3D Photography A GUIDE TO SHOOTING AND EDITING 3D IMAGES THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) vision enables us to see depth in a scene. It requires two eyes that face forward but are separated by a small distance (approximately 65 mm in humans). Each eye sees a slightly different view of the subject and these stereoscopic views are ‘processed’ in the brain to create the sense of depth. Without binocular vision, the scene would appear at. Stereoscopic viewing of pictures has been around for a long time, starting with viewers you held to your eyes, which allowed the left and right eyes to see slightly different images. 3D movies were introduced in the 1950s, using black-and-white ďŹ lm. They relied on a technique that required anaglyphic glasses with one red and one blue (or green) lens,
each showing different views. 21st Century technology has evolved considerably since then and solved many of the problems that plagued earlier systems. The success of the blockbuster movie Avatar in late 2009 showed the world just what can be achieved with the latest technologies. Today we have cameras that can record high-quality photographs and movies in full colour, along with viewers, screens and display systems that can display realistic 3D images and provide an immersive experience for movie viewers. It’s also possible to reproduce the 3D illusion in ‘hard copy’ prints. In this guide we’ll explain how 3D capture works – and how you can get the best outcomes from your 3D camera.
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How Do We See 3D? All 3D systems copy human binocular vision and are based upon recording two views (stereo pairs) of the subject from slightly different viewpoints. Interestingly, the same technique is required for both still pictures and movies. The displacement of the stereo pairs is known as ‘parallax’ and you need the same parallax as human eyes if they are to be combined in the brain to create a realistic impression of depth. There are several ways to obtain a realistic 3D picture or movie: t 5IF TJNQMFTU BOE NPTU FGGFDUJWF TPMVUJPO JT UP enclose two cameras, each with its own sensor and lens, in one body. t :PV DBO VTF UXP DBNFSBT BQQSPYJNBUFMZ NN apart, which record images simultaneously. t :PV DBO VTF POF DBNFSB BOE NPWF JU UP UIF SJHIU PS left by approximately 65 mm, taking two separate photographs. t :PV DBO VTF POF DBNFSB BOE UBLF UXP QJDUVSFT using software to emulate the effect of moving the camera. (This usually involves cropping the original image.) While the second and third methods can work with non-moving subjects, only the ďŹ rst two methods allow you to capture 3D pictures of moving subjects, such as people and animals.
How binocular vision works. The left and right eyes see slightly different views and the brain combines them to create an illusion of depth.
Storing Digital Images For still images, most 3D cameras use the MPO (multipicture) ďŹ le format to record the stereo pairs that make up the 3D images. MPO ďŹ les store the left and right images as separate JPEGs with the left view ďŹ rst. EXIF metadata associated with each image is stored in the header of the ďŹ le. When you open an MPO ďŹ le in the compatible software, each image in the pair can be seen. They can also be extracted and used as separate ďŹ les for printing normally. FujiďŹ lm’s W1and W3 cameras (the only consumer 3D cameras currently available) include an MPO+JPEG setting that records an additional 2D JPEG image as a separate ďŹ le, using the image DBQUVSFE XJUI UIF MFGU IBOE MFOT :PV DBO TQMJU BOE combine JPEG images using the FinePix Viewer software supplied with these cameras and FujiďŹ lm’s V1 viewer. Movie ďŹ les are stored in a stacked AVI format known as 3D-AVI, which contains separate recordings for left and right viewing. Each movie ďŹ le has the extension *.AVI. Movies recorded with W-series cameras can be played back in 3D on the camera’s monitor – and the camera can also play their stereo soundtracks. 3D-AVI movies can also be viewed on most 3D TV sets by connecting the camera via an HDMI cable.
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The left and right images from a stereo pair are recorded as JPEGs.
Movies are stored in 3D-AVI format with separate recordings for left and right viewing.
