Sony Bloggie 3D review

Now that most smartphones can record HD video, pocket camcorders need to do something a bit special to justify their existence. Sony has risen to the challenge with the Bloggie 3D, which – no prizes for guessing – has twin lenses for 3D video and photo capture. At £185, it’s the most expensive fixed-zoom video camera but also the least expensive 3D video camera we’ve seen.

The camera’s lenticular display gives a 3D effect without the need for glasses, but its 2.4in size and 230,400-dot resolution don’t compare well with the lenticular screens in 3D smartphones and other 3D cameras that we’ve reviewed. The 3D effect was discernible but not particularly gripping, with blocky details and muted colours. The camera’s plastic buttons didn’t make a great impression either, and the five seconds from power up to record is a little slow.

Operation couldn’t be much simpler. There’s a button to toggle between 2D and 3D capture, separate video and photo capture buttons, a button for the LED lamp and another for the self-timer. A 4x digital zoom function is included for 2D videos and photos but it’s unavailable for 3D.

There are some thoughtful touches, such as how the interface reorients itself when the camera is held upside down, and also brings up a warning when held in portrait orientation (this aligns the lenses vertically so 3D capture won’t work). It’s odd that the tripod thread is on the short edge, though, as this encourages portrait-orientation use.

Connections are digital only, with an HDMI socket and an integrated USB plug. There’s no card slot but the 8GB internal storage is enough for around 80 minutes of top-quality video, close to the 75-minute tested battery life.

Videos are recorded at 1080p at 30fps, with clip lengths up to 30 minutes. AVC encoding at up to 15Mbit/s produced compression artefacts in fast-moving subjects but handled most scenes well. Low-light clips displayed heavy noise reduction artefacts (the LED lamp made little impact) and artificial light gave footage a yellow tint. Otherwise, picture and sound quality were dependably high, except for the usual wind noise problems.

For 3D videos, the left and right images are encoded to the corresponding sides of the 1080p frame, halving the horizontal resolution. That’s the same technique used by YouTube’s 3D mode, so uploads couldn’t be easier. Switching to 2D produced significantly smoother details in videos, as well as raising the photo resolution from 2 to 5 megapixels. Photo quality was still no better than from a mid-price smartphone, though.

The 3D effect was extremely convincing, especially once we’d got the footage onto a 3D TV. The twin lenses are calibrated so that subjects further than one metre away appear to extend beyond the screen, while nearer subjects seem to come out into the room. This effect broke down nearer than 50cm, and shaky handheld walking shots were quite uncomfortable to watch in 3D, but the vast majority of 3D clips worked superbly.

Opinions about 3D video vary, but for us, it’s a bit of light-hearted fun. As such, this camera’s relatively low price and simple operation make more sense than pricier 3D cameras’ zoom lenses and advanced controls. Quality is fit for purpose, and the screen is the only real disappointment. If you own a 3D TV and have run out of 3D Blu-ray films to watch on it, the Bloggie 3D should provide plenty of entertainment.