PALIN MITENK BLOG

By Sean Poulter, Consumer Affairs Editor

Whatever NEX: Sony's new 3D cameras are the next evolution in home entertainment


We've seen it bring the big screen to life and 3D televisions are already on the market, now, the latest product to use three-dimensional technology is a true holiday essential.

Cameras which take 3D photos that can be viewed in all their splendour on a special TV screen are hitting the market next month.

The products, by Sony, are part of the new craze for 3D in Hollywood movies, TV and game consoles.

They will allow users to feel as if they are standing right in front of a magnificent panorama - or can almost reach out and touch their loved ones, caught on film.

But such cutting-edge technology doesn't come cheap.

The compact cameras, the NEX-5 and NEX-3, will sell for around £550 and work as a normal stills camera as well as having a 3D setting.

The TVs needed for viewing the 3D photos cost thousands. Also needed are 3D active shutter glasses, which sell for £100 a pair.


But Sony technical expert, Paul Genge, believes they will capture


the public's imagination. He said that allowing people to take their own pictures in 3D has a more powerful emotional pull than the films created by Hollywood.

He said: 'All the big films like Avatar are very impressive, but you are still a bit detached from what you are seeing.

'But when you take a photograph yourself and the image you later see on the 3D-TV is as you saw it, it is a completely different experience.

'It is as if you can step into your own picture. For me, that is the real connection point with 3D.' The camera works by taking a series of images in quick succession, as it is swept across a panorama. These images are put together to make one still 3D photo.

The Sony 3D-TV sets which go with the cameras start with the 40in Bravia X803, at £1,800, and the 46in version at £2,200.


The 3D camera works by taking a series of pictures in rapid succession and stitching them together


Sony is not the first to offer 3DTV sets in the UK. The world's biggest electronics firm, Samsung, began selling its sets in April with a starting price of £1,200 for a 40in set. However, it remains to be seen whether the public will embrace the technology.

At the moment, there is little 3DTV content available. For instance, the World Cup in South Africa will be filmed in 3D but UK broadcasters will not be offering the content.

And there are health concerns. The key to 3D technology is the active shutter glasses that must be worn to view the TV or photos.

The high-speed shutters open and close alternately over each eye in sync with the changing image on the screen to create the illusion. This bombards the eyes and brain with a succession of flashing images

Samsung recently put out a health warning that might scare away some potential customers.

It suggested that pregnant women, the elderly, children and those suffering from serious medical conditions are among a wide range of people who could have adverse reactions such as confusion, nausea, convulsions, altered vision, lightheadedness and dizziness.


source: dailymail