3D Film . . . is the fad over?

As regular readers know, I am a stereophotography aficianado . . . a 3D nut, if you will.

So, when I see a piece like this one in the Huffington Post – http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/06/3d-film-a-turn-off-for-te_n_949909.html – that relegates 3D to the area of fad, and failed fad at that, my hackles may rise just a bit.

I’ve been shooting 3D photos for well more than a couple decades as a hobbyist and I’ve managed to collect a pretty good sized collection of 3D cameras, mostly vintage film pieces but I’ve had more than a few digital 3D cameras and pretty much shoot exclusively in digital 3D today (although I post 2D versions online for the most part as most folks haven’t caught up in their viewing capability) . . . so, I’ve a vested interest in stereophotography and 3D film and obviously want to share that passion with others.

I understand the assessment the 3D film has failed . . . unfortunately, it has certainly not taken off as it should have or as original projections assumed . . . this is not really because audience members are not interested in quality 3D cinema, rather it’s because there’s been a lot of non-quality 3D film cashing in on the craze. Too many shoddy conversions rather than quality pieces shot with actual 3D equipment are an issue and certainly the assumption that 3D is only for spectacle pieces rather than story-driven strong character pieces . . . no one seems to remember that Alfred Hitchcock shot a brilliant 3D film back in the day that did not rely upon cheap effects and really established the intimacy of the viewer with the characters.

Hopefully, we will also see a shift in equipment with better alignments in cinemas (many times when folks complain of headaches or dizziness, it has NOTHING to do with 3D itself but it the result of poor calibration in the theatre’s equipment (folks who know nothing about the beastie setting things up) or in poor window and parallax settings for the media (some idiots are out there making 3D who have no business near a camera let alone a sophisticated stereoscopic one)).

Consumer cameras are a mess too . . . way too many manufacturers are selling single-lens 3D cameras to save manufacturing costs but the damned things are terrible options (you can’t shoot action scenes or moving subjects unless you have two real lenses). Seriously, Pentax came out with the Optio 3D digital camera a decade ago and it turned out to be nothing more than chacha . . . I gave up on mine and went back to film until a better option came along (I currently have a Fuji Real 3D W1 which is an excellent 3D stereocamera and the W3 is an upgrade worth looking at).

Home television 3D is no better . . . it’s confusing and many times sales folks don’t know anything about the product. We bought a home system and enjoy it but that was in spite of the sales folks. We’ve been to many stores and shops in Taipei where they don’t even have the 3D turned on properly (hint, two side by side images is NOT actually what the manufacturer intended, you have to turn on the 3D viewing function folks).

In any case, I hope things start looking better . . . I for one absolutely love my 3D films and more.

– Brian