I spent a week with the soon to be available 3DA1 shooting and editing some content for Panasonic at the US Open in Flushing.

The camera is quite easy to use, although there are some things to get used to.

This was not the first time I was exposed to this camera. I worked on a music video using an early prototype, then again prior to the NAB show. I had not seen the 3DA1 since NAB, and it was nice to see the usability mature.

The 3DA1 is based on the HMC40 camera. It has 2 lenses, 2 imagers, and 2 recorders for left and right. Everything is engineered to be exactly the same for each channel: zoom, focus, iris, and time code.

It really is the easiest way to shoot 3D. Post production on the other hand is a little trickier.

Final Cut Pro does not have native support for 3D, so additional software is needed. There are 2 choices for FCP: Dashwood 3D Toolbox and Cineform’s Neo3D.

Dashwood is the least expensive way to do 3D. The LE edition is only $99 dollars, and will allow you to edit 3D simply. The full featured version is $1500.

The Neo3D package is $2500, and offers a more advanced toolset, and perhaps a bit more complex for the casual user.

In order to view 3D in the editing process, I used a Panasonic 3D2550 monitor. In my main editing suite, I used an 8 core MacPro with a Kona3 card. With the Neo3D software, and version 8 of the Kona drivers, I could output stereoscopic video via both SDI connections on the Kona3 to the 3D2550 monitor. Using the passive glasses, I could playback 3D from the timeline, although my machine seemed to struggle a bit with the cineform codec.

I also used the 3D2550 monitor connected to my MacBookPro via a MiniDisplayPort to DVI adapter and a DVI-D cable to the monitor. This allowed me to playback a left/right side by side stream in 3D.

For the presentation part of the job, I used a LaCie BluRay burner connected to my laptop via firewire. I used Toast 10 to burn the Cineform movie in the side by side format onto a disc. The Panasonic bluray player was able to play back a side by side disc in 3D. Very easy to do.

So 3D is here now for the masses. Come get some.