Official Fujifilm 3D W3 Photo/Video Camera - Page 6

I have a Fuji W1 and a W3 and I never connect them to any of my 3DTVs. I don't see any reason to.
This is probably because I use my 3DTVS more like 3D computer monitors then entertainment devices.
I actually like my W1 better then my new W3 in several ways.
The pictures from the W1 are just as good and I like the controls better. The controls on the W3 are too small for my liking and the battery on my W1 last much much longer.
The 720P video from the W3 is significantly better then the W1 but not what I had hoped for. (I despise 24 frames per second).
For viewing my MPO files I use StereoPhoto Maker which is a free program downloadable from the internet.
It is a fantastic program and I can't conceive of a better tool for working with 3D photos.
I have two Samsung UN40C7000's that I use as 3D computer monitors primarily but also watch TV on them. (mostly in a small window).
The Samsung 3DTV is IMO the ONLY 3DTV that is perfectly compatable with computers for 3D use.

I tried mounting the W3 on my Merlin Steadycam and it worked quite well for shooting video. Very smooth except for the 24FPS of course.
The video quality is not too bad but well below what I get with my twin HF21's.
Of course, I can't put my twin HF21's in my pocket.

The photos look fine on my Samsung plasma - at least until my TV developed a black line through the middle of the screen. It's not the camera. Could be a sync problem with your glasses. That's a common complaint with the Samsung glasses.

My camera, From Costco, came bundled with a case, 8GB Class 6 SD Card and a 1.4 cable. What's strange is that sometimes it works on the Samsung.

By blurry, in addition to ghosting, faces look fuzzy too. I think it's just the ghostly causes extra noses, eyes, etc. that make faces look fuzzy. But as I said, this morning it was perfect. Crisp, clear photos and faces. Then problems again.

Two hours ago I had perfect, very clear, very crisp 3D photos on my TV. Faces too. So I decided to turn on the TV and camera again. Remember, I never changed or touched any settings, cables or anything. I just turned the camera off, set it down in place, and turned off my TV 2 hours ago. Then again ghosts and fuzzy photos.

I have been in contact with Fuji and they will test the camera on a Samsung TV later today.

If you have a Fuji 3D camera and you don't have a copy of Stereo Photo Maker then you should definitely give it a look.
I find it absolutely essential.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multime...to-Maker.shtml

Stereo Photo maker is great.

Frank: "I tried mounting the W3 on my Merlin Steadycam and it worked quite well for shooting video."

I have the Merlin and the W3. Can you share your (cookbook) settings for the Merlin/W3 combo?

Thanks.

Sorry Im new to the 3D scene ... But my question is the Play Memories program will make the 3D photos viewable through my PS3...using its memory card reader ??? or would it be just better to use HDMI from camera to my 40 Inch Sony NX-710 ?? TY sorry for the noob question...

I don't have any cookbook settings. It's not that perfect.
The camera is too light and requires additional weighting.
The test was very preliminary but promising.

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The W3 works with my Merlin Stedicam but the camera is a little too lightweight to get perfect balance.
In spite of that the video quality is vastly improved over hand held use.

Thanks. I was worried about the weight. Any thoughts about adding weight -some attachment that has a tripod screw and hole?

Not at the moment, kind of busy with other stuff.

I just thought of the black anodized tripod adapter plate and it looks like it would be a perfect weight when placed in front of the camera. I just need to modify a 1/4-20 screw to fit the small counterbore to try it out.

It worked!
Now have perfect balance although my technique no doubt doesn't meet the Tiffen standards.

I frankly am disappointed with the W3 video. It's very jerky on playback, probably due to the 24fps and shutter speed. Has anyone come up with video in other than auto mode that works better? If you buy this camera for it's video only, then you either have to become a statue or use a tripod while filming. Panning is true torture on playback.

As for a steaycam, I'm tempted to hack the gyroscope out of mini RC helicopter and attach it to the camera and see it would stabilize the camera...just a thought for now...

Welcome to the world of 24 frames per second home movie making.
No doubt one of the reasons they chose that rate is because all Youtube videos are converted to that rate. That's one of the main reasons I don't use youtube very much.
To make watchable video requires a lot of practice unless you use a tripod. Also you can forget using anything but a slow shutter speed (YUK!)

While I am not a fan of 24fps, let's not get carried away. First, all movies and blu-rays based on them use 24fps, and there is little complaining about jerkiness. Second, even at 60fps, you do not want to use shutter speeds above 1/60th of a second (maybe sometimes 1/128th). High shutter speeds results in jerky, unnatural-looking video. Slow shutter speeds are always used.

I shoot sports video (not with the Fuji), and post excerpts to Youtube. I am not seeing major problems of jerkiness (the originals are 60i shot at 1/60th).

Btw (and I am not saying it is relevant here), most complaints one sees about video jerkiness are due to inadequate computer power for playing HD videos - people using 60fps AVCHD video cameras ofetn complain about jerkiness. The bitrates of the Fuji videos are very high (because an inefficient codec is used). When people report "jerkiness" they should also report how they are playing the video. I do not see Fuji videos having major jerkiness issues.

Finally, panning should almost never be used in videos unless one is following moving subjects. You will not see much panning in professional videos, and that is not because of frame-rate limitations.

My own experiences with shooting video are quite a bit different.
I shoot most of my 3D video with my home made twin HF-21 rig and use high shutter speeds (1000th to 2000th) at 60i with excellent results.
The few 3D videos that I uploaded to Youtube do not look jerky at 24fps because their conversion software appplies the appropriate filters to prevent it.

Shooting at high shutter speeds using low frame rates does not give smooth video when there is action; it produces juddering - even at 60fps.

Yes, 1/60th of second blurs fast action, but that blurring precisely contributes to smooth-looking motion to the huiman eye. Video is not really a progression of frozen stills.

Fast shutter is useful for slow-motion effects and other specialized uses. So, what one does depends on what effects one wants or the purposes of the project.

I do not agree about the juddering at 60fps.
Maybe a younger person then I perceives it.

Believe or not!

Some people actually like to pause a video occasionally and view something other then a blurry image.
At least I hope so.
Surely I'm not the only one.....

After playing with this camera for a number of days and shooting video in a lot of different conditions, I find that the 3D video quality is not acceptable for much of anything.
I'm very disappointed with it.
I haven't found any of the video acceptable to my standards.

The pictures are quite nice however and used in conjunction with Stereo Photo Maker it's a keeper.

I find it interesting that the static image quality is so good and the video quality is so bad.
Perhaps it's because of their use of AVI format at a low bit rate. Maybe they chose to use AVI because they didn't want to pay royalties to the Codec rights owners.

Frank:

Have you seen the W3 videos on the Fuji Web site? I am not sure how they did it or how long it took to set them up. But they are pretty good. Check out the one with the boy and a squirt gun.

http://finepix.com/3d/en/download/index.html

Yikes!
That's even worse then many of mine.

I downloaded the sample of the little girl making bubbles. Makes VHS look good.

I bought the camera a couple of weeks ago, but I'm resigned to using it primarily as a 2D camera. Those images look good on my Samsung plasma. Videos, not so much.

I can only imagine how these videos would look on the JVC 3D projector I expect soon.

"I'm resigned to using it primarily as a 2D camera."

I am also somewhat disappointed with the quality of the video, in the light of the high quality of the stills. But why would anyone use the Fuji W3 to take 2D pictures only? Was this a typo?