LO3D Launches 3-Lens 3D Camera System

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 1/30/2012

LAS VEGAS — The popularity of 3D photography may soon get a boost from a new 3D camera and photofinishing system that was unveiled at International CES by Hong Kong-based LO3D.

The company is covering all phases of professional and consumer digital 3D photography, ranging from specially developed cameras to a 3D photo lab processor.

The 3D cameras include a three-lens consumer (six lenses in a professional version) point-and-shoot model, which will ship bundled with an 8-inch glasses-free 3D digital photo frame.

For those who want hard-copy 3D prints, LO3D also introduced an all-in-one photofinishing processor. The processor, which is intended for photo labs, will produce lenticular 3D prints from both LO3D’s cameras as well as traditional twolens 3D cameras. It will also perform conventional 2D photo processing for multipurpose production requiring limited floor space.

Digital photos from the 3D cameras can be played back on 3DTVs and 3D photo frames by taking images from just two lenses. But LO3D’s hard-copy photos give the system its extra dimension.

The LO3D photo processor uses traditional chemicals, but the company has developed a special multilayer printing paper to produce images from its three- and six-lens cameras.

The developing process is said to be very easy and fast.

The LO3D paper uses a lenticular plastic that is part of the media, eliminating the need to laminate the back as occurs with more traditional 3D printing methods.

William Fu, LO3D director, said the three-lens approach offers a center view to the left and right side-angles to give photos a more natural 3D effect, while the specially developed lenticular paper produces a true HD 3D image that is cost effective.

Images have a more pronounced sense of animated movement when shifting between viewing angels in the hand.

The non-laminated optical 3D paper is coated with color emulsion, offers 100 percent matching of the lenticular screen, and the composite image sheet uses superhigh- resolution lenticules and superthin material.

Other 3D photo-printing processes require laminating a computerinterlaced composite image sheet to a lenticular screen with glue or heat, which can create image distortion, low-resolution, and wastes time producing less than reliable results, LO3D said.

The technology was originally developed by Allen Lo, the founder of the LO3D consortium that pioneered the technique. Nimsio first developed the system in 1980.

A resulting LO3D company is now negotiating to license the technology to other manufacturers, in addition to marketing its products through retailers, and photo finishing labs.

Fu said 3D prints will give photo finishers an additional profit opportunity, as will the cameras.

He said LO3D is encouraging labs to purchase and sell cameras to support the LO3D photofinishing business in the early stages. But LO3D is also courting traditional camera, electronics and drug-store retailers to carry the hardware.

The all-in-one processor will sell for $75,000. The three-lens 3D camera will be sold as part of a kit with the 8-inch digital photo frame for a $300 suggested retail.

The camera comes with 12GB of internal memory and a MiniSD card slot. Images are captured with three lenses and three highresolution image processors.

Fu said he expects the first products to hit retail in the United States in about three months.

In addition to selling LO3D processors, the company is offering its own photofinishing services to those who may not live in the vicinity of a LO3D-equipped lab. The company said it plans to launch its website shortly.