Fujifilm confirm first 3D digital camera

13:34 23 July 2009

Hitting the shops across the UK this September is a world first for eager gadget and photography fans.

Fujifilm have developed a compact 3D digital camera, which is set to revolutionise the world of photography.

The camera will allow users to take full 3D images, meaning families will be able to see their photographs come to life. A ball being thrown, for instance, will seemingly pop out of the image without the need for any 3D glasses.

It's expected to cost around £570 and will be available to buy from high-end retail stores.

The Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W1

The Finepix Real 3D W1 features two CCD 10Mp image sensors and can also capture 3D video.

Its Real Photo Processor 3D merges the images taken from the left and the right lenses to create a single image file.

This can then be viewed on the camera's 2.8-inch LCD screen or transferred to the specially designed 3D digital photoframe - the Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D V1. This special viewer will cost about £390.

Alternatively, consumers can email their images to a laboratory in Japan which will manually print the photographs out on specialised paper (lenticulated paper) to produce a 3D image "that jumps out at you".

Theo Georghiades, the digital product manager at FujiFilm, is confident that sales of the camera will take off, saying the Finepix Real 3D W1 is "going to revolutionise the camera market."

As well as housing the regular features you would expect from a standard digital camera -  such as flash, white balance optional modes – the Fujifilm W1 camera has a 3x optical zoom.

This can be digitally increased to 3.8x when taking 3D images and 17.1x when taking standard 2D images.

Which? digital camera expert, Richard Parris, said: "We're already seeing big steps forward in 3D technology within computer games, TV, and cinema entertainment. It'll be interesting to see if digital photography follows in suite, and how well products such as this are received."