A few days ago, GoPro announced the GoPro 3D HERO System, the world’s smallest 1080p 3D camera. The 3D Hero System consists of a housing that accepts and aligns two GoPro HD HERO cameras for 3D capture, and GoPro CineForm Studio software, which is available as a free download on GoPro’s website.

GoPro sent me a 3D HERO to test, and it arrived yesterday.

The 3D HERO was packaged in a cardboard-wrapped clear-plastic box similar to the packaging that GoPros cameras come in, but I found this one to be easier to open (less tape). GoPro also opted to omit the large plastic base tray found in their standard camera package, which was a welcome change—the less packaging, the better.

GoPro 3D Hero unboxing

Here is what is in the box:

• 3D Waterproof Housing
• 3D Waterproof Door + Skeleton Door
• 3D Hero Sync Cable
• 3D Anaglyph Glasses (3 pairs)
• Helmet Front Mount
• 2 Flat + 2 Curved Adhesive Mounts
• Assorted Mounting Hardware

The small black manual that came in the box [download pdf] specified that I needed to download and upgrade my firmware, and download the free GoPro Cineform Studio. The firmware update was painless, as was the software download and install.

After updating firmware on all my GoPro HD HERO cameras, I inserted two cameras (one right-side-up, and the other, upside-down) and connected them to each other via the sync cable, which plugged easily into the HERO bus ports on the back of the camera. The sync cable synchronizes the cameras and allows single-button record.

GoPro 3D HERO sync cable

Two GoPro HD HERO cameras with sync cable plugged into HERO port

Two GoPro HD HERO cameras with sync cable plugged into HERO port

The inter-axial distance between the center of the two lenses is 35 millimeters (1.38 inches). The close distance between the lenses allows the capture of 3D footage of relatively close subjects. It does, however, mean that subjects that are further away will not be as “3D.” GoPro recommends a 3-foot minimum distance when the camera is in 720p mode (super side), and a 5-foot minimum distance when the camera is in less-wide modes (like 1080p).

Anyway, back to testing the camera. It’s night time, so I can’t go outside with the camera. I was forced to stick the 3D HERO on a RC car and drive it around the garage of my building.

GoPro 3D HERO attached to RC car

I took a 1:30 clip and copied the video files from the two SD cards onto my computer. GoPro is smart and automatically sets the orientation of each camera when the sync cable is plugged in (normal for the right camera and upside-down for the left camera). It also writes filenames intelligently. Files from the left camera start with “3D_L…” and files from the right camera start with “3D_R…”

I opened GoPro Cineform Studio and dragged my two video files into the “Import New Files” area, where they were intelligently grouped as a pair. From here, I set a destination directory and clicked “Convert,” which transcodes the two videos into a Quicktime movie that uses the GoPro CineForm codec. The CineForm codec allows both left and right videos to be crammed into a single .mov file. In the advanced settings, you can change frame rate, which can be used to slow down footage in playback.

GoPro Cineform Studio

It looks like the CineForm software is smart about multi-core machines. It spun up 12 CPUs in my 12-core machine and used about 530% CPU while cranking away. On my machine, the transcode was roughly in realtime.

Once the transcode was done, I entered step 2 of the software: Edit.

In the Edit step, you can change 3D convergence, exposure, contrast, saturation, zoom, and crop. The GoPro 3D HERO was pretty well aligned, so I didn’t have too much to do. I did a small vertical alignment and horizontally converged a little bit to pull the stereo window closer (which is almost always required for small screen 3D video). One notable missing control is rotation. The footage that comes out of my GoPro 3D setup requires slight rotation to align the two images perfectly, but it cannot be done in GoPro Cineform Studio.

Viewing modes are quite flexible. You can change the view in the main window, go to full-screen playback, and set a full-screen video mode on a second display.

Note that the software also works with H.264-compressed MP4 files created by most other cameras, but it only allows 3D convergence editing of footage taken by GoPro cameras.

GoPro Cineform Studio view options

GoPro Cineform Studio external display options

GoPro Cineform Studio in dual-screen mode

Performance was excellent on my 12-core Mac Pro (not surprising). 3D editing controls were all extremely responsive, and 3D playback was real-time even when shown at 2560 x 1440 (full screen). The app was stable, but lacked a few basic things like undo and redo (which are both in the menu, but grayed out).

Here is a video of the app in action:

At this point, many users might be a bit lost. Don’t worry—this is typical when working with 3D video. What can you actually do with your newly edited 3D video clip? Not much, it turns out. You can view video clips (in GoPro Cineform Studio) on your 2D monitor using red/cyan anaglyph glasses or on a 3D stereoscopic display. You can also go to File->Export and export a Quicktime movie. There are no options in the exporter, but what it exports is a side-by-side video at 1280×720 (720p) at roughly 15 Mbps (at least, for a 720/60p video). Also, you cannot batch export, which means that you have to export clips one by one.

GoPro Cineform Studio Export Details

The output is great for uploading to YouTube, which has a versatile 3D video player that takes, by default, a side-by-side.¹ For higher-quality 3D editing and display, you’ll have to use other tools.

Here’s the short clip I exported using GoPro Cineform Studio:

(use red/cyan glasses to watch, or click through to YouTube for more 3D viewing options) 

Here’s a second video, shot in daylight:

(use red/cyan glasses to watch, or click through to YouTube for more 3D viewing options) 

The video quality isn’t bad for a $99 housing that accepts two cameras I already have, and it’s certainly excellent for a 3D camera solution that is so small. I can’t wait to stick one in a shark’s mouth!

Those of you who were at NAB last year will remember that GoPro showed a prototype 3D housing at the show. Some of us were perplexed as to why they waited a full year to release it as a product, but their CineForm acquisition announcement last week made it clear: without software to edit and view 3D videos, there was no point in releasing a 3D product. Smart move!

The GoPro 3D HERO is a great product at an incredible price. Many action-sports enthusiasts already have a GoPro or two, and the ability to transition to 3D for a mere $99 makes the purchase a no-brainer.

One quick note for those of you planning on taking the 3D HERO underwater: the standard GoPro housing is waterproof to 180 feet, but it won’t focus underwater. All compelling underwater clips, even on GoPro’s own site, are shot with modified GoPro housings with flat ports. You’ll need to use third-party modifications to focus underwater, or wait until GoPro releases a flat port accessory. GoPro’s 3D highlight reel (below) includes footage of a woman in a bikini swimming underwater. She is carrying a GoPro, and you can clearly see that a flat port is mounted.

(use red/cyan glasses to watch, or click through to YouTube for more 3D viewing options) 

For more information on the GoPro 3D HERO, go to GoPro’s website.