Camcorder Lets You Shoot Home Videos in 3-D

A new camcorder lets consumers play James Cameron at home by creating their own 3-D videos.

Hammacher Schlemmer has started selling what it claims is the first camcorder to shoot 3-D video and let users see the resulting content on the device’s screen, without the need for any special glasses.

With help from a 4-GB SD card, the $600 camcorder can store up to four hours of video or 2,000 3-D still images.

Don’t expect high-quality video though. The camcorder’s two lenses have to work with a 3-megapixel image sensor.

The videos are recorded in 640 x 480 pixel resolution as AVI files. The camcorder can also take standard 2-D movies and pictures.

With the success of films such as Avatar and Up, the 3-D format has made a big comeback this year. Major TV makers including Sony, Panasonic and Mitsubishi are offering large-screen 3-D TVs, even as broadcasters such as ESPN and Discovery prepare 3-D programming.

But it’s amateur content that could be the real catalyst for 3-D’s popularity. Already, some DIYers are rigging cameras and using software tricks to produce 3-D short films, postcards and home videos. Maker Faire had a section this year showcasing 3-D photographs and video from amateurs and professionals.

YouTube started offering a 3-D display option for videos on the site last July.

To create a 3-D image, you need to connect two cameras together, so each shoots the same scene from a slightly different perspective. Software helps synchronize the two sets of images. With some help from 3-D glasses, the brain can be tricked into perceiving depth in these images. There are also ways to offer 3-D–capable small screens that don’t require viewing glasses.

So far, DIYers have hooked together standard Canon cameras, iPod Nanos and Flip camcorders to create a home-brewed 3-D camera.

Consumer-electronics companies are now trying to step in to offer off-the-shelf gadgets. Last year, Fuji released the first 3-D point-and-shoot digital camera, a $600 gadget that, for now, is largely available only in Japan. Earlier this week, Nintendo announced the 3DS portable that allows you to take 3-D photos and play 3-D games with it.

Hammacher Schlemmer’s 3-D camcorder doesn’t require glasses to watch 3-D videos. It includes a media player with a 7-inch screen, speakers and a headphone jack that can display the 3-D content off the device’s storage card.

The battery life of the camcorder, though, seems disappointing. It offers just two hours of operation from a six-hour charge.