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IMPOTRTANT PREPARATIONS FOR TAKING PICTURES

- 25 -

IMPORTANT PREPARATIONS FOR TAKING PICTURES

- 24 -

The Minolta 3D 1500, unlike ordinary digital cameras, requires you to be aware of
shooting-time restrictions and conditions. In particular, the following three items are
essential for taking proper 3D-image pictures:

• Subjects that are not suited for the 3D 1500
• Making the background of the subject solid black
• Brightness of the subject and its surrounding

Subjects That are Not Suited for the 3D 1500

Generally, the following subjects are not suited as the subjects of shooting:

• Transparent (passing the light) or highly reflective subjects
• Subjects that are evenly black or of a dark color
• Long and spidery subjects
• Subjects whose width, height, and depth are 40 cm or greater
• Subjects whose width, height, and depth are less than 10 cm
• Subjects of a complex shape with fine irregularities

The 3D 1500 emits two flashes in a single shot and records one “image without a
projected stripe” and one “image with projected stripes” for the same subject. That
is, it takes an ordinary flash photo on the first flash and projects the stripes on the
second flash by perform masking before emitting the second flash. It becomes
easier to generate proper 3D images if there will be 10 or more stripes on the
subject. Try to position the camera so that the subject fills the entire view area
on the camera’s LCD monitor. 
Then there should be enough stripes on the
subject.

You can not generate effective 3D images for transparent (passing the light) or
highly reflective subjects or subjects that are evenly black or of a dark color since
such subjects can not accommodate clear stripes.

Making the Background of the Subject Solid Black

Make the background of the subject solid black with a plain black
wrapping paper or black cloth to obtain optimum results.

As explained previously (see Page 24), the 3D 1500 can generate no 3D
image from an evenly black subject. You can prevent the background (or
the subjects in the background) from being caught by making the
background of the subject solid black.

Neither black wrapping paper nor black cloth are necessary if the background (or
the subjects in the background) are at least 4 m away from the camera and if they
emit or reflect no light.

Summary of Contents for 3D 1500

Page 1: ...ulations CE stands for Conformité Européenne European Conformity Digital Camera 3D 1500 Tested To Comply With FCC Standards FOR HOME OR OFFICE USE This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesi...

Page 2: ...rvice Facility listed on the back cover of this manual Minolta 3D 1500 camera x 1 Camera Bracket CB 3D1 x 1 AA size Alkaline Batteries x 8 AC Adapter x 1 Quest 8 HOUR NiMH BATTERY CHARGER and NiMH BATTERIES Quest AA size rechargeable NiMH batteries x 4 Size AA size AAA NiMH battery charger x 1 Video Cable VC EX1 x 1 CD ROM x 1 MetaFlash Studio for Windows MetaStream Viewer Plug in Web browser Plug...

Page 3: ...Compact Flash Card 18 ATTACHING AND REMOVING THE METAFLASH UNIT 20 Attaching the MetaFlash Unit to the Camera 20 Removing the MetaFlash Unit from the Camera 20 ATTACHING THE CAMERA BRACKET 21 BEFORE TAKING PICTURES PROCESSES FOR GENERATING A 3D IMAGE 23 IMPORTANT PREPARATIONS FOR TAKING PICTURES 24 Subjects That are Not Suited for the 3D 1500 24 Making the Background of the Subject Solid Black 25 ...

Page 4: ...NAMES OF PARTS 7 NAMES OF PARTS 6 Flash tube Refer to the Dimâge EX Camera Instruction Manual for more details Power switch Flash ready lamp Display button Tripod socket Battery chamber cover ...

Page 5: ... procedures of the Minolta 3D 1500 camera refer to the Camera Instruction Manual for Dimâge EX You can use your Minolta 3D 1500 as an ordinary Dimâge EX Version 2 camera non 3D camera by attaching an optional Zoom 1500 or Wide 1500 lens unit in place of the MetaFlash unit For the operating procedures for this purpose refer to the Dimâge EX Camera Instruction Manual and Dimâge EX Version 2 Guide wh...

Page 6: ... when inserting the batteries for the first time after purchase Insert the batteries as indicated by the diagram on the back of the battery chamber cover Close the battery chamber cover and slide it shut until it clicks The Minolta 3D 1500 uses a total of 8 AA sized alkaline batteries 4 batteries for the camera body and 4 batteries for the MetaFlash unit You may also use AA sized Ni Cd or Ni MH ba...

Page 7: ...mark Open the battery chamber cover then insert the batteries as indicated by the and marks Close the cover then turn the battery chamber cover to the CLOSE mark to lock it To prevent damage to the cover do not place the camera body with the battery chamber cover opened and the cover facing downward The Minolta 3D 1500 uses a total of 8 AA sized alkaline batteries 4 batteries for the camera body a...

Page 8: ...tely The power lamp will turn off Press the main switch to turn the camera back on When you are using the AC adapter the Auto Power Off feature will be activated and camera power is automatically shut off if you take no action for approximately 30 minutes or longer Rules of Thumb for Replacing the Batteries MetaFlash Auto Power Off MetaFlash Take care when replacing the batteries as they are hot i...

Page 9: ... adapter Your camera requires a compact flash card to be inserted before capturing images Always turn off the camera before inserting or removing the compact flash card into or from the camera The data in the card will be lost or the card itself may be damaged if the compact flash card is inserted or removed while the camera is on Open the battery chamber cover by sliding it in the direction indic...

Page 10: ...ated then open the cover Lift the card release lever until it is straight out Press the card release lever to eject the card Pull the compact flash card straight out Be careful not to open the card slot battery chamber cover or disconnect the AC adapter cable while the camera is in use The CF card can sustain damage if the camera loses power while data is being written to the card In such a case r...

