Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 can shoot 3D panoramas with new firmware
By Vlad Savov 
posted July 1st 2010 2:58AM
posted July 1st 2010 2:58AM
posted July 1st 2010 2:58AM
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"depth information"
... anybody thinking what im thinking?
;] ;]
gotta love the Japanese
@Autobots
She'd still be disappointed ;P
sorry couldnt help it
is dreaming of Canon EOS 550D.
Sony cameras!
Only shoots 3D panoramic if you hold it right.
@Seb6554 Care to elaborate? I haven't tested the 3D panoramas yet but the standard ones worked 100% of the time for me. I never received an error message or had problems with it (and I did maybe 10-15 over the weekend)
@Seb6554 buy a case then.
@Seb6554
I swear, people say they are hating all this buzz about the iphone but you guys consistently bring it right back up in every thread NOT related to Apple at all. Ironic eh?
It's a great camera.. it's just the controls - so limited. But it's still innovative.. in a way.
@pavelgr not limited but awkward.
@pavelgr
Plus 1080i video not 1080p and no exposire lock in video = i wait till next year where we get 550D features/ in an nex form factor
@laxic
It does shoot 1080p video
It is, in fact, spelled "Extra", which starts with the letter E, Sony... Jeez, no wonder the English folk are losing their ability to spell/not learning it correctly in the first place at all.
@TP for my Bunghole
3D sells.
Does it really Pavel?
Cos it still seems 3D is trying to be sold to us.
And its not working.
@BlackedOut works most of the time
Microsoft's (free) Image Composition Editor, or ICE, will generate panoramas just using dragged 'n' dropped .jpgs. All you have to do is make sure the scene you're shooting overlaps a little with the next shot. Very impressive, very easy, and very free, too.
@ChrisG Many cameras have this feature built-in. Other come with a CD with Panorama Maker for example. But how many are producing 3D panoramas?
@pavelgr Does anyone really care about 3D in TVs or cameras ? It's never going to catch on in a big way until you can dispense with the 3D glasses, and at the moment, it doesn't work without them.
As for the panorama feature, I know - my Sony K750i mobile phone had that feature 4 years ago, but since you're going to take the pics off your camera anyway, dragging and dropping 5 or 6 into a bit of high-quality freeware (which, BTW, works incredibly well) adds roughly 30 seconds to the whole process. And it can be done with any pic from any digital camera.
@ChrisG Well, manufactures care. Again - new technology sells. You'll see. People buy new stuff just because they're new. The whole TV/camera industry has to move in some direction. Colour television, widescreen television, LCD screens, HD screens, bigger LCD screens, faster refresh rates, true black.. and now this.
@ChrisG I use ICE with my SLR and it works really well... however, the panoramas that come out of the NEX are much simpler to manage (no component shots), quicker to produce and are of the same quality as ICE. The only downside is that you can't shoot RAW panoramas.
This camera look sexier and sexier every time I look at it... Too bad picture quality is not that great.
@cdf74dc9 I guess everyone has their own standards but I've found the NEX-5 will produce very nice images. It's in a totally different league to any compact camera I've owned and probably better than my Sony a200 (in particular, with low-light/high-ISO shots)
@cdf74dc9
What are you talking about? The NEX-5 is class leading in image quality. The interface might be a bit too much "compact camera" for some, but the image quality is pretty amazing.
@cdf74dc9 all this baby needs is more decent lenses...
1.8 anyone?
Pretty soon, 3D will be the norm, and manufacturers will have to move forward on to 4D. You heard me right! Not only will your photographs feature a full three dimensions, but they will also have a duration as well!
No longer will you be stuck watching static, 3 dimensional photographs! Be amazed as they come to life before your very eyes with motion! Relive memories as they happened, for exactly as long as they happened, from the location you were holding the camera while they were happening!*
*Sound not included
@Locust I thought that 4D means smells and motion. At least in cinemas.
The real question is how many menus will you have to go through to turn 3d on and off. The reviews of these cameras make it sound like menu hell just to change basic settings.
@milkham Asiancat approves of this. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1187/1277149979_831c0b4604.jpg
@milkham From my experience, the NEX menu problems are way overstated. Try one in a shop to see if it suits you. The only issues I have are with the ISO and AutoHDR functions which I'd like to be a little easier to access, but even then it's not something I'm often altering. Everything else is ok.
@milkham
Press the center button to bring up the mode change.
Scroll to 3D Panorama.
Press the center button again to confirm.
Honestly, everyone keeps blowing the UI issue way out of proportion.
How would they scan the depth? spin the focusing ring from 30cm to infinite?
@num0 they are capturing stereoskopic 3D (S3D), no holograms ("real 3dD). Focus has nothing to do with either. In the Case of S3D, you need to capture 2 pictures from a slightly different angle and position, just like our eyes. This is achived as you swipe to capture the panorama anyway.
@mahut
so we need to nicely and precisely slide the camera... I wonder how it will go on shaky environment like on trains.
@num0 - Not really, it works on pixel level to match the images even if you are not moving it in a straight line.
@num0 - Not really, it works on pixel level to match the images even if you are not moving it in a straight line.
I didn't think the camera was coming out until the 15th of July??
hey sony how about my $400 TX-7?
Does not work well with moving subjects.
Whoa, I just updated to the new 2.0 firmware and the "improved" standard panaroma shooting is constantly giving me error messages. Panaroma worked great under 1.0 but it hardly works now. It is almost to the point where I want to return the camera. Which would be sad, since I love the camera and disagree with the UI issues others have had.
Where's the demo? :D
panoramas are not the same! you need two lenses snapping simultaneously. for example, leaves rustle and you're screwed