GoPro has developed a small, waterproof 3D rig for shooting full 1080p 3D video with its tiny Hero HD cameras. These are already widely used for TV production to get shots in wet, dusty or difficult conditions (such as fixed to a ski helmet).
The upcoming 3D Hero Expansion Kit will allow users to fit two of the 1080p cameras in the one housing, with a synchronization cable that connects the camera's bus outputs (it says that this synchronises "video capture and settings", hopefully including the auto exposure). The kit should cost less than $100, and each HD Hero costs $260 (although many production companies and cameramen will already have one or two of them).
The upcoming 3D Hero Expansion Kit will allow users to fit two of the 1080p cameras in the one housing, with a synchronization cable that connects the camera's bus outputs (it says that this synchronises "video capture and settings", hopefully including the auto exposure). The kit should cost less than $100, and each HD Hero costs $260 (although many production companies and cameramen will already have one or two of them).
The interaxial distance between the lenses can be adjusted, by simply turning one of the cameras upside down (going from about 60mm apart to about 25-30mm - my estimate) – although rolling shutter effects with verticals skewing in opposite directions may make this unusable for some shots. The normal GoPro housing is waterproof to 60m, so presumably the 3D rig will be too. The whole rig should weigh less than 400g, including cameras. The kit should be available soon, and will probably lead to lots of 3D base-jumping, skydiving, snowboarding and climbing videos on YouTube.
GoPro also supplies 3D conversion software to import video from one camera and have the other camera's video automatically imported and aligned to create a 3D file.
Related post: GoPro acquires CineForm - Goes 3D
By David Fox
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