Fujifilm on Monday said it is developing 3D image technology that would include a digital camera with two lenses, spaced like the human eyes, as well as a new Real Photo Processor 3D chip to process and combine the still and video images captured by the twin lenses and sensors. The technology would produce three-dimensional images users can see with their naked eye, and not rely on 3D glasses like some other systems. At the same time, Fujifilm announced it is working on a new sensor, the Super CCD EXR. It promises to combine high-resolution, high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range.Other features the dual-lens camera would make possible include simultaneous dual-image capture that could, for example, capture a wide angle or zoom image at the same time, or two images with independent exposure, color, aperture and other settings. It could also allow shooting a true still image while recording a video, or allow for an ultra-wide panoramic shot.
The unnamed 3D camera’s 2.8-inch LCD monitor will be capable of displaying 230,000 pixels and display the 3D images it captures. At the same time, the technology will be applied to a new, 8.4-inch photo frame, the FinePix Real 3D Photo Frame, with more than 920,000 pixels. The frame includes a light direction control module in the back of the LCD that controls which aspect of an image is seen by each eye to create a three-dimensional effect without special glasses. A 3D printing system that involves specially designed photo media is also in the works.
Back in the realm of two-dimensional digital imaging, the new CCD sensor, dubbed Super CCD EXR, differs from Fujifilm’s previous sensors by changing the way mosaic color filters are arranged. It introduces a new way of binning pixels and revising the electronic charge control. The sensor aims to maintain high sensitivity to light and a wide dynamic range while boosting its resolution, which have been traditionally difficult to achieve.
Fujifilm has solved this problem in part by binning the same-colored pixels together as a single unit in order to double sensitivity while decreasing noise. At the same time, a new process Fujifilm calls Close Incline Pixel Coupling reduces false colors by mixing two pixels as one. The new sensor’s Dual Capture Technology takes two images of the same scene, at high and low sensitivities, to create a merged image that has above average depth and range.
Fujifilm has not revealed any products utilizing either the technology or the hardware, though they are expected at the Photokina show, which starts on September 23. [via DPReview]
Fujifilm Real 3D technology
Fujifilm Super CCD EXR
Fujifilm Super CCD EXR structure
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