Photos courtesy of Fujifilm

If you've watched a few of the Star Trek The Next Generation TV show episodes, you know that one of its writers' favorite plot devices was to use the Enterprise's holodeck to let the crew dress up in period costumes without having to use time travel or other dimensions as a plot vehicle. While a 3D virtual world with physical properties is probably not in our near future, according to this Time magazine article...

Fujifilm's New Dimension

...easy to create and see 3D digital photos will be available in retail stores in the next few months. The FinePix Real 3D System was actually announced way back in last fall at Photokina 2008. You can find a lot of detailed information about Fujifilm's 3D photo technology with lots of informative diagrams in this press release from that event...

FUJIFILM FinePix Real 3D System

This technology comes with a cost though. The camera will be a slightly high but affordable $600. The real cost (as with razors and razor blades) will probably be the cost of the special 3D prints. Still, I think a lot of people will want to capture 3D images of their children, pets, friends, and family and this may be a hot product this holiday season.