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Panasonic Lumix 3D lens new $49 at B&H ships free

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Isn't this lens a fixed f11 or f12? That seems like an awfully small aperture.

MTMT
 
It is fixed f12, and the effective focal length is somewhere around 60mm equivalent. It uses a 3MP crop of the sensor and works only in JPEG mode (it produces a 2D JPEG and a 3D MPO file.) The resulting images generally have less of a 3D feel to them than images taken using cameras with greater stereo separation (distance between left and right lenses) such as the Fuji W3. I originally purchased the Fuji W3 instead of this lens since the Fuji was cheaper, had a 3D screen, could zoom, had higher resolution, supported 3D video, and didn't have the silly small fixed f12 aperture. But, since this thing is on sale for only $50 now, I have one on order to try out. This lens was never worth the $250 they originally wanted for it, and Panasonic has probably sold so few of them that they decided to make the price more reasonable. B&H currently says this item is backordered, but I think Adorama has them ready to ship.
 
Wow, that is really cheap, but why am I not buying still? I think the E-m5 is compatible with this lens because it mention 3d lens. The e-m5 can also do 3d picture by taking a picture, panning slightly and taking another picture, similar to the way many sony camera does.....I don't think I would need this lens if I'm getting the e-m5. Would make it easier for just 50 bucks.....that is a good price. I'll have to think about it after I get the camera. I have 3d tv and 3d blurays already so I should be able to display this just fine.
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-bokehmokehshmokeh-
 
I don't know if the OMD is capable of displaying these when hooked up to a 3D TV or not, but from what I have read, its not a simple thing to view these. Not many 3D bluray players are capable of displaying 3D photo files according to the article I read. The Panasonic TV's with an SD card slot that are fairly new can, but otherwise the only way to view is by connecting the camera if it is capable, directly to the 3D TV. Also the 3D effect has been stated to not be very good. I would love it if it was as simple as burning the files to a disk and watching them with your 3D bluray player, I assume someday that will be quite normal.
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I need TP for my BungHole

 
I have a samsung 3d bluray player and a samsung 3d tv. The bluray has usb input, but I've never used it to display 3d pictures before. I was pretty sure it would be able to display it. The TV, I'm not sure if it has an sd card reader, I'll have to check back there. But!, I also have a ps3 that I know for a fact can display 3d pictures onto 3d tvs. The ps3 has an application for viewing photos and it supprts 3d photos in MPO format. The application is called playmemories, you can do a search on the playstation store. Once I get my OM-D E-M5, I will take some 3d photos and try to view it with it. I'm thinking it should work just fine. I also have a sony google TV device that plays 3d bluray, I'm not sure about it being able to display 3d photos.

-bokehmokehshmokeh-
 
These can also be viewed using NVidia's 3D Vision kit for computers with compatible displays, or you can download StereoPhotoMaker (a free program) to create red/cyan anaglyphs that can be viewed on any PC. If you have one of those clunky old CRT monitors, you can also view these using the eDimensional 3D vision kit (works just like the NVidia, but cheaper and needs old CRT monitors, rather than pricey new 3D LCDs).

Also, I just wanted to mention that the 3D lens I ordered from Adorama this morning (for $50) already shipped. If you don't want to wait for the B&H backorder, get it from Adorama.
 
I ordered one for 49 and will just get the ps3 at some point later. I want some 3d photos of my yellow lab.
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I need TP for my BungHole

 
Sam this lens does not do 3D video out of the box. Just stills. And it looks like it barely works for stills.

From what I have read(I knew not to waste my money buying one) this lens is a complete and total failure. Apparently it can only be used for video if you cover the electrical contacts and have the camera treat it as an MF lens.

Even then it has some hard to overcome drawbacks like the incredibly small aperture and lack of a Manual focus ring.

Basically, I don't see any reason at all to buy this lens. Really are you ever actually going to use it for 3D and make someone put on the glasses to look at it on a specific TV or monitor?

I would much rather spend the $50 on a good 50mm F1.4 MF lens. You would get a much better sense of depth with that lens than this 3D lens.
Sam Bennett said:
alwye said:
For $49, I give it a shot, just ordered one. Should be interesting.
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Wow, great price - thanks for the heads up! I went ahead. Hopefully they'll actually ship, since they're currently backordered. I do a lot of riding on the Greenways around here, so it might be cool to do a 3D video of that...

