Hands On With The Nintendo 3DS’ 3D Camera

See the two cameras on the front of the Nintendo 3DS? Those are for taking 3D pictures.

At Nintendo’s E3 booth, an exhibitor asked me to photograph him in a “zombie pose.” He stuck his arms out and I snapped a photo. Sure enough, his arms popped out of the 3DS’ screen. While the resolution may not be comparable to a high end digital camera, the 3D effect is so neat I imagine some people will purchase a Nintendo 3DS for this feature alone.

Controlling the camera is just like using a Nintendo DSi to take photos with one exception. The touch screen has a focus meter where you can adjust the depth effect by sliding a bar left or right.

The camera demo did not have a feature to save or transfer photos. I asked Nintendo about this, but a representative said nothing has been announced yet.