I found a 3D camera at The Photography & Video Show that works just like your brain. The Loreo Panfocus 28mm makes 3D almost as simple as a point-and-shoot

I stumbled across something interesting at The Photography & Video Show 2026 — the kind of find that reminds you why wandering exhibition floors is so much fun. Tucked away on Vintage Camera Hut’s stand was a quirky little gem: the Loreo Stereo Panfocus 28mm, a 3D film camera that mimics how our own eyes and brain work together.

At first glance, it looks like a retro toy camera. But press the shutter, and it does something clever. Instead of taking a single image, it captures two at the exact same moment using twin 28mm lenses — one for the left eye and one for the right.

These images sit side by side on a strip of 35mm film, and when viewed properly, merge into a single 3D scene. It’s essentially recreating stereopsis, the same process your brain uses to perceive depth.

Of course, viewing the results is part of the experience. You can use a dedicated stereoscopic viewer, like Loreo’s Mini or Maxi Viewer, to see the images pop into three dimensions. You can also try the cross-eyed method — but unless you enjoy headaches, the viewer is definitely the way to go.

What makes this camera especially appealing is how simple it is. There’s no fiddling with settings or overthinking exposure. Focus is fixed from about 2.5feet (80cm) to infinity, the shutter sits at 1/60sec, and you get just two aperture choices: f/11 for flash and f/18 for daylight. It’s point-and-shoot in the purest sense.

One particularly interesting aspect is how this camera changes the way you compose images. Because it’s capturing depth, scenes with strong foreground and background separation suddenly become far more engaging. A simple shot of a street or a portrait gains a layered, almost immersive quality — something flat images often struggle to convey.

With contemporary photography dominated by digital perfection, the Loreo Stereo Panfocus is a playful throwback. It’s less about technical precision and more about rediscovering the joy of perspective — quite literally in three dimensions.

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Read Benedict Brain, a professional UK photographer’s, advice on ‘seeing differently’ with stereoscopic imaging.