly washed out. Easily corrected. I sometimes must correct the alignment...and in the phone I do this with 3D Steroid Pro. Auto-alignment is usually good enough. The phone also does video at 720p. Its OK. Same minor issue with colours being slightly washed out. if the phone hasn't been rebooted recently or you have other apps running in the background you can sometimes get "choppy" video due to several taks trying to use the MicroSD card at the same time (read and write). I usually avoid this by rebooting the phone and / or turning all background sync activity in the settings. You want to minimise competing I/O in order to have good video. However...the sound recording is TERRIBLE. If the noise is even a bit too loud you get a lot of distortion. Really bad. But if you have control over the sound level in the environment, this is avoidable.

I love this device. Online all the time. Good 3D - incluiding glasses-free 4.7" 3D display and the ability to convert 2D to 3D on the fliy for both stills and video. You can also play 3D games on the phone. The Avatar game looks great in 3D.

DXG-5F9V

This video camera was cheap (US$150) about 6 months ago. It records video at 1080p, but still images are fairly low res - only about 1920 x 1080, I think - same as the video, but small for stills. For high res video, this camera is pretty good....BUT...the sound recording is poor. The sound is like you held a pillow over the camera and tried to smother it. If I record video with this camera, I tend to add the sound later....usually just music.

GoPro Hero3 (2 cameras)

For comparison, I have also experimented with 2 x Gopro Hero3 "Silver" video cameras. I mount them on a custom mount at 100mm interaxial. For stills, this is awesome because they are 11MP PER SIDE. You can get very hi-res 3D images you can zoom into and they don't pixelate until you;ve really drilled into them. This can be awesome. For video, they can also make very good 3D...but you must be careful about the "fisheye" characteristic of the GoPro. It can make aligning the two streams a bit painful. To "sync" the two streams, I start both cameras at the same time manually (best effort) and then clap my hands - visibly and audibly - in front of the two cameras. When editing, I locate the frame in both streams that best matches...and lock them together. I can still be out by up to 1/24th of a second (at the most) as this i9sn't a hot-sync....but for most things this method is "good enough".

In all cases, I edit video with Magix Movie Edit Pro 2013 Plus (or Pro MX Plus before it, or v17 Pro Plus before that) . The "plus" version supports 3D editing. The non-"plus" version does not, so make sure you buy the right version. I have uploaded many video to Youtube from all four sourcesL Fuji, LG 3D Max, DXG and GoPro pair.

Which is the best? It depends on what you want. I want a stereo camera pair with 16MP each side, with an adjustable stereo base that I can hot-sync for video or action stills. This way, everything from close-ups to landscapes could be shot with the same configuration. To me, this is ultimately the most flexible, desirable 3D solution.

But overall a Fuji Real 3D W3 combined with an LG 3D Max gives you the best mix of close-up 3D and general 3D with reasonable quality.

Re: What to buy 3D camera

PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:03 pm
by Speleo
I'm also very pleased with the Fuji W3 (I got my for £90 on e-Bay; the owner had only used it for 12 shots).

My only major gripe is that there is no viewfinder -- and the screen is so reflective that it cannot really be used outdoors on a sunny day -- all you see in the screen is your own reflection. Excellent indoors, underground, etc.

Speleo