3D Video Recording Coming to a Cell Phone Near You

When we say everything is going 3D, we really mean it. Roger Ebert notwithstanding, the world has gone gaga for 3D, from Titanic to the $100 bill and even Playboy Bunnies.

But wait, you say – there’s still a huge gap in terms of actually being able to produce 3D video thanks to the expensive new equipment outlays required. True, but consumer electronics manufacturer Sharp has plans to leapfrog over much of that gap by the end of this year by bringing the world’s first 3D camera for mobile devices to a cell phone near you.

The camera module, designed specifically for small devices like cell phones and digital cameras, shoots 3D footage at 720p resolution. Samples of the new camera will be available by July before the real mass production begins, so by this summer we should be able to get our eyes on the level of quality we might expect from devices that will incorporate it later this year.

If Sharp is able to produce the modules at comparable cost, it might not be long until 3D video support becomes a commodity baked in to most smartphones and point-and-shoots. There are yet other problems to solve, not the least of which is ensuring everyone has the means to comfortably view 3D content – whether it be via glasses or through the still relatively nascent glasses-less 3D technology. Nevertheless, Sharp’s mobile 3D camera stands to be yet another important milestone in the march to ubiquitous 3D.

Would you be interested in the ability to record 3D video right from your cell phone, or do you think 2D will keep most people content for some time?