PANASONIC LUMIX 12.5MM F/12 3D G LENS (H-FT012)

Panasonic's Lumix H-FT012 12.5mm f/12 3D G Lens is a good idea. Instead of manufacturing a dedicated 3D digital camera, the company has given Micro Four Thirds cameras owners the ability to capture true 3D images at a reasonable price with an add-on lens. If you don't own a 3D monitor or HDTV, I wouldn't recommend running out to buy a camera and the lens, but for the select few that already own a compatible Micro Four Thirds camera and a 3D display, this lens is a blast to use.

DESIGN

Panasonic's 3D lens is actually two lenses, but the cameras with which it's compatible have only one image sensor. Fortunately, the cameras are smart enough to split up the image sensor, assigning certain parts to each lens so the final image can be processed as 3D. The 3D lens is currently only compatible with three Panasonic Micro Four Thirds Lumix models: the GF2, G2, and GH2.

More There's no optical zoom on this lens; it's prime, fixed at 12.5mm (65mm, 35mm equivalent), and its aperture is locked at f/12. Panasonic says this is because a very large depth of field is a must when shooting 3D photos. This might explain why I had a lot of trouble with the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3. This 3D camera's lens opens to f/3.7—and many of my test images hurt my eyes. Literally every image shot with Panasonic's 3D lens was easy to look at and was rendered in impressive 3D.

Locking the aperture at a very narrow f/12 leads to a serious issue though: A bright shooting environment or a flash is a must since the lens only lets in so much light. If you want to shoot indoors without a flash or at night, you'll need to use a tripod, and even then, moving subjects can sometimes appear blurry.

3D images are captured in 1.9-megapixel resolution, much smaller than the 12.1-MP 2D photos the GF2 produces. This isn't really a huge problem since you're unlikely to print images you capture with this lens. The left lens image from the 3D capture is stored as a single 2D, 1.9-MP file, so you also get a standard 2D JPEG image with every 3D shot.

PERFORMANCE

I tested the lens with the Panasonic GF2, which automatically switched to a 3D shooting mode when I snapped the lens into place. Unlike the FinePix W3, the GF2's LCD is 2D-only, so you have to take a guess at how your image will look. Otherwise, the experience is just like shooting with a regular 2D lens.

Images files are written as .MPO files, the industry standard for 3D. I had no problem playing them back on a Windows 7 computer with Nvidia 3D Vision. And they looked fantastic. Images were always crisp and the 3D was very impressive. You can also connect the camera to a 3D HDTV via the HDMI port. But while .MPO files are a standard for 3D photos, the file type isn't compatible with many home theater products, so you can't, say, dump the photos on a set-top box and view them that way.

Testing the Panasonic Lumix H-FT012 12.5mm f/12 3D G Lens was a fun experience. If you're among the few that owns a 3D monitor or HDTV along with a compatible Micro Four Thirds camera, this lens is definitely worth checking out.