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Hands On: This Acer 3D Camera Adds a New Dimension to Livestreams

The compact Acer SpatialLabs Eyes, unveiled at Computex, can record images and video in 3D, so your legions of followers can see things exactly how you do (assuming they have a 3D monitor).

Tony Hoffman
John Burek
 & Tony Hoffman Senior Writer, Hardware
 & John Burek Executive Editor and PC Labs Director
Our Experts
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(Credit: Mark Stetson)

TAIPEI—Intrigued by glasses-free 3D? The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera (ASEC-1), introduced this week at Computex, is a compact stereoscopic camera that records 3D video and still images that can be rendered in immersive 3D. It fully integrates with the SpatialLabs lineup of products such as the Acer SpatialLabs View ASV15-1B display and Acer Predator Helios 300 Spatial Labs Edition laptop. We got a chance to try it out.

Acer had a huge Lego setup that the camera was transmitting into streams for SpatialView monitors around the demo room. The streaming view was excellent and looked striking on the glasses-free 3D monitor transmitted from the camera.

(Credit: Mark Stetson)

With 8 megapixels of resolution per eye, a built-in selfie mirror, and a weatherproof exterior, the pocket-size SpatialLabs Eyes is a great companion for capturing moments in daily life that you want to play back as if you were there. Its carefully calibrated lens alignment and advanced optical system let users photograph subjects with greater 3D depth and detail. Photo and video resolution is up to 7,680 by 2,160 pixels, with resolution up to 3,840 by 2,160 in stereo webcam mode. Still images are saved as JPEGs, and video in MP4 format. All this is possible through the twin lenses on the front face.

The SpatialLabs Eyes is equipped with auto and touch focus capabilities, as well as electronic image stabilization. More seasoned photographers will appreciate the option for manual mode, which provides flexibility to calibrate ISO, white balance, and shutter speed settings.

(Credit: Mark Stetson)

The camera’s outer material is glossed with a shale black coat, while its lens cap and selfie mirror enclosures are layered with aluminum lining. The Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera has received the prestigious 2024 Red Dot and iF Design Awards. We found the design to resemble that of a high-end old-school point and shoot, but in this case with two side-by-side lenses.

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Realtime 3D Streaming and Video Calls

In addition to capturing images and video, the SpatialLabs Eyes 3D Camera enables real-time 3D streaming and storytelling, letting users share their 3D content live on YouTube and other streaming platforms with a new Acer SpatialLabs Player 3.0. Video chatting should be available as early as Q3 through the SpatialLabs video call widget, which enables 3D video conferencing on apps such as Teams (1080p), Zoom (720p), and Google Meet (1080p), with customizable depth features available to add more layers of realism during calls.

We tried a locally hosted video call between ourselves and an Acer rep on site. Playback was smooth, and the glasses-free 3D on the monitor end was stunning...if you were in the viewing sweet spot. (Decidely, glasses-free 3D is not a shared experience.)

(Credit: Mark Stetson)

Whether users are reviewing content on Acer SpatialLabs laptops or displays, VR/AR headsets, or even 3D projectors, the SpatialLabs Eyes helps present the richness and impact of their 3D content as intended. The camera also comes with a downloadable gallery feature so users can view their 3D portfolio.

Acer SpatialLabs Eyes Stereo Camera (ASEC-1) will be available in Q3, starting at $549.

About Our Experts

Tony Hoffman

Tony Hoffman

Senior Writer, Hardware

Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts.

Over the years, I have reviewed smart telescopes, iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I've also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the former PCMag Digital Edition.

The Technology I Use

I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T14 laptop that's my work daily driver, an HP Pavilion Aero 13 as my primary personal laptop, and an Asus ProArt P16 for detailed photo work. (I also have an older Dell XPS 13, which now stays at home full-time.) For storage testing, I rely on our three custom-built Windows testbeds in PC Labs, as well as a 2024 MacBook Pro.

My primary home monitor is a BenQ EX2780Q, a gaming monitor with a great sound system and excellent image quality. I use that panel for writing, watching videos, and working with photos. I also have an HP 27 Curved Display—one of the first general-purpose curved monitors—which I have paired with an Acer Aspire desktop computer. My multifunction printer is an Epson Expression Premium XP-7100 Small-in-One. I also own an Epson Perfection V39 flatbed scanner, which I use for photos and short documents, and a Canon Selphy CP1300 small-format photo printer for turning out snapshots.

My first cell phone, in 2006, was a Motorola Razr; since then, it’s been all iPhones—I currently have an iPhone 15 Pro. I use my iPhone a lot for casual photography, though I also use a Sony DSC-RX100 VII and a Canon G5 X Mark II for everyday shooting. For much of my travel photography and astrophotography, I use either a Sony A7r II or A7 III, paired with a variety of lenses ranging from a Sony 14mm f/1.8 prime to a Sony FE 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G OSS zoom lens. I also pair the A7r with a RedCat 51 for deep-sky star shooting. For astrophotography, I also use the Seestar S30 and S50 and the Unistellar Odyssey smart telescopes, which are essentially astronomical cameras controlled through one’s mobile device.

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John Burek

John Burek

Executive Editor and PC Labs Director

My Experience

I have been a technology journalist for almost 30 years and have covered just about every kind of computer gear—from the 386SX to 64-core processors—in my long tenure as an editor, a writer, and an advice columnist. For almost a quarter-century, I worked on the seminal, gigantic Computer Shopper magazine (and later, its digital counterpart), aka the phone book for PC buyers, and the nemesis of every postal delivery person. I was Computer Shopper's editor in chief for its final nine years, after which much of its digital content was folded into PCMag.com. I also served, briefly, as the editor in chief of the well-known hard-core tech site Tom's Hardware.

During that time, I've built and torn down enough desktop PCs to equip a city block's worth of internet cafes. Under race conditions, I've built PCs from bare-board to bootup in under 5 minutes. I never met a screwdriver I didn't like.

I was also a copy chief and a fact checker early in my career. (Editing and polishing technical content to make it palatable for consumer audiences is my forte.) I also worked as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of "Dummies"-style computer guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I'm a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York University's journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

The Technology I Use

I use a lot of computers on rotation in my daily work, but I rely on just a few to get things done. I split my work life mostly between a Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (a 15-inch Ryzen model), paired with a Lenovo ThinkVision portable monitor, and a custom-built big-chassis Windows 10 desktop PC that has served me well for years now. (Specs: Liquid-cooled Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition, 32GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 1080 card.) That's all in a giant chassis with six hard drives and SSDs packing its bays. (As I upgrade systems, I just keep moving the old warhorse drives over.) This behemoth is hooked up to a 32-inch LG monitor.

I also have a bunch of PCs around the house, all custom builds: another one attached to my main TV (for gaming and occasional forays into VR), a mini-PC on the bedroom TV (acting as a media server), and a Mini-ITX desktop in a corner of the living room...just because. I carry around an oversize OnePlus phone, but when I do long-haul travel, a vintage iPod Touch comes along, too, for old times' sake.

I wasn't always a PC guy. I cut my teeth on a cassette-drive-equipped Commodore VIC-20 in the 1980s. But I got serious with Apple desktops in the early 1990s, starting with a Macintosh SE, then a Macintosh LC, and finally one of the short-lived Umax "clone" Macs, before building my first PC and never looking back.

With all my typing and editing work over the years, I've become a huge proponent of thumb trackballs, which minimize wrist action (and my wrist pain). I have a secret cache of the long-discontinued Microsoft Trackball Optical Mouse (my personal favorite), held in an undisclosed location.

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