Stereo Digital Images with the Pentax Optio

The Pentax Corporation has recently rolled out some new models to its popular and successful compact digital camera line, the Optio.While this may not appear to be of particular import to INSIDE 3D readers, it is, when you consider that a major camera manufacturer in one of their mainstream camera lines, at the leading edge of photography, includes in the features of the cameras a stereo image mode, and even includes a stereo viewer with the camera outfit.

 Six Pentax Optio models were currently available, before the recent unveiling of the Optio 33L, Optio S, Optio 450, and the Optio 550. Ranging from 3.2 to 5.0 magapixels, 3x to 5x optical zooms, plus a tiff format on the Optio 550, these cameras are suitable for the photographer demanding performance. And each one of these Optio cameras has a stereo mode that will allow two pictures to be taken in succession, via a slide bar or cha-cha method, and then will merge the two images into a single image file on the memory card, producing a side-by-side real, stereo image.  And each Optio camera outfit includes a plastic collapsible side-by-side stereo print viewer with excellent lenses, see image below.

While it’s not the digital stereo camera that many of us are waiting for with baited breath, it is an indication as well as a vindication that stereo photography is right at home with the advancing mainstream of photography technology, and that stereo imaging can and will be a part of the features offered to the public at large. One can check out the possibilities of the stereo feature on the Pentax cameras at the camera store or on line at www.pentax.com.