Element Technica / SI-2K 3D Camera Operating Demo

Element Technica / SI-2K 3D Camera Operating Demo

http://www.freshdv.com/2010/04/freshdv-nab-2010-si2k-3d.html

Fresh DV posted this vid of Stereographer, Bruce Austen, demo-ing a prototype Element Technica 3D rig during NAB and I think it's a great resource for a couple of reasons. I know some of you have been working in stereo for years but for the rest of us, consumer 3D TV's and cost effective one-piece 3D camcorders no doubt mean this technology will soon be encountered in the workplace far more often.

There is some good discussion in this video on effective 3D camera operation and how the different viewer experience requires a different approach to operating. Additionally, Bruce goes into how the inter-axial distance between the lenses alters the 3 Dimensionality and I really liked seeing how he used the Anaglyph viewing mode to monitor and control the stereo effect.

Beyond a good demonstration, it's also very cool to see the small, prototype Element Technica rig in action. This setup utilizes the SI-2K Mini camera heads which are obviously very well suited to this sort of application. Altogether, the rig is not much bigger than an Arricam and is extremely versatile in that it can be adapted to use both as a beamsplitter, so that the cameras can get closer to the subject, and side-by-side configuration for applications such as sports. This rig also employs the recently announced CineDeck to record both left and right eye images in a single, frame accurate Cineform Neo3D file. If you haven't looked into the CineDeck yet, check it out because it's pretty incredible.