Panasonic launches 3D Lenses for Micro Four Thirds Digital Cameras

The launch took place a few days ago, in September. Panasonic are proudly marketing the lens as the first interchangeable 3D lens on the market. What that means is that you can set it up on any of Panasonic’s micro four thirds cameras instead of the normal single lenses.

The H-FT012 lens, as it is called, will take two pictures at a time, with the left and right optical systems, and then jumbles the two images into one file, compatible for playback on VIERA 3D TVs. It does that through a software upgrade, so there’s no need to change your camera. What’s interesting about the H-FT012 lens is that it can also capture images of moving objects. This used to be a tough job for other lenses, that did not have the capability of focusing in sync with a moving object.

The 3D lens is priced at 250$, which is a bargain considering the amount of fun it provides. The less fun part, though, is actually viewing your photos. You can’t do that on your Panasonic camera, because it needs a special display to show you a 3D picture, so the only way you’re watching your 3D pictures is on a VIERA compatible 3D TV. Hope Panasonic will solve this (with a software upgrade maybe), or else the success of this particular gadgets won’t be particularly amazing.

Panasonic Lumix 3D Lens