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Hi all

I recently got recomended the Olympus E-PL3, and after looking through the specifications i want to clear something up. Under scene modes it has 3D and under file formats it has MPO (3D still), can someone give me an idication of what the 3D mode entails, such as
- how does it capture the 3D images?
- how will it save the images?
- is there any specific way i need to view it (such as only on a 3D capable TV)?
That sort of thing
Thanks
Stuart

This what the manual says pg55



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So from the looks of it I still have to take the left and right images, but in this case the camera can combine them automatically, but what format does the camera create the photos in (stereoscopic or anaglyph images?), or do I need to import then onto the computer and load the photos into a specific program to create the 3d effect?

stu123 wrote:So from the looks of it I still have to take the left and right images, but in this case the camera can combine them automatically, but what format does the camera create the photos in (stereoscopic or anaglyph images?)

What is the extension of the picture that you have taken?

Olympus website wrote:The results can be viewed on devices that support 3D display.

Perhaps you need to give it a go.

surenj wrote:What is the extension of the picture that you have taken?

Well the specifications say .MPO

surenj wrote:Perhaps you need to give it a go.

Well i plan to go into a camera store tomorrow, so i will enquire about it then

stu123 wrote:Well i plan to go into a camera store tomorrow, so i will enquire about it then

Please make sure you update us with the answer. I suspect the your conversation with them may well be suited for the 'humor' section of this website.

surenj wrote:Please make sure you update us with the answer

I will let you know what i find out

surenj wrote:I suspect the your conversation with them may well be suited for the 'humor' section of this website.

If you don't mind me asking but why the humor section?

stu123 wrote:

surenj wrote:I suspect the your conversation with them may well be suited for the 'humor' section of this website.

If you don't mind me asking but why the humor section?

I suspect that Suren's referring to the wealth of knowledge in this matter that he expects the sales staff in the camera store to possess. It's often measured by the very small thimble.

gstark wrote:I suspect that Suren's referring to the wealth of knowledge in this matter that he expects the sales staff in the camera store to possess. It's often measured by the very small thimble.

Ah, i see , well its better than nothing, and if nothing else i might be able to give the camera a try in store

stu123 wrote:

gstark wrote:I suspect that Suren's referring to the wealth of knowledge in this matter that he expects the sales staff in the camera store to possess. It's often measured by the very small thimble.

Ah, i see , well its better than nothing

I love the smell of an optimist in the morning.

gstark wrote:I suspect that Suren's referring to the wealth of knowledge in this matter that he expects the sales staff in the camera store to possess. It's often measured by the very small thimble.

You'd be better off going to Hardly Normal with a memory card + card reader. Take the picture and see whether a 3D smart TV could display it off USB via card reader.

well it turns out that the sales person at the camera store didn't know much about the 3D capabilities of the camera

stu123 wrote:well it turns out that the sales person at the camera store didn't know much about the 3D capabilities of the camera

I'm shocked. I'm truly shocked!

Well, no, not at all.

Which store was it, please?

gstark wrote:Which store was it, please?

Camera House in Launceston

stu123 wrote:well it turns out that the sales person at the camera store didn't know much about the 3D capabilities of the camera

Don't worry, that's normal.

Did they at least try to find out by referencing the manual or playing around with the camera?? [in all seriousness, you can't expect them to know everything. But they should know where to look, so that the answer can be had quickly]

No i didnt get a chance to try it on the camera or check the manual, unfortunately i was in a hurry when i asked.

I read the manual for the camera and it says "The two images are combined automatically" but i get the feeling it just saves the left and right images separately, and that i need a computer program to create the 3D effect. But im just wondering how that is different from how i get the left and right pictures on my iphone or a standard point and shoot, i think more research is needed.

I had a quick read of the manual
I don't think that we are talking about a Stereoscopic pair. That would be worded differently. That means it is creating them as Anaglyph images.
[quote"Manual"]The results can be viewed on devices that support 3D display[/quote]
To me that is saying that it will only display on a 3DTV. Provided of course that the TV supports the particular format. You would need to check.

The two images are combined automatically

Says that you don't need external software to combine the images

The two shots are saved to separate files

Puzzles me. It either means I am interpreting it wrong and it is indeed a stereoscopic pair, or three files are created - the pair of jpgs (Which could be used as a stereoscopic pair) and the combined images. They are less than clear. Perhaps an email to the presales team at Olympus, or their local distributor.

surenj wrote:You'd be better off going to Hardly Normal with a memory card + card reader. Take the picture and see whether a 3D smart TV could display it off USB via card reader.

