3D Photography - Is It Worth It?

For a change here I'd like to start some discussion, be it within this article and it's responses or just within your own head or that of your friends on 3D photography.

3D films have been around for years yet in recent years there has been a rebirth of the format, new technologies designed and as a result a branching out into still photography.

So, about 20 years ago there was the mass birth of 3D material, this was the type of thing that you'd get in a paper or magazine and you'd require some red and green cardboard specs to see. Very entertaining but it didn't really go much further than that. It was enjoyable but it was a gimmick as it didn't add a great amount to the experience. In the last few years, 3D has made a huge come back. Film studios have dabbled with new ways of shooting films in 3D as they've realized it's another rather large revenue stream for them. Let's give the public 3D and lets charge them for it. I must admit, it does add to the experience in certain films, such as Avatar but then again you're paying nearly twice as much for your ticket.

So, you have film makers putting out their films in 3D, people wanting to watch films in 3D and so the obvious next step has occurred. Manufacturers have started to cotton on to the fact that we the consumer might like to do this with our pictures so have started to make 3D cameras for the home. With technology jumps, we can lose the silly looking green and red glasses and replace them with silly looking dark glasses. This is called stereoscopic 3D and is a more efficient way of directing different images to each eye. The technology is complicated so I won't go into it fully.

The big question is, do we want 3D pictures or even need them? My personal opinion on this matter is that for 3D to really work, it needs to be moving pictures, as this way it adds depth to an ongoing scene. Still Pictures on the other hand need to be just that, still. This way they can be enjoyed from any angle, position, place and at any time. If I were to look at a 3D picture, not only would I need to whack on some specs but the picture wouldn't be as still as it was before because effectively I'm looking at 2 pictures which look like they could be moving depending on my physical position. Another way of looking at this is 3D is supposed to mimic real life which means moving pictures not still.

I'm not saying I'm correct on any of these matters but merely giving my opinion as to how this technology will be used and whether it'll be successful or just another gimmick. All the big manufacturers either have 3D cameras coming out, in the pipeline or already on the shelves and I'm sure all the tech hungry consumers out there will give it a go as we all enjoy something new, but will it last.

I've still not made up my mind as to whether I'd buy a 3D camera and I'm not sure I'd have a photo album of 3D pictures of my kids. It just seems strange.

All in all, I think it will be a fun time for photographers, being able to take pictures in 3D but will it last, in my opinion, no! Feel free to persuade me otherwise.