3D Vision Blog

By now you should know that the PS3 console already got its firmware update (3.30) that dded support for 3D output to the console (for gaming in stereo 3D) and not so long time ago even a few “3D demo” games appeared for people that already have a 3D HDTV to connect their PlayStation 3 console to. But Sony’s plans do not end with providing 3D gaming support for the console, they seem to have plans to further extend the stereo 3D capabilities of the console a lot in the next 12 months with the help of more firmware updates…

Later this year we are expecting the second in line firmware upgrade for the console that should add the anticipated support for playing back Blu-ray 3D movies on the PS3 (available as early as September), so if you already have the console and a 3D HDTV then you might skip the purchase of a dedicated Blu-ray 3D player and wait for the new firmware. There are still not a lot of Blu-ray 3D movies available, so purchasing a dedicated hardware player can be easily postponed for a few months anyway, and if you’ve got the PS3 you can even skip that purchase.

It seems that Sony is already planning to have 3D content broadcasted through its PlayTV service as well. And support for the 3D Sweep Panorama pictures taken with some of the Sony digital cameras (MPO files) is also coming, as well as support for user created stereoscopic 3D photos and videos apparently. YouTube 3D content playback in stereo 3D on the PlayStation 3 is another feature that is expected to be available.

So things sure seem to be moving the right way in terms of S3D support for Sony and the PS3, but you should be aware that most of these features are already available for almost any PC equipped with some sort of stereo 3D setup able to play 3D content. And the best of all is that on the PC you can go with a much cheaper 3D-capable monitor as compared to the 3D HDTVs currently available on the market… ;)

Sony has just introduced two new series of compact digital still cameras with 12.2 megapixels resolution that support the 3D Sweep Panorama mode that allows you to take stereoscopic 3D panorama photos with a simple sweep of the camera around you. 3D Sweep Panorama mode was recently made available for Sony’s NEX3/NEX-5 cameras through a firmware upgrade, but now it is also available in the compact models from the DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9 series.

The Sony Cyber-shot WX5 and TX9 digital cameras can capture a high-speed burst of frames as you sweep the camera from side to side and thus the information from up to 100 photos is automatically combined to create a stereoscopic pair of frames. You can view the resulting 3D panorama by connecting the camera by HDMI to your 3D-compatible TV, or on your 3D-equipped PC, however viewing on the PC might require some additional manipulation of the photos.

It is not like having a true 3D digital camera, but the 3D Sweep Panorama functionality is nice to be available as an additional feature on your camera, and you never know when you’ll get to see a great scenery that you may want to record and then experience in stereo 3D to get the same feeling later when you are at home… ;)

As expected Sony has just released a new firmware update that brings some 3D shooting capabilities to the company’s NEX-3 and NEX-5 interchangeable lens digital cameras. The new firmware update adds several performance enhancements plus the so called 3D Sweep Panorama mode that will allow you to take stereoscopic 3D panorama photos by just sweeping your camera around the scenery you want to capture. The 3D Panorama Sweep mode works just like the already available mode for taking panoramic photos inside these cameras and the new mode just extends this functionality further, so it is just a software improvement not requiring any additional hardware. Have in mind that the Sony NEX-3 and NEX-5 digital cameras are not true stereoscopic 3D cameras like the Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W1 for example and they do have just one lens and sensor and not two. So the only 3D photo mode that you have available in the one for taking photos in stereo 3D of panoramas, however you can still manually take two pictures with a little offset of the camera to produce a stereoscopic 3D photo after some editing with a free software like the StereoPhoto Maker. Then again this manual 3D shooting can be done with just about any normal camera, the problem is that it is not so easy and requires some experience and knowledge in order to produce good stereo 3D photos. But the 3D Sweep Panorama mode does everything automatically, you just need to move the camera and it will do the taking of pictures and sticking them into a nice stereo 3D panorama. The NEX-5 and NEX-3 shoot a high-speed burst of frames that are automatically combined inside the camera to create a seamless panoramic still image containing depth information.

Bear in mind that the firmware update version 02 for the Sony NEX-3/5 that is already available for download is intended only for NEX-5/NEX-3 cameras with Version 01 firmware currently installed as newer cameras may ship with the new firmware pre-installed, so there will be no need to update it if you are yet to purchase one of these cameras. You can check the current version of the firmware installed on the camera by selecting MENU / SETUP / VERSION. And if you do have one of these camera and update the firmware you are more than welcome to share some 3D panorama images here, as I personally do not have any of the two models to try it.

- Download the firmware update 02 for the Sony NEX-3/5 with 3D Sweep Panorama mode…