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Different 3D Capture and Viewing Systems Although it’s possible to produce a stereo pair of images from a single photograph, the original image must be cropped. Brightness and/or resolution may also be reduced and the end result is never as good as the original picture. A better option is to combine two separately-recorded pictures. In many cases, the method of recording a stereo pair of images is inextricably linked with a speciďŹ c playback/viewing system. Only recently have we been able to produce 3D pictures that can be viewed in the same way as normal movies and photographic prints. The earliest stereo pairs were recorded on blackand-white ďŹ lm, but colour prints and slides became popular once these systems had evolved. Each pair of images is viewed through a stereoscopic viewer with separate lenses for each eye. A variation for projected images (slides and movies) involves using anaglyphic glasses with one red and one blue (or green) lens. This method was used for the original 3D movies. The right and left eye views are shown simultaneously in different colours, and the glasses allow only the images in one colour to reach each eye. The brain combines both images for the 3D illusion. The main problem for this method is it can’t support full colour viewing.
a lattice screen consisting of thin slits that direct the different views to each of the viewer’s eyes. The main problem with this system is that it only provides a convincing 3D view from one viewing angle and distance.
The earliest 3D movies involved overlapping views, which were watched through glasses with one red and one blue ďŹ lter.
The lenticular sheet directs the left and right images to different eyes, creating the 3D image.
The doubled view of the subject required for active shutter and polarising viewing systems.
A stereo pair of photographs, printed for viewing with a twin-lens viewer. Viewing movies in colour requires a more sophisticated system. The most popular ones use special glasses with a switching system that blocks the light from reaching each eye in turn. Both views are projected simultaneously and the glasses switch between them. (If you take off the glasses you can see the double view.) Provided the switching rate is faster than about 50 frames/second the view should be icker-free. Two systems are in common usage, each requiring different types of glasses. One type of active shutter glasses has lenses with a liquid crystal layer that darkens when a voltage is applied, allowing different images to be presented to each eye one after another in rapid succession. These glasses are controlled by an infrared switching system that darkens one lens and then the other in synchronisation with the refresh rate of the viewing screen, which displays different perspectives for each eye in synch with the switching. The main problem
Lenticular screens that consist of microscopic concave lenses arranged vertically over the viewing display make 3D viewing much clearer (although the screen itself may be visible as a slightly fuzzy array of ďŹ ne lines overlaying the picture). These screens can separate the left and right images without producing ickering and crosstalk. They can also support more than two viewing angles, making the viewed images appear smoother and more realistic. However, like lattice screen systems, lenticular screens deliver the best 3D view from a fairly restricted range of viewing angles and distances. The 3D effect can be difďŹ cult to discern when you are outside the viewing range.
with this system is that it is speciďŹ c to each screen so you must use the glasses supplied with the screen. Another type of active shutter glasses relies on the interlacing process of TV standards. One interlaced frame is allocated to one eye, the next frame to the other. The system requires special glasses that synchronise with the display. Unfortunately, it won’t work with 100-Hertz TV sets, at-panel TVs or digital projectors. Both types of active shutter glasses can be prone to icker and this can cause problems for some viewers. Polarised glasses require no switching. Two synchronised images are projected onto the same 3D Prints screen, each with a different polarisation: one Lenticular screens are also used for printing horizontal and the other vertical. They are viewed 3D photos. Consisting of an array of cylindrical through glasses that also have different polarisation so microlenses arranged vertically in ďŹ ne parallel rows only one of the images goes to each eye. they are laminated on top of the 3D print. The The picture quality from this system is generally lenticular sheet separates the left and right images in very good and polarised glasses are inexpensive to the stereo pair, directing each to a different eye. The produce, so this system is the most popular for today’s result is a convincing three-dimensional picture. 3D movies. However, it requires special editing and a dedicated projection screen. Polarised systems may also icker, although usually not as much as active shutter systems. Parallax systems produce 3D images that can be viewed without glasses. The simplest system covers the image with How a 3D print is made.
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How to Take Good 3D Stills The only dedicated 3D cameras currently available are produced by FujiďŹ lm. With two lenses and two sensors, the FujiďŹ lm Finepix REAL 3D W-1 and W3 models make it easy to record stereo pairs of images for 3D viewing. However, although in most cases you can simply point the camera at the subject and press the shutter release, some preconditions must be met to achieve successful results. 1. Make sure your main subject is at the optimal distance from the camera. With the camera’s default setting, the best results are obtained when the subject is roughly 2.5 metres from the lenses. For closer – or more distant – subjects you can adjust the parallax via a dedicated button with + and – settings. If you adjust the parallax to improve the 3D effect using the control button on the camera, this will change the framing of the pictures in the stereo pair. Black borders will appear on the cropped edges of the scene when the area covered by the 3D effect has been slightly reduced. If the subject is too close to produce a 3D view, you may only be able to superimpose a small area, leaving the rest of the image out of synchronisation.
