If you search for information on the world’s first 3D video camera, you will find two different answers. Some sites will tell you that it is the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 while others will say it is the Fuji FinePix Real 3D W1. There cannot be two firsts! What is the correct answer? What was the first 3D digital video camera to be launched?
Fuji FinePix Real 3D W1 was the first 3D digital camera
The FinePix Real 3D W1 was indeed the first consumer 3D digital camera to be launched. This 3D camera did have 3D video recording capability. However, it could not be considered a proper camcorder or video camera. Nevertheless, it was the first camera of any sort to come with 3D video recording capability and 3D video playback functionality! It was launched in July 2009; that is more than a year before the Panasonic SDT750 launch.
It was a 10MP (Mega Pixel) digital camera with an optical zoom of 3X (each lens – two Fujinon lenses and two CCDs). The Fuji W1 could record HD movies at a 640 x 480 pixel / 320 x 240 pixel resolution. Another first about this 3D camera was that it had an auto-stereoscopic LCD monitor that displays 3D still pictures and 3D movies without dedicated 3D glasses. Recorded 3D video format was AVI.
In conclusion, the FinePix Real 3D W1 was more of a 3D digital camera with 3D video recording capability and was not a dedicated 3D video camera!
First 3D video camera – Panasonic HDC-SDT750 3D Camcorder
It is the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 that can be considered the first true camcorder with 3D video recording. However, this camcorder was also a little bit strange in that you had to attach a separate 3D conversion lens if you wanted 3D recording. This Panasonic 3D video camera is not just meant for 3D recording. For regular 2D recording, you could take out the 3D conversion lens and use the regular built in Leica Dicomar lenses. This is why it is often referred to as a 3D compatible video camera. You can find out about other Panasonic 3D camcorder models by reading the Panasonic 3D camcorder review we have provided.
What gives animals (the ones with 3D visibility) 3D vision is something called visual disparity. Only animals (including humans) that have their eyes at the front of the face have 3D vision. Others that have their eyes on either side of the face do not get to enjoy 3D vision. That is because both eyes have to see the same image at a different viewing angle (visual disparity) for the brain to perceive depth (3rd dimension). When the two eyes are placed on completely opposite sides of the head, the two eyes see two different images. You can read more about the biology of 3D vision or binocular vision on this page.
3D digital cameras as well as 3D camcorders are able to produce this visual disparity by artificial means. The Panasonic SDT750, with its two lenses, is able to capture the right and left images separately and recorded using the side-by-side method.
The launch of the Panasonic 3D video camera
This Panasonic 3D video camera was launched in August 2010. The 3D world has seen many different and more advanced 3D video cameras since the SDT750. For best 3D video camera reviews, please visit our homepage.
