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3D Photo Gadget Reviewed
Daniel Rutter writes "I've just reviewed Mission3-D's Photo3-D 303 kit. It's a simple and straightforward way to take 3D pictures with your existing digicam, but it otherwise doesn't live up to the hype. It turns out you can do the same thing better, for less money."
Nice.. gotta love a commercial website, that sells a product, and can't even bother to show samples
for those who don't want to look, here's what it says ..."
"Coming soon...
under development
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Bah. For $129 you get a tripod that lets you slide the camera to a right and left eye perspective.
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The only thing really useful here is the color-combining software, and anyone reasonably competent with a good image editing program can do it manually.
I've been taking crossed-eye stereograms for years - take a photo, move sideways a few inches, take another, then place the images side-by-side and cross your eyes until you see one combined stereoscopic image. The main problem with this method (as with the kit being discussed in this story) is the delay between shots - fine for still life, lousy for action shots (or even still life with moving stuff like wind-blown trees, or running water).
Turns out those old stereo viewers are quite useful: http://www.threedview.com/Images/showstereo.jpg They may be antiques, but they really work well, as long as you're content with a 3x3 image (which works just fine for most shots). And you can print a pretty high-quality image pair on any inkjet printer these days.
The TRUE benefit of stereo viewers that don't depend on color shifting is that the colors look completely natural, and they're a lot easier on the eyes than color mixing.
But you can get the same effect with crossed-eye stereograms, with ZERO equipment, as long as you're physically capable of crossing your eyes and refocusing.
Here's an excellent primer on setting up and viewing crossed-eye stereograms. http://www.angelfire.com/ca/erker/freeview.html
--Brandon / Split Infinity Music
I build and use my own 3D cameras all the time.
I go to the corner store and buy two tiny disposable cameras and fit them together using a cardboard template I made.
I only have to make sure the iris' have approximately the same separation as my eyes (approximately 7 cm or 2.75").
Then I just snap the cameras simultaneously, which takes a bit of practice, but it's a snap once you get the hang of it... no pun intended.
When I have the photos developed, I get a picture CD at the same time (saves me the hassle of scanning 2x 27 photos every time), I then bring the images into Photoshop and crop and match them if necessary.
Thanks to the massive depth of field in these tiny cameras, almost everything is in focus, and I have a bit of leeway as to the position of the 3D convergence point.
Then I just run the left + right photos through the free Anaglyph Maker and presto, I got my very own 3D image.
Using two cameras means that I can shoot 3D anywhere, even pictures of moving objects or from a moving vehicle.
Using a tripod with a movable head to shoot two images separately is rather lame IMHO, as you're forced to shoot only static setups.
Now I just have to try this with two digital cameras small enough to fit within the approximate 7 cm separation.
-- This sig for rent.
will convert a 35mm SLR or a digital camera like the Nikon D-100 into a 3D Camera instantly.
It is an assembly of mirrors that gathers light from two viewpoints and focuses it down onto the film/image sensor so that when it is printed out at a photo lab or on a printer, it makes a 3D card just like the ones from Victorian times.
LOREA also makes a camera with this lens built in. It works pretty good - the only drawbacks are the long focal lengh (F11) and a blurry border between the left and right image. Some versions can also show unwanted reflections.
I got mine for my Nikon film SLR and it works on the D-100 too!
This kind of a thing is nothing new. People have been taking stereoscopic photos for years. Actually the craze was back in the 50's. Most of the stereoscopic cameras you can still buy are mostly made in the 50's with a very few exceptions.
http://home.att.net/~drt-3d/toys/bogen/index.htm.
David Burder made a custom stereoscopic digital camera, but as far as I know, it's not really for sale.