The first 3D camcorder on the market was the consumer offering from Panasonic. Actually, this is not quite correct because the actual “camcorder” component is Panasonic’s very excellent SDT750. The 3D part is obtained by nailing a special conversion lens to the front, codenamed VW-CLT1.

This 3D lens can be added quite happily to Panasonic models SD90, SD900 and HS900 equally and footage shot can be played back on 3DTVs directly from the camcorder or footage stored on an SD card – I hesitate to say ‘all’ 3D TVs so best to try before you buy just in case.

As I mentioned in the review of Panny’s commercial 3D camcorder last week, shooting in 3D does require a separate set of disciplines to 2D, so some experimentation is required, as well as a goodly reading of the manual, sadly not supplied in the test unit I had and there was no PDF available on line.

Under a flip up lid on the top of the lens are two thumb wheel s and a rotary dial to calibrate the lenses in the CT1. Inside the lens cap (which must be on during calibration) is a pair of line drawings for this purpose – a sort of test pattern if you like. Failure to calibrate will almost guarantee you rubbish 3D by the way and calibration should be done every time the lens is attached.

Of course, if the lens is removed – a ten second process – the ST750 reverts to a standard 2D camcorder.

Another thing to know is that although the basic camcorder records in hi-def, all 3D footage is actually shot at 960 * 1080 using side-by-side technology. with this, each lens records half the image. Secondly, you will not be able to zoom.

The quality of footage is not as good as you get from the camcorder by itself. This does make sense in a way as it is being processed and going through effectively 3 lenses (the two on the converter plus the 750’s own lens). The result is a bit of noise, and you wouldn’t want to shoot in low light. But you get this in ‘normal everyday footage as soon as you start adding lenses, so nothing new here. You just need to be aware.

Editing is another issue; you do need software capable of 3D editing and at time of writing, the only ones I know of are Sony Vegas, AVID (with a plugin) and by using a Cinescore plugin for Final Cut Pro.

Just as in photography, the real trick is using your own skill to get the best out of a lens such as this. Simply whacking a 3D lens on the front will not turn you into James Cameron or produce an Avatar. The limitations of the lens guarantee that. For a 1^st generation piece of equipment though, it will obviously get better as proven in Panasonic’s bigger beast). In the meantime, the CT1 will give you a feel for what can be done, and allow you to learn the nuances of 3D.

The lens itself is not bad; it’s that the technology hasn’t yet fully caught up to the concept – but it will.

The VW-CT1 sells for $449.

By David Hague

David is the owner and publisher of AusCam Online. He has a background in media dating back to 1979 when he first got involved with photojournalism in motorsport, and went from there into technology via a 5 year stint with Tandy Computers. Following that, he ran a software distribution company on the Gold Coast and was one of the first to recognise the potential of Microsoft Windows.

Moving back to WA, David wrote scripts for Computer Television for video training for the just released Windows and Office 95 among others, and was then lured to Sydney to create web sites for the newly commercial Internet in 1995, building hundreds of sites under contract to OzEmail including Coates Hire, Hertz Queensland, John Williamson, the NSW Board of Studies and many, many more.

He went back into full time journalism as the Managing Editor for Channel 7's 'Gadget Guy', Peter Blasina's publications VideoCamera and Pixelmag, before starting Australasian Camcorder magazine when these publications were shelved. He lives at Sydney's Avalon Beaches nearly on the ocean front with dog Budweiser and in his spare time is a nut for motor sport, road safety, fishing, science fiction - especially Dr Who - and technology.

David can be contacted via david@auscamonline.com 

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