Until today, the Nintendo 3DS Camera only allowed users to take and view pictures in 3D on the gaming handheld. With the newest update, the camera now features 3D video recording. When starting the camera application I was greeted by the ever so helpful parrot informing me of the variety of features now available. After being guided to the 3D video recorder I was introduced to some of the new additions to the Nintendo 3DS Camera.

The camera allows you to switch between a normal mode and a low light mode. These two generic categories are available for quick selection in the menu. Digging deeper into the menu I found that you can manually change the film (normal, black and white, sepia, etc...) and alter the sharpness, contrast, and brightness. These settings allow one to fine tune the camera for specific purposes.

Like the normal photo mode of the camera, you are able to manually adjust the 3D focus of the camera. However, unlike the photo mode of the camera there is no zoom feature. If you do not wish to manually adjust the 3D focus, the camera will auto focus the 3D.

The video recording section of the camera also comes with three special shooting modes. The first of these, interval, takes a still shot image after a set amount of seconds. It will continue to take images after this set interval until stopped. The program then puts all of the images in sequence and plays them as a rapid slide show.

Stop motion is similar to the interval feature, the only difference being that you can take the images whenever you choose. Here you are not limited to a set time interval but may take the images at your own discretion.

The last of the special shooting modes is montage. This feature allows the recording of various video segments which are then mashed together. Unlike the normal video recording feature of the camera, montage does not capture sound.

The videos can be viewed in the same album as your photos; the only difference is a distinct border differentiating them from a photo. Videos are only saved onto the SD card and cannot be saved onto the system memory. 

From the several videos I shot using the 3D video recorder, I found that 3D video recording is quite a useful addition to the system. There are plenty of features that can be used in different situations. Whether you are creating a montage, creating a stop motion movie, or simply capturing an important event, the 3DS camera can now be your go-to device for video recording in both 2D and 3D.