A Sony concept prototype of a 3D camera was introduced during the Digital Cinema Summit.
Keynote speaker John Honeycutt, executive vp and head of international business operations for Discovery International, presented the camera, which was co-developed by Sony and Discovery. Testing starts in July.
Features include three ½-inch CMOS sensors per eye, Full 1920×1080, interchangeable lenses, convergence control capabilities and full metadata support.

Discussing 3D production, he asked: How do we run and gun on production while limiting the amount of problems we create? He suggested:
–preplanning of angles
–real time montoring of outputs if possible
–Stereographer on set for now. Honeycutt believes that will eventually merge with the cinematographer role.
–Metadata strategy needs work
–“Fix it in post” is a “dangerous and expensive” term in 3D
–On post, he said the tools are evolving quickly, but pacing differences in 2D and 3D may drive separate cuts of content. He added that for an editor, eye strain is a serious issue. “So shift lengths may be shorter. Metadata from cameras would be a huge help.”
–On the use of 2D-to-3D conversion: “If we can find a tool that works and delivers quality.”
NAB’s Digital Cinema Summit was co-produced by SMPTE, ETC, EBU and NAB.