Aiptek Pocket 3D Camera Review

The Aiptek 3D camera is a simple to operate point and shoot affair. The focus is fixed and there is a 4x digital zoom but you wont want to use that as it simply zooms into the image,  reducing the image quality even further. All you need to do is press record and away you go, you're filming in 3D. One tip I would like to share is, rather than pressing the record button each time to stop and start the recording mode, press pause instead. This will activate the Aiptek 3D camera's record/pause mode. The advantage of this is that recording starts the instant you press record (great for catching unexpected events) plus it creates one long MP4 file which allows for easier editing

Apart from the extra 'D', there is no difference to filming in 3D and 2D technically but there should be in your filming technique.  I suggest reading my top 3 tips for shooting in 3D at the end of this Aiptek 3D camera review. It is worth noting that this is a HD (720P) 2D camcorder too. As a 2D camcorder goes, you can get a lot better for £200 – most SD HD camcorders are sub £200 these days and offer higher picture and audio quality. But let's face it; the only reason to buy this is for the 3D functionality so you can overlook that. Having said that, the 2D image quality is sufficient (you can judge that for yourself by viewing the video below) and it can handy to have a 2D camera in your pocket for those unexpected You Tube moments. I have to say that the chances are, your smart phone will film just as good, if not better, 2D quality.

The Aiptek 3D camera 3D video quality

Right now, the Aiptek 3D camera is the cheapest off-the-shelf consumer 3D camcorder on the market and it is not designed to be for movie creatives. It is all about fun. For less than £200 you are getting a 3D camcorder that does genuinely offer stereoscopic recordings which can be viewed on 3D TV sets or on a computer using two colour glasses. Certain images work better in 3D than others. Because the two 5MP lenses are positioned close together, the Aiptek 3D camera is best for filming close up images. Far away landscape shots will look flat. This is not the fault of the Aiptek 3D camera – it is the same with any camera with fixed distance lenses. If you read my Inition feature, you will know that the distance between lenses during professional stereoscopic production is always being altered. The dramatic sweeping shot of the landscape at the end of Inition's 3D wildlife documentary, Distance Thunder, required the two cameras to be 30 metres apart from each other – compare that to this camera!

Therefore, you have to be aware of the Aiptek 3D camera's limitations when using it. Filming objects and people within several metres will give you a great 3D effect but anything far away will look flat and certainly not 3D. Also, the Aiptek 3D camera features both 'popping out'and 'popping in' 3D. So if you film an object within about a metre in front of you, it will appear to extrude from the screen; anything beyond that will go 'into' of the screen.

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