NVIDIA bringing 3D images to Sony's Alpha camera lineup

Fujifilm's REAL 3D W1 didn't exactly get the warmest of welcomes, but even today it remains one of the few point-and-shoots that can natively take 3D photographs. Here at NVIDIA's Computex press conference, the company slid in this little nugget: Sony's new Alpha series of interchangeable lens compact cameras are now compatible with NVIDIA's 3D image processing software (3D Vision Photo Viewer). You won't get your Alpha growing a second lens or anything (at least not yet), but any image you shoot with it can be post-processed as 3D thanks to the new partnership. Details beyond that were few and far between, but the company's obviously stoked to have Sony onboard. 'Course, with Sony's own 3D obsession, we wouldn't be shocked to hear that every single one of the outfit's cameras will soon be on the three-dee bandwagon in some form or another.

[Mustafa Posted May 31st 2010 5:43AM]

So now we'll have to put on glasses just look at pictures. I wonder why I bothered having Lasik on my eyes, oh right to get rid of the glasses.

[RincewindWiz Posted May 31st 2010 5:49AM]

@Mustafa Patience is called for. Give it time and I'm sure auto-stereoscopic images will come to the fore.

Besides, at least this way you don't have to wear two pairs of glasses on top of each other!

[onlymyrailgun Posted May 31st 2010 8:32AM]

@Mustafa
Good thing you had LASIK done. 3D glasses are a hassle to wear on top of glasses.

[Temple Posted May 31st 2010 11:25AM]

@Mustafa

The requirement of glasses are dependent on the display technology.

This Nvidia + Sony is about acquisition technology. You can view pictures taken with this camera WITHOUT glasses if your display technology uses autosteroscopic technology. There are several 3D picture frames released in Japan that don't require glasses for viewing (e.g. Fuji Real3D V1).

We need to differentiate what technologies we are talking about here.

[RincewindWiz Posted May 31st 2010 2:43PM]

@Temple And as if by magic, a story appeared:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/31/newsight-3d-photo-frame-promises-to-let-you-see-around-images/

[TareG Posted May 31st 2010 6:21PM]

@RincewindWiz
Exactly. 3D cameras will start meaning the world to me once Autostereoscopic screens take over on handsets.

[Cynical Hippie Posted May 31st 2010 5:52AM]

Interesting, but I think I will stick with 2D

[n1hmrd Posted May 31st 2010 6:07AM]

WE Demand Video now!,But cool i want one

[tytania8 Posted May 31st 2010 6:10AM]

whats the point?

[Kingsley Posted May 31st 2010 6:10AM]

I think I read somewhere (sony product information) That it reconstructs the 3D from the sweep panorama, which sounds plausible since there'll be a lot of extra information in all those exposures.

[mukatuna Posted May 31st 2010 6:49AM]

If it needs stupid glasses, its a fail.

[Marko Posted May 31st 2010 7:18AM]

I want nex3. Release it for sale, damnit! (:

[Marko Posted May 31st 2010 9:12AM]

@Marko - By the way, I think this whole '3D' thing is for Panorama photographs only. Basically, the camera can either stitch a series of photographs into a 2d image, or a 3d image based on what you tell it to do. I do think having a 3D panorama shot will be great!!!
I can't really see it making anything usefull out of a normal single 2D shot, apart from some artifitial pseudo-3D effect, which you can probably do with any shot.

[tusing Posted May 31st 2010 8:04AM]

I hope that when it takes a 3D picture, it takes a normal one at the same time for normal use.

[Kromatik Posted May 31st 2010 3:36PM]

@tusing

Well it's using 2 individual perspectives, so I assume there will be 2 individual images available or extractable.

[John H Posted May 31st 2010 10:44AM]

I wonder how 3D images will be Photoshopped; can they be "flattened" for editing and still return to 3D form after the changes? Will image pros have to wear glasses while editing? Will there need to be a whole new set of tools?

[Soundguy Posted May 31st 2010 6:28PM]

Hey, Engadget, it's tims to treat 3D post-processing the way you treat perpetual motion. Both violate the laws of physics, and should be covered only with...ridicule.