Fix Your Style

Sony and Fujitsu have recently released consumer-oriented and priced 3D cameras. Both of them shoot HD video and still pictures. Let's compare them.

Design

On the front of the 3D Bloggie are two prominent lenses, both of which are needed for the 3D effect. The lenses are both 5.1 megapixels and can capture full HD video. There is also a video light that can be used to illuminate your subject in dark situations. On the rear of the device, there is a 2.4″ LCD display. The camera is small and rubbery, but feels very sturdy in your hands.

On the front of the Fujitsu W3 3D, there are two lenses that are further apart than the Bloggie 3D to give you a full 3D effect. There is a cover that needs to be pulled down to expose the lenses. The camera feels a little bit clunky, but well-built. The best part of this is the gorgeous 3.5-inch LCD display.

Fujitsu wins this category, but only by very little. Those who don’t want to hear “Is that a camera in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” may prefer the more compact design of the 3D Bloggie.

Features

The 3D Bloggie has a very minimal amount of features. There is no optical zoom, no image stabilization (though Sony claims there is), and very few varieties of shots that you can take. There is 4X digital zoom when taking 2D pictures or videos, but the footage ends up looking pixelated.

The 3D Bloggie also has a 2.4” stereoscopic display, a mini-HDMI output jack, and 8GB internal storage.

On the other hand, the Fujitsu 3D W3 has 4X optical zoom (though you can’t zoom in while you are in the process of taking videos), an image stabilization mode (doesn’t work well), several modes for different types of shots, a wonderful stereoscopic display, a mini-HDMI output jack, and an SD card slot (you should use at least Class 6 cards).

Fujitsu wins this category, although the learning curve for using these features is a lot steeper than the simple-use features of the 3D Bloggie. One also has to remember that the 3D Bloggie costs $150 less than the Fujitsu 3D W3.

Screen

The 2.4” display on the 3D Bloggie is fine for viewing 2D pictures and videos, but not so much when viewing 3D media. The stereoscopic display looks like a pixelated mess and is barely useable. It will remind you of Nintendo’s cheap stereoscopic display on the 3DS, but only worse.

The 3.5” stereoscopic display on the Fujitsu 3D W3 is the best of its kind. 3D photos and videos pop out vividly and other people who have looked at the screen are very impressed. Like other stereoscopic displays, the 3D viewing angles are narrow, but this won’t be a problem unless more than one person is always looking at the display.

Future stereoscopic displays on mobile devices would be smart to implement the same technology Fujitsu uses on its display—if this happens, mobile 3D technology will instantly take off.

Fujitsu wins this category by a mile. Sony’s 3D display just doesn’t have the same quality you would expect from such an innovative company.

3D Photos

The 3D Bloggie takes decent 2MP 3D photos that look average on a large 3D screen. However, using the photos for stereoscopic prints would not be recommended. There is a built-in LED light, but it barely enhances photos, even in the dark.

The Fujitsu 3D W3 takes great 5MP 3D photos that look amazing on a large 3D screen. Darker shots will reveal too much noise, but this can be fixed by playing with the manual settings. The built-in flash greatly assists darker shots. However, the Fujitsu 3D W3 probably shouldn’t be your main camera for 2D shots.

Once again, Fujitsu wins this category by a mile. Even though most of the talk about the Fujitsu 3D W3 has been about the 3D video, taking 3D stills is where this camera excels the most.

3D Videos

The 3D Bloggie takes 1080p 3D videos decently, but has some limitations. You can get a decent 3D effect as long as the main subject is really close. The 3D lenses, which are too close together, don’t provide enough depth for many 3D situations. Unlike the Fujitsu 3D W3, the videos play back at 29.97 frames per second.

The Fujitsu 3D W3 takes 720p videos that look more DVD quality than HD on the big screen. The main advantage of the W3, however, is that the lenses provide excellent 3D depth. You will want to make sure your main subject is at least four or five feet away, or else you’ll be seeing a lot of “ghosting” of the image.

The Fujitsu 3D W3 takes videos that play at only 24 frames per second. This isn’t disastrous, but videos will look a little choppy.

It is hard to determine a winner in this category. If you prefer 3D depth, the Fujitsu 3D W3 is the winner. However, the 3D Bloggie wins if you prefer screen resolution.

Fujitsu REAL 3D W3 vs. Sony 3D Bloggie HD

The Fujitsu 3D W3 is a better camera than the Sony 3D Bloggie HD, but it’s difficult to say if it is a better buy. You can purchase the Fujitsu 3D W3 for $395 and the Sony 3D Bloggie HD for $250 (cheaper in some places).

Those looking for a portable cheap blog camera that has 3D capabilities may prefer the 3D Bloggie, but those who prefer a 3D camera that stresses the “3D” part and has an excellent stereoscopic screen may want to fork out the extra cash for the Fujitsu 3D W3.

Taken from Suite 101