The idea is simple: Take two pictures from the position where the left and right eyes would be, and show them to each eye respectively. If you practice "cross-eye view method" or "parallel view" method, you will be able to see two pictures as a 3D image without the help of 3D glasses.
There are a lot of resources on the Internet that can be found by web searches for "stereoscopy," "3D photography," etc.
I bought the True-Vue 3D (R) viewers from American Paper Optics, Inc. (3080 Bartlett Corporate Drive, Bartlett, TN 38133, 1-800-767-8427 , 901-381-1515 , Fax 901-381-1517). It is $4 per unit. You can fold it and send it to your friends with stereo pictures as a greeting card. I figured out that having two sets of stereo pictures printed in 5" x 7" and cutting them in half will make perfect 5" x 3.5" stereo picture cards for the viewer.
I wrote a Python script to compose two stereo pictures into an image with 5:7 aspect ratio. Here is how to use the script (Windows):
On the Mac (OS X 10.9 Mavericks), I get "IOError: decoder jpeg not available" for the command "leftRegion = leftImage.crop(box)". There are some articles about this on the Internet but I haven't found a solution yet. Let me know if you did.
If you know how to use Photoshop, GIMP, etc.,
you can of course lay out the images into a 5:7 aspect ratio bitmap image in this format manually.
I once wrote a few scripts for Photoshop and for GIMP but I'm not maintaining them anymore.
The image below shows my first pair of stereo cameras that I set up (circa 2001). I created my cheap stereo camera support out of a ruler and screws. I super-glued the wing nuts on 1/4" x 1" socket screws (coarse thread) and used them to secure the cameras on the ruler. I would just use both hands and try to press the shutter buttons at the same time. Later on, I used two Olympus cameras and used one remote to release shutter on both cameras. There was still timing lag.
I also used Loreo 3D Lens in a Cap for my digital SLR for a while. This product allows one camera to take a stereo pair image. You can freeze the water from the fountain and capture the 3D image for instance.
Many of you must have played with ViewMaster (R) as a child. I had forgotten about it until someone at work showed me his ViewMaster 3D slides that he made on his own. I just happened to have a sample of a 3D viewer called "True-Vue 3D" from American Paper Optics, Inc. and I realized I can easily make my own 3D pictures for that Viewer using my digital cameras, Photoshop and Ofoto.com. That friend also told me a nice story: his aunt used to take stereo pictures way back when his parents were dating. So he got to see his parents before they even got married in 3D.
How to see stereoscopic images using Cross Eye Method |
How to see stereoscopic images using Parallel Method |
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Cross Eye Method |
Parallel Method |
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Cross Eye Method |
Parallel Method |
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Cross Eye Method |
Parallel Method |
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Cross Eye Method |
Parallel Method |
Castillo de Kukulcan (Kukulcan Castle)![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Castillo de Kukulcan (Kukulcan Castle)![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Las Monjas![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Caracol Observatorio (Observatory)![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Tulum![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Tulum![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
Tulum![]() |
Cross-eyed Parallel |
April 21, 2009 - Komei Harada