If the iPhone and iPod were the fads of the noughties, Fujifilm may well be betting on and hoping for the current decade embraces 3D.  And so far, with the enormous boot up the bum 3D gained from Avatar, it appears they may be on the right track.

All the major TV manufacturers are telling us 3D is coming, every new movie announced is later re-spruiked as now being in 3D and we have here leaping on the wagon train is a 3D still-cum-video camera from Fujifilm.

It's not the prettiest thing on the planet, and it's not svelte. It would fit in a pocket but leave you a little lopsided and as in most cameras with an LCD screen instead of a viewfinder, in bright sunlight it becomes about as useful as a fur lined spa, but it does have two beautiful Fujinon lenses to capture the action in either 2D or 3D.

Unlike the sophisticated cameras used to get Sam Worthington in 3D celluloid, in which a complicated array of cameras, angles and mirrors is used, the Fuji 3D uses these twin lenses and a configurable parallax system to obtain the images. In effect, for most it is simply point and shoot. But to get the very best out say, close up macro shots of flowers etc, some experimentation with the parallax - which is not as hard as it sounds - is in order.

It is a little disconcerting though as the image shown in the LCD is what you see, say, if watching a 3D movie you take the glasses off! You get used to it and finding a comfortable angle to view it from is the trick.

To switch from 3D to 2D and back, there is a simple rocker switch on the back. Other controls are plus and minus for the parallax - effectively drifting the two separate images further apart or closer together - video or  still mode, menu, 4 arrow keys with sub commands as is usual these days (timer, macro, flash, delete) and a display switch. The top of the camera simply has a shutter release and tele/wide rocker. To turn the camera on, a panel is pulled down to reveal the lenses and flash - Sony has a similar system on one of their cameras.

You will need a decent size SD card as the internal memory is a miserable 42MB. I filled up memory with 4 shots!

In use, the Fuji 3D is a cinch to use. Select the mode(s), point and shoot. The only thing you have to be aware of is due to the location of the lenses, it is very easy to get fingers in the way, and the tele / wide can be a little stiff.

To view 3D images and footage you have taken requires a 3D viewer. The Fuji viewer is actually more an up-to-date LCD photo frame that can play back in 3D as well as 2D. At $699 it's not exactly bargain basement, but I assume the prices of all this kit will drop as it becomes more popular.

The Fuji 3D camera is $899.

Vendor: Fujifilm Australia

Web: www.fujifilm.com.au

Price: $899.00

We liked: the lenses, imagery, ease of use, interchangeable 2D and 3D for stills and movies

We didn't like: doesn't come with SD card, easy to get fingers in the way, needs a dedicated player

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