Last year, Sony was the first company to offer single-lens, 3D-capable cameras (the Alpha NEX-5, Cyber-shot WX5 , and Cyber-shot TX5), and it will add five new 3D-capable Cyber-shot cameras in 2011. The Cyber-shot HX7V, TX10, TX100V, WX9, and WX10 all offer a new 3D Still Image mode, which creates a 3D image after you simply take a picture as you normally would. The new cameras also have the same 3D Sweep Panorama mode as last year's models, which lets you pan the camera from side to side and create an ultra-wide-angle .MPO image. The cameras' Sweep Multi Angle mode lets you view a 3D effect during in-camera playback by tilting the camera from side to side. The Cyber-shot TX10 is also waterproof, so you can shoot underwater 3D photos with it.
Panasonic just announced three new Lumix cameras that pack a similar 3D-shooting mode. The 16X-optical-zoom Lumix ZS10, the ultraslim touchscreen-operated Lumix FX78, and the rugged Lumix TS3 have a side-to-side panning 3D mode similar to the one found in Sony's cameras. Of the three, the TS3 is also ruggedized and lets you take underwater 3D shots.
Conversion lenses for 2D cameras and camcorders: Panasonic's entries for 3D still and video capture use detachable twin-lens 3D converters, making them good options for anyone who wants to dabble in 3D.
The Lumix GH-FT012 (12.5mm, f/12) lens works with Panasonic's interchangeable-lens Micro Four-Thirds Lumix DMC-GH2, GF2, and G2 cameras. With the lens attached, each camera snaps two side-by-side 3-megapixel images, and then combines them in the camera to create a single .MPO-format image. The lens, sold separately from the cameras, costs $250.
