Acer plans on bringing loads of tech to Taipei-based Computex next week but, like Zotac, the company has unveiled some of its presentation early. The SpatialLabs camera is a product we didn’t see coming from Acer. It’s not that the brand doesn’t do cameras — it’s got some particularly nice conferencing models — it’s more that we didn’t expect… well, this.
The camera’s full title is the Acer SpatialLabs Eyes and its purpose is to film 3D video. Whether you want to use this video to create something or have the most extravagant Zoom meeting ever, that’s up to you.
Space for SpatialLabs?
There’s 8MP of resolution per sensor in this side-by-side camera, with a touchscreen interface on the LCD at the rear. Acer’s new camera looks compact enough to be used out of doors. That’s part of its purpose since it’ll capture both 3D video and photos, thanks to a weather-proofed shell and integrated Electronic Image Stabilisation. That’ll make point-and-shoot capturing a breeze but there’s also a suite of expert features for more advanced users to exploit.
Pros are more likely to use one of the cooler features of this camera — 3D video calls via Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. The SpatialLabs video call widget will probably take some setting up but once that’s done, you’ll have the most advanced platform to deliver your remote PowerPoint presentations from. If you’re less boring, live-streaming 3D video on YouTube might be more your style. That’s also an option from Acer’s little shooter.
It’s one thing to capture 3D, it’s another thing to consume it. The video produced can be experienced in several ways — glasses-free 3D screens (like Nintendo’s 3DS, but larger and more expensive) are compatible, as are VR and augmented reality headsets. Acer is willing to sell you at least some of these, with a range of SpatialLabs 3D products waiting for you to take advantage of its Eyes camera.
Local pricing isn’t known and it might not even make it here, but overseas users can expect to pay from R10,000 ($550) for the pleasure of shooting 3D videos whenever they want to.
