Nintendo 3DS to Bring 3D Photography to the Masses

Nintendo just unveiled the 3DS yesterday, an upcoming portable game console that has a 3D screen built in. The screen does not require special glasses, and has an slider on the side to adjust the 3D effect. What’s neat is that there’s also two forward-facing cameras spaced a couple inches apart that allow you to take 3D photographs and video. The combination lets you snap a 3D photo or record a video and see it in 3D on the screen moments later. While 3D cameras have already been available for a while now (i.e. the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1), the fact that the DS line has sold nearly 130 million units means that the 3DS will be introducing 3D photography to millions of people.

The cameras are reportedly only VGA resolution (640×480 or 0.3 megapixels), but this is a big first step in 3D photography becoming mainstream.