It's a nice idea, but tricky to do. Shooting 3D images isn't too difficult, but finding ways to display them is more problematic.
3D, or 'stereoscopic' photography isn't new. The basic principles have been known for a long time, but because of the difficulties of viewing stereoscopic images, it's always been a minority interest. So with the advent of new 3D display technology and increased interest in 3D films, could 3D photography be the next big thing? Maybe, but it's tricky to shoot, even trickier to display and - just possibly - being hyped up far beyond its actual value.
The illusion of depth comes from the way our eyes and our brains work. The left eye sees the scene from a slightly different angle to the right eye, and this means the relative positions of the objects in the scene are slightly different. The brain converts these differences into the impression of depth.
This diagram shows how this is used in photography. 3D cameras take two pictures from two slightly different viewpoints, corresponding to our 'left' and 'right' eyes. Then they are superimposed in a way which our eyes perceive as 'left' and 'right' images.
Shooting these two images isn't particularly difficult. In the old days, you'd take one shot, move the camera sideways and take another. These days there are 3D cameras which can take both shots at the same time, like the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3. It's basically two cameras in one, and 3D photos are saved in a special 3D format which combines both. You can view your photos using a special 3D LCD on the back, and order 3D prints from a dedicated site.
There are some specific technicalities relating to 3D photography, such as the stereoscopic 'baseline' (how far apart the camera lenses are) and 'convergence' (getting them to converge on subjects at difference distances), but the Real 3D W3 makes it about as simple as it's likely to get for now.
Panasonic has adopted a different approach, developing a special 3D lens for its Micro Four Thirds cameras. This lens actually contains two separate lenses producing two separate images. The images you shoot can then be displayed on Panasonic's 3D-enabled Veira TVs. It's a clever idea which uses existing 2D cameras, though the baseline between the lenses is very small, which could restrict the 3D effect.
Sony has a similar 3D technology where you can shoot 3D panoramas with its NEX-3 and NEX-5 cameras and then view them on a 3D Bravia TV.
The problem is not shooting 3D, though, but displaying it. You have to get the left and right eye to see the left and right versions of the image separately. In the old days, stereoscopic prints were shown in pairs using a special viewer. Now, makers are experimenting with a variety of techniques, all of which have drawbacks.
The most promising idea is a 'lenticular' display that uses tiny prisms or lenses to make the left and right images visible only to the left and right eyes. But getting the angles to work for a number of different viewers sitting at difficult angles to the screen presents major problems.
The approach used by Panasonic and Sony is to use dedicated 3D glasses. The old-fashioned sort used coloured lenses and specially-processed images to create the illusion of depth, but today's 3D glasses use electronic shutters linked to the TV display for a much more reliable 3D effect. It's an expensive and inconvenient solution, though, because the glasses cost £100 or more, and everyone watching will need their own pair.
3D is certainly enjoying a comeback, thanks to the advantages offered by today's digital imaging technology. It's still a long way from the simplicity and practicality of regular 2D imaging, though, so it remains to be seen just how mainstream it becomes.
