3D Digital Camera will now be Real - Fujifilm 3D Digital Camera To Set The Trend

A lot has changed in the world of photography over the years. I remember when the coolest camera on the market was that Polaroid that took pictures that you had to shake. Digital cameras came along not long after than with all the good that came along with it.

The arrival of digital photography over a decade ago opened up so many new ways of enjoying images, not only through capture, but also through manipulation, printing and display. Sales of digital cameras, and other devices like camera phones or webcams have raced ahead of what experts had expected because of the sheer scope of what has become possible in digital imaging. So many more consumers are enjoying photography through their cameras, PCs and prints than was the case in the heyday of film.

Fujifilm is determined to push those boundaries yet further, to produce devices which offer new ways to capture and process images, to expand consumer enjoyment of photography in ways that had hitherto only been imagined.

Fujifilm was one of the early digital camera pioneers and the company is set to launch a new camera that may well usher in the next era in digital photography. The camera is called the FinePix Real 3D System and it allows you to shoot 3D images.
The company has a strong research program currently running to improve every aspect of capture and output. This is based on the broad concept of producing images as lifelike as possible, or more simply, ‘capturing an image exactly as your eye sees it.’ The ‘Real Photo Technology’ program is determined to improve key quality metrics for each generation of camera, like ‘high resolution with low noise,’ ‘expanded wide dynamic range,’ ‘intelligent scene recognition,’ ‘intelligent flash,’ ‘face detection’ etc, culminating in the announcement this September of a new type of sensor, Fujifilm Super CCD EXR, which will take image quality to levels hitherto undreamed of.

Previous 3D systems were hampered by poor image quality, and a cumbersome user experience, which often meant the need for special 3D glasses. One major benefit of the FinePix Real 3D System is that for digital camera LCD playback, display and print, the consumer can enjoy the image just as it was originally seen with the naked eye

The same research team is determined to use these key technologies to open up a new market with 3D imaging. The new 3D image system features advanced image signal processing and micro-component technologies, and is so far able to demonstrate a camera, a viewing panel and a 3D printing system.

The camera uses dual lenses and has a 10-megapixel resolution. To view the 3D images users can put them on a special 3D enabled digital photo frame or print them with a special 3D printing process that needs no glasses to view. The downside is that the camera will cost $600 with the frame for showing the images selling for about $200 and the prints said cost under $5 each.

The Technology Behind the 3D Camera
The 3D camera depends heavily on a newly developed chip called the ‘Real Photo Processor 3D’ which synchronizes the data passed to it by both sensors, and instantaneously blends the information into a single high quality image, for both stills and movies.

‘Built-in 3D auto’ determines optimal shooting conditions from both sensors. 3D auto means that as soon as the shutter is depressed, key metrics for the image, such as focus, zoom range, exposure, etc, are synchronized. The camera is also fitted with built-in synchro control, giving 0.001-second precision for shutter control and movie synchronization.

The processor uses the very latest technologies of high sensitivity and high resolution as the newest 2D processors. Special identical high quality compact Fujinon lenses have been developed for the 3D system to ensure complete conformity between the left and right images.

Viewing with the FinePix Real 3D System
A new 8.4 inch, “FinePix Real 3D Photo Frame” with over 920,000 pixels has also been developed. The LCD monitor on the camera and the stand alone display panel share similar technologies in that the problem of screen flickering and image ghosting, which has beset earlier developments, has been solved, giving crisp, high resolution viewing of images in glorious 3D or standard 2D. A newly developed “light direction control module” in the back of the LCD controls light to right eye and left eye direction. This light direction control mechanism enables easy and high quality 3D viewing without special 3D glasses.

Printing with the FinePix Real 3D System
Using know-how gained through years of development of Fujifilm Frontier, Fujifilm have developed a 3D printing system using a fine pitch lenticular sheet giving highprecision, and fine quality multiple viewpoint 3D like never before.

New dimensions in imaging mean a wealth of new possibilities which will revolutionise the way consumers enjoy imaging. Fujifilm is determined to leverage it considerable technical resources to explore 3D in everyway possible, to produce products that expand the imaging market, while at the same time, give future generations of consumers an even richer imaging experience than was conceived at the dawn of the digital age.