Stereo 3D Tank Pictures Challenge!

[BT05]

A little trick that might work for some of you:

Cross your eyes slowly until you can a third image in the middle, don't attempt any focusing just let them blur out. There must be three complete images, partial ones will not work and your eyes will reset.

Once you are staring at three blurry images, begin slowly focusing on the middle one. Don't try to uncross your eyes or anything, just pay attention to the middle one and your eyes should focus themselves. The key is to maintain three images, once you start to lose the middle one your brain will interpret them as two separate images and the stereo effect is gone.

This should work regardless of the distance from the monitor, but is actually easier the closer you are.
Up your refresh rate to at least 85hz to reduce eye strain. At 60hz you will probably notice a wierd flickering effect.

The effect is amazing once you can jump across two different sets of stereo images without refocusing.

Oh and thanks for posting these! Great stuff!

[Chad]

So, how does one make these? I would love to do this with my tank

[vertex]

Chad, any specific questions on how to make em or is this enough??

Originally Posted by vertex

They are easy to make actually. I just take two pictures pointed at the same area, each with the camera moved about 5-10 cm sideways (the same width of your eyes is usually recommended). The trick is to take it of the same area exactly, use a tripod and all the same color/focus settings on your camera so things line up better.

Then put the left picture on the right and the right hand picture on the left side by side.

[Chad]

how would you do it with one camera in our tanks, considering the movement, would that not affect it?

[Winters]

Originally Posted by Chad

how would you do it with one camera in our tanks, considering the movement, would that not affect it?

Yes, you wouldn't be able to do it with a fish, or anything moving at anything quicker than a snail's pace. (Hmm.. I guess snails will still be okay) Unless you can rig together a setup where you've got two cameras kind of taped together side-by-side, and get them to both use the same settings and take the picture at the same instant. THAT would work for fish, etc. and the distance apart would be fairly good too.

Stereo photographs are actually fairly easy, as you can read from other messages above. I've got a whole university degree where I did a huge amount of work analyzing stereo airplane/satellite images of land to do measurements of building heights and all sorts of stuff. Very neat, when you get into professional uses of stereo imagery. But that's a whole other.. uhh.. course.

Take care!

[muck]

You have a degree in being Cross-Eyed Imran..??

[Winters]

Originally Posted by muck

You have a degree in being Cross-Eyed Imran..??

Sure Ryan. Explains a thing or two.

Hmmm... now this is getting me all into taking a stereo image tonight.. probably of my Toadstool. Will have to see how it goes!