3D photography

[acgoldis]

Hi! Something just occurred to me and I was wondering how feasible it is.

I'm about to go on a trip, and I've got an old digital camera. Other friends have cameras as well who are not going on trips, so they probably wouldn't mind letting me borrow their camera.

Now I've got two cameras. This brings up the possibility of 3D photography. It probably shouldn't be hard to get a View Master, a pair of binoculars, and/or red-green glasses.

How would I go about doing this? Is there something which would let me push the buttons of both cameras at the same time (and assuming that both focus at infinity -- don't try zooming in at all)?

I would expect this to be pretty complicated (the two cameras may not have the same field of view, for instance, but I could just get around that by renting two identical cameras for a week). Is it even worth it?

Thanks in advance,

ACG

 

[Peacemaker636]

If you have a tripod, then you'd probably only need one camera. Just take a picture, then move it to the right (or left) the same distance as a person's eyes are apart, and take another. Granted, you'd have to make sure that there wasn't anything that moves between the two shots.

From there, I don't know where you'd go after you've taken the shots.

 

[acgoldis]

If you have a tripod, then you'd probably only need one camera. Just take a picture, then move it to the right (or left) the same distance as a person's eyes are apart, and take another. Granted, you'd have to make sure that there wasn't anything that moves between the two shots.

From there, I don't know where you'd go after you've taken the shots.

I thought about that, but I don't think it will work. If I manually move the camera, I don't think I'll be able to get the two lines of sight exactly parallel.

 

[xfloggingkylex]

This is actually a type of photography called Stereo photography, and we have a thread going here about it

http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54538

it is very cool, and it works just like how "Magic Eye" books work.

 

[Garbz]

Often 2 cameras of the same manufacturer can be triggered via a sync cord. The problem is getting the cameras so close together that the lenses are seperated at eye distance.

I would still try the moving tripod trick. If it is slightly off you only need to adjust it afterwards either by moving the images if you are using a stereoscopic viewer or in photoshop. Just remember pick a stationary focal point so the image is centered on the exact same location.

 

[acgoldis]

Hi again!

It just dawned on me that I may have stumbled across a way to take and view the 3D photographs pretty easily. I'm going to need to test it out, though.

I'll get a slide bar. Fair enough. This will let me take both pictures with one camera.

As far as viewing them goes, it just so happens that I have an old pair of binoculars in my apartment. It's convenient that binoculars allow the two eyes to see different images, have a focus knob, and have a small field of view because of the magnification so the pictures gets blown up and you don't see the table you've put them on

Would the following work? Print out the two photographs and place them side by side on the table, with the distance between them equal to the distance between the eyepieces of the binoculars. Look down on the photographs from above through the binoculars (you can't just tape the two images to the ends of the binoculars because no light will get in).

Is this crazy enough to work? This is too easy! My guess is lots of people have cameras, and my guess is that lots of people have binoculars.

Thanks in advance,

ACG

 

[quackzed]

or you could just cross your eyes a bit...and forget the binoculars, i mean ... your eyes are binocular...but yes . 2 photos side by side taken at eye width apart will effectively give you a 3d image... and more width = more extreme depth perseption

 

[Peacemaker636]

Are you taking digital or film? If you're taking digital, then I'm sure it wouldn't be all that hard to create a 3D image in photoshop that you'd just view with 3D glasses.

 

[acgoldis]

Hi!

I just tried a very crude experiment -- back my little camera up against the wall on a windowsill so the lines of sight are guaranteed to be parallel and take two shots maybe 6 inches apart or so. I then tried Magic Eye-ing them with a piece of paper in between to make sure that the left image doesn't go into the right eye and vice versa.

And son of a gun, it worked! The images were only 2 or 3 inches wide on the computer screen, but the image definitely came out in 3D when I tried eyeballing it.

This should allow me to come back with some very interesting pictures on an upcoming Florida trip -- with all those landscapes and ocean views where nothing moves...

Thanks!

ACG

 

[RacePhoto]

There are a few ways to go at this. Realist cameras from the 40s-50s (and were still made well into the 90s!) Are pretty nice. They took slides and were mounted with the two images, then you used a lighted viewer, like a square binocular.

http://home.att.net/~drt-3d/toys/realist/index.htm#Short%20Realist%20History


Nimslo invented a system where a lens like material was placed on top of the picture. More details if you want them. But the camera produce something like the magic buttons that change images, but instead produced a depth and 3d image.

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/nimslo_3d/nimslo.htm

Going backwards, stereoscopes which are common and can easily be found in antiques shops, used two images, and the person holds the viewer, but they are pictures, not slides, and you get the parallax effect which creates apparent depth.

http://cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Stereo-Viewers.html

So there you go. Three ways that you can do it.

I'd say the stereoscope method, might be the easiest to duplicate and fun!

6 inches is too wide. How far apart are your eyes? That's the starting point. Then the slight angle difference is all you need.


The one I didn't include because of mounting problems, but it would be a real challenge to make and loads of fun, would be something for the View-Master.

Here's a page that has many 3d related links and View Master information.

http://www.cinti.net/~vmmasell/3dlinks.html

Have a good time!

Sorry I didn't even think of the crude red/blue method.

 

[quackzed]

you have to post some 3d photos for us. i think its a great idea btw... let me know where to look if you decide to. i can visualize a forest scene where you feel like your there... maybee ill give this a try too... so long as i'm not stepping on your toes that is.. i mean talk about depth...