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Sam Bennett
http://www.swiftbennett.com
http://www.flickr.com/sambennett/
Click to expand...
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GH2, GF1, & ZS3 Sample movies
http://www.youtube.com/user/mpgxsvcd#play/uploads

GH2 Setup Walk through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uROQbbiiO2I

http://vimeo.com/user442745

GH2 Pictures
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4222674355/albums
 
"Even then it has some hard to overcome drawbacks like the incredibly small aperture and lack of a Manual focus ring."

Pretty sure it is fixed focus.

Shawn
 
Out of box, the lens does only do stills. It is fixed focus and fixed aperture though, so you don't lose anything by covering the electrical contacts other than the unchanging EXIF data for stills. The video you record this way will be a standard 1920x1080 stream with two image circles for the left and right view. You can use a free program like StereoMovieMaker to crop these regions out of the video and combine them into a true 3D movie. The resolution will obviously be less than full HD after this process. Who knows though, maybe the next generation of cameras will support 3D movies in full HD, since the lens does produce large enough image circles to make 3MP still pictures (which is more resolution than full HD). I'd be curious to see if using the EX-Tele Conversion feature of the GH2 can up the resolution for the 3D videos by zooming in on the adjacent image circles.

The worst that will happen to anyone who bought this hoping to do video is that you can probably resell it at a profit, since it looks like all the $49 ones are sold out for the time being.

The Fuji W3 (which I own) and the Panasonic 3D1 are definitely better choices if you really want to do serious (at least, P&S serious) work with 3D, but both of those cost way more than $49 and take up more space in your bag than the tiny Lumix 3D lens.
mpgxsvcd said:
Sam this lens does not do 3D video out of the box. Just stills. And it looks like it barely works for stills.

From what I have read(I knew not to waste my money buying one) this lens is a complete and total failure. Apparently it can only be used for video if you cover the electrical contacts and have the camera treat it as an MF lens.

Even then it has some hard to overcome drawbacks like the incredibly small aperture and lack of a Manual focus ring.

Basically, I don't see any reason at all to buy this lens. Really are you ever actually going to use it for 3D and make someone put on the glasses to look at it on a specific TV or monitor?

I would much rather spend the $50 on a good 50mm F1.4 MF lens. You would get a much better sense of depth with that lens than this 3D lens.
Sam Bennett said:
alwye said:
For $49, I give it a shot, just ordered one. Should be interesting.
Click to expand...
Wow, great price - thanks for the heads up! I went ahead. Hopefully they'll actually ship, since they're currently backordered. I do a lot of riding on the Greenways around here, so it might be cool to do a 3D video of that...

--
Sam Bennett
http://www.swiftbennett.com
http://www.flickr.com/sambennett/
Click to expand...
--
GH2, GF1, & ZS3 Sample movies
http://www.youtube.com/user/mpgxsvcd#play/uploads

GH2 Setup Walk through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uROQbbiiO2I

http://vimeo.com/user442745

GH2 Pictures
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4222674355/albums
Click to expand...
 
I bought the Fuji for the same reasons as you - I totally love it. It was on sale on ebay at the time for around £150 - bargain
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Paul
 
One must wonder how many of these were sold before the fire sale. I don't think the resale value will be too high with this lens even at $50. It simply does not do what most people would expect it to do.

It doesn't record 1080p 3D video. Sam's comments are a great example of someone expecting it to do what it cannot do.

--
GH2, GF1, & ZS3 Sample movies
http://www.youtube.com/user/mpgxsvcd#play/uploads

GH2 Setup Walk through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uROQbbiiO2I

http://vimeo.com/user442745

GH2 Pictures
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4222674355/albums
 
woodyu388 said:
..... This lens was never worth the $250 they originally wanted for it, and Panasonic has probably sold so few of them that they decided to make the price more reasonable. B&H currently says this item is backordered, but I think Adorama has them ready to ship.
Click to expand...
Thanks for useful info. Concerning the price, may be that Panasonic wants people to buy their 3D TV ?

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rrr_hhh
 
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