A single-lens 2D/3D camera has a light valve placed in relationship to a lens module to control the light beam received by the lens module for forming an image on an image sensor. The light valve has a light valve area positioned in a path of the light beam. The light valve has two or more clearable sections such that only one section is made clear to allow part of the light beam to pass through. By separately making clear different sections on the light valve, a number of images as viewed through slightly different angles can be captured. The clearable sections include a right section and a left section so that the captured images can be used to produce 3D pictures or displays. The clearable sections also include a middle section so that the camera can be used as a 2D camera.