Excellent advice!

Yeah, i think i may need to go back to the camera store and actually try the 3D mode on the camera, and work this out.

Stu, The 3D mode on this camera sounds crap. I can't imagine it lining things up nicely especially when you are the one doing the moving while holding your hands absolutely horizontal.

Would this feature be a deal breaker for you?

Well it just sounds like it dosnt have a dedicated system for creating 3D images on the camera, and that i will still need to take separate left and right image (by manually moving the camera) which is what i have been doing with my iphone for some time.
It would be a bonus if it had a better system for taking 3D photos, but there are other reasons i would choose this camera.

I've only read the manual page linked above. This sounds like the camera has an assist to help you manually take a 3d image. I guess the usefulness of this to you depends on how much 3D you want to shoot?

If you really want to get into 3D there is at least one lens dedicated to 3D shooting on Panasonic u4/3 cameras, the Panasonic 12.5mm/f12

No idea if that lens works as intended on non-Panasonic cameras though, you'd have to check that out.

Michael

photohiker wrote:If you really want to get into 3D there is at least one lens dedicated to 3D shooting on Panasonic u4/3 cameras, the Panasonic 12.5mm/f12

Yeah i have come across this before, while it would be absolutely perfect, i think it can only be viewed on a 3D TV, which is a deal breaker for me.

stu123 wrote:i think it can only be viewed on a 3D TV, which is a deal breaker for me.

Without having 3D hardware, how would you expect to view 3D images?? Am I missing something?

surenj wrote:Without having 3D hardware, how would you expect to view 3D images?? Am I missing something?

I can use photoshop to create both stereoscopic/anaglyph pictures using separate left and right images, its pretty straight forward actually.

stu123 wrote:I can use photoshop to create both stereoscopic/anaglyph pictures using separate left and right images, its pretty straight forward actually.

How do you view them?

stu123 wrote:

photohiker wrote:If you really want to get into 3D there is at least one lens dedicated to 3D shooting on Panasonic u4/3 cameras, the Panasonic 12.5mm/f12

Yeah i have come across this before, while it would be absolutely perfect, i think it can only be viewed on a 3D TV, which is a deal breaker for me.

You sure about that?

I think it captures both a 3D image for the TV and two standard images for you to play with.



Michael

surenj wrote:

stu123 wrote:I can use photoshop to create both stereoscopic/anaglyph pictures using separate left and right images, its pretty straight forward actually.

How do you view them?

Crosseyed.

Seems to work better close up or with strong perspective in the photo. Try this one.

Michael

photohiker wrote:Crosseyed.

like this you mean

surenj wrote:How do you view them?

3D is so old school. My grandmother (and I am no spring chicken!) had a 3D viewer. My father had it after her, but I didn't see it when going through his things after he died. It was basically a frame with two lenses that you put to your eyes. One lens for each eye. Then it had a long stick out the front. You attached the stereoscopic pair to the stick and looked through. My memory of the photos would place it some time before the first world war.

Also when I was at Uni in the early 70s, the geology dept had 3D viewers that worked much the same way, except in this case, the photos were placed on the desk under the viewer & you looked through the lenses & moved the photos about until they snapped into 3D. These were aerial photos of terrain. It made it very easy to spot geological features in the landscape.

photohiker wrote:

surenj wrote:How do you view them?

Crosseyed.

Or if you created an anaglyph you view it with red blue glasses

photohiker wrote:I think it captures both a 3D image for the TV and two standard images for you to play with.

I hope that is true, coz if it is that would be wicked, would solve a lot of problems for me.

stu123 wrote:

photohiker wrote:I think it captures both a 3D image for the TV and two standard images for you to play with.

I hope that is true, coz if it is that would be wicked, would solve a lot of problems for me.

Interesting reviews of it on slrgear. It would appear that the 3d effect is not as good as it could be because of the distance between the lens objectives (10mm) does not match that of our eyes (60-70mm).

There's a Fuji FinePix Real 3D W3 cam ($600 from Hardly Normal) that shoots higher res and has the lenses at a more appropiate distance apart. Also shoots video.



That may just be a better bet than buying a $350+ lens for a u4/3rds camera that shoots stills only and at 1.4mp

Michael