Now most smartphones can record HD video,
and pocket camcorders need to do something special to justify for their
existence. Certainly, Sony faced challenge with Bloggie 3D, which has two
lenses to record 3D video and picture. It is the most expensive fixed zoom
video camera we have ever seen, but it is also the cheapest 3D video camera.
The camera’s lenticular screen brings about
3D effect without glasses, but 2.4-inch size and 230,400-dot resolution cannot be
compared to lenticular creens in 3D smartphones and other camera we have
reviewed. 3D effect could be seen clearly but not very attractively, with cubic
and light-color details. Plastic buttons of the camera also did not make a deep
inmpression, and 5 seconds to open the camera until making a recording is a bit
slow.
The manipulation could not be simpler.
There is a button to switch between 2D and 3D recording, saperate picture and
video recording buttons, a button for LED lamp, and another button for timer
kit. 4x digital zoom feature is included for 2D pictures and videos, but
unavailable for 3D. There is a notworthy point, such as the way the interface
directs itself when the camera is reversed, which makes a warning appear when
it is held in a portrait way (it calibrates the lenses vertically, so 3D
recording ability will not work).
There is only digital connection, with HDMI
socket, and integrated USB plug. There is no memory card slot, but the 8GB
internal storage is enough for 80 minutes of a high-quality video, with
75-minute tested battery life.
Another way
Video is recorded in the 1080p resolution
at 30fps speed, with maximum 30-minute clip length. AVC encoding at 15Mbytes/s
created compressed artcfacts in fast moving objects but well processed most
good footages. Weak-light clips displayed heavy noise reduction artcfacts, and
artificial light made the footage become yellow. On the other hand, image and
sound quality were quite high, except from problems with common wind noise.
With 3D video, left and right images are
encoded to the corresponding sides of the 1080p frame, reducing resolution in
horizon. This is the technique used by YouTube’s 3D mode, so uploading cannot
be easier. Switching to 2D created smoother details in video and increased picture
resolution from 2MP to 5MP. However, image quality was still not better than a
medium smartphone.
3D effect is quite convincing, especially
when we lifted the footage to 3D TV. Core lens is calibrated so that objects
afar from more than 1 meter away appear to be out of the screen, while closer
objects appear to be exposed. This effect disappeared at a nearer distance than
50cm, and shaky hand-held footages proved to be uncomfortable to watch in 3D
mode, but most 3D clips worked excellently.
Opinions of 3D video are very different,
but we found it quite interesting. Therefore, the rather low price and simple
operation of this camera appear to be more reasonable than zoom lenses and
advanced controls of dear 3D cameras. The quality is suitable for its purpose,
and screen is the only disappointment. If you have 3D TV and there is no 3D
Blu-ray films to watch, 3D Bloggie will give you quite a lot of entertainment.
Summary
Verdict. Bloggie 3D is expensive for a Flip camcorder, but is cheap for a 3D
camera, and is an interesting source of entertainment for anyone who has 3D
TV.
Camcorder using HD flash memory. flash memory storage, no optical zoom, ¼-inch 5MP CMOS, 2.4-inch
lenticular LCD screen, USB and HDMI interface, 108 x 55 x 17mm, 120g, one-year
RTB warrantyf
Ratings: 
Price: $255
Website: www.amazon.com