Page 11: ...Unit from the Camera The CB 3D1 camera bracket stabilizes the positions of the camera body MetaFlash unit and lens unit Using this bracket is very important when capturing 3D images Orient and mount the CB 3D1 camera bracket so that the positioning pin on the camera bracket fits in the tripod s screw hole in the camera body and the mounting screw in the tripod s crew hole in the Metaflash unit see...

Page 12: ...ipe and the other with projected stripes The two images of data are transferred to the personal computer where a 3D image is generated from the images by an application called MetaFlash Studio The generated 3D image can be saved as 3D image files in different formats The 3D image can also be displayed with a Web browser software for viewing web pages on the Internet such as Internet Explorer or Ne...

Page 13: ...ubject That is it takes an ordinary flash photo on the first flash and projects the stripes on the second flash by perform masking before emitting the second flash It becomes easier to generate proper 3D images if there will be 10 or more stripes on the subject Try to position the camera so that the subject fills the entire view area on the camera s LCD monitor Then there should be enough stripes ...

Page 14: ...uring the day in the natural light sun beam Take care with reflections Since reflections offset the flash beam holes will develop in the parts of the image where the reflections occur The CB 3D1 camera bracket is provided with a general purpose hot shoe see the left figure Mount a commercial video light or similar apparatus there and turn on the video light when framing and focusing and turn it of...

Page 15: ...e camera body on An icon will appear on the soft key label right side indicating that the camera is now in the 3D mode The lens unit automatically zooms to 50 mm in the 35 mm equivalent scale and gets locked there The 3D 1500 enters the burst mode 2 frames fixed The Fill Flash icon appears on the soft key label center This icon indicates that not the camera s built in flash but the MetaFlash is fo...

Page 16: ...rst Press the Edit soft key The Burst Settings menu will appear Press the Up or Down button to highlight Quality Press the Left or Right button to select S FINE Image Size is fixed at Full and can not be changed in the 3D mode Color is fixed at Full and can not be changed in the 3D mode You can set Burst Rate from the screen in the 3D mode but any change you made will not be reflected the same bur...

Page 17: ... on the screen shown in the upper left figure will appear every time you finish taking a picture To record save the image on the CF card press the Save soft key soft key right When not recording saving the image on the CF card press the Delete soft key soft key center The confirmation screen shown in the lower left figure will appear Press the Yes soft key soft key left You can disable the Instant...

Page 18: ...er or darker When the image turns out to be too dark or too bright you can easily compensate for that by pressing the Up or Down button on the camera Frame the image then press the shutter release button The exposure compensation value remains active after the picture is taken Exposure can only be adjusted in Record mode Set the exposure compensation before recording the image Once the image is ca...

Page 19: ...nsferring the image data via a PC card using a CF card and a PC card adapter Insert the CF card into the optional CA 1C PC card adapter and the CF card can be handled as a Type II PC card PCMCIA ATA card Insert this PC card directly into the PC card slot of the notebook computer or into a card reader that can read PC card data then transfer the image data to the PC through the PC card Refer to the...

Page 20: ...umber of pictures that you can take before it becomes necessary to replace the xenon lamp For instructions read the Readme txt file that is also contained on the floppy disk To run this Script you need a system environment e g CF card reader for writing data on the CF card since it is necessary to copy the Script file from the floppy disk into the specified location on the CF card Refer to these p...

Page 21: ...ill suited for the 3D 1500 The background of the subject is not solid black Make the background of the subject solid black with an evenly blackwrapping paper or black cloth The subject or its surrounding is too bright Take a picture in a dark location Bv 1 or lower The camera will not function normally Remove the batteries after opening the card slot battery chamber cover on the bottom plate of th...

Page 22: ...ystem You can take pictures with the MetaFlash unit separate from the camera body so that you can photograph from a variety of angles The LC EX1 can also be used with a 3D 1500 which is used as an ordinary Dimâge EX version 2 i e non 3D camera The AF illuminator derived from the camera s built in flash unit is not available when the LC EX1 is used VC EX1 Video Cable The VC EX1 Video Cable connects...

Page 23: ...the pixels are dysfunctional Do not apply pressure on the surface of the LCD monitor Permanent damage may occur In low temperatures the LCD monitor will temporarily darken When the camera warms up normal display will be restored If the or buttons are pressed rapidly during playback images may appear to overlap This is normal and the image data is not changed If the LCD monitor surface is dirty fir...

Page 24: ...er or write to the Minolta distributor in you area Before shipping your camera for repair please contact a Minolta Service Facility for details Continued on Next Page Camera Type MetaFlash type 3D image capture system CCD 1 2 inch progressive scan CCD SONY Wfine CCD Model Square pixel RGB primary color filter all pixel simultaneous readout system Total number of pixels Approx 1 500 000 pixels Numb...

Page 25: ...ow temperature poly silicon color TFT LCD module Pixels Approx 110 000 Brightness control Brightness control dial Drive mode 2 frame burst capture mode Power source camera body Power AA sized alkaline battery x 4 AA sized Ni Cd or AA sized Ni MH batteries are also available External power AC adapter a DC terminal is provided on the camera body Power source MetalFlash unit Power AA sized alkaline b...

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Page 30: ...m b H Amalienstrasse 59 61 A 1131 Wien Austria Minolta Camera Benelux B V Zonnebaan 39 P O Box 6000 NL 3600 HA Maarssen The Netherlands Belgium Branch Prins Boundewijnlaan 1 B 2550 Kontich Belgium Minolta Schweiz AG Riedstrasse 6 CH 8953 Dietikon Switzerland Minolta Svenska AB Albygatan 114 S 171 54 Solna Sweden Finland Branch Niittykatu 6 PL 37 SF 02201 Espoo Finland Minolta Portugal Limitada Av ...

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