Look for subjects with an obvious difference between the background and foreground. Bright, warm colours will make subjects appear closer to the viewer, while cool, desaturated colours will recede.
When the camera is too close to the subject it can be impossible to create a 3D effect for the entire picture. 2. Photograph subjects with depth. :PV XPO U PCUBJO a 3D picture if everything in the subject is lined up in one plane. Choose subjects with different layers of perspective; such as somebody reaching forward, people in the foreground with a tree or bush further back and a building in the distance. Look for points of view that emphasis depth in the subject, such as bird’s eye and worm’s eye views. Depth perspective enhances the 3D illusion and capitalises on your binocular view.
Fill the frame with the subject and use horizontal format for all 3D photographs and movies. 4. Try to ďŹ ll the frame with the main subject. The larger the main subject appears in the picture, the more it will seem to ‘pop out’ of the frame – as long as you maintain the optimal distance from the camera.
3D Viewing Precautions
3. Capitalise on colour. :PV DBO VTF DPMPVS UP FOIBODF the 3D effect by composing shots in which the foregrounds contain plenty of reds and oranges while the backgrounds are mainly blues and greens. The effect can be further emphasised with saturation. Warm, saturated colours by their nature appear to come towards the viewer while cool, desaturated colours recede.
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5. Stick with landscape format when shooting stills and movies. :PV DBO U DSFBUF B % JNBHF GPS WJFXJOH on standard screens or making prints when the camera is held vertically.
Children up to the age of six (whose vision is still maturing) and people with signiďŹ cant differences in vision between their two eyes are advised to avoid viewing 3D pictures and movies wherever possible. The same precaution applies to individuals with health issues like photosensitive epilepsy, heart disease, chronic fatigue or insomnia.
For other viewers, a 10-minute break is recommended after each half hour of 3D viewing. Switch to 2D or cease viewing altogether if you experience double-vision, fatigue or discomfort while viewing 3D pictures and movies. Viewing 3D images while in motion may cause discomfort.
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How to Shoot Effective 3D Movies Many of the factors that make successful 3D stills apply equally when you’re shooting 3D video movies. Consequently, the camera must be held horizontally and subjects should be at least 2.5 metres from the camera and contain several layers of perspective. Visual cues relating to colour and saturation apply equally when
shooting stills and movies and it’s just as important to ďŹ ll the frame with the subject for maximum impact. Because the camera needs to record separate image streams for the left and right eyes, it can’t handle fast-moving subjects as well as a normal video camera. It’s best to stick with slow-moving subjects when shooting 3D movies. Above all, avoid any jerkiness because it can shatter the depth illusion. It will also make your video clips more difďŹ cult to edit into movies. Use a tripod to keep the camera steady while recording video clips. If the tripod has a panning head, you can move the camera slowly as you track the subject’s movement to enhance the sense of depth. Make sure the camera’s microphone grilles (shown in the illustration) are not covered while you are shooting
Slow-moving subjects produce the best results for 3D movies.
video clips. Both microphones are required for stereo soundtracks to be recorded. Set the camera to Auto Parallax Control – or adjust parallax before shooting each video clip. Focus is set with the ďŹ rst frame of each video recording. Exposure and white balance will be adjusted automatically as the clip is shot.
Advanced 3D Shooting Modes Individual Shutter 3D Shooting enables users to take two shots of the same subject from different positions, and have the camera save them as a single enhanced 3D photo. When the ďŹ rst shot is taken, a transparent overlay is displayed on the monitor to help you align and frame the second shot. This mode is ideal for taking 3D pictures of distant subjects and close-ups, where the parallax is different from the camera’s native parallax setting. Best results are obtained when the camera is moved by between 1/30th and 1/50th of the distance to the subject for the second shot.
The Individual Shutter and Interval 3D modes allow users to capture a stereo pair of images that can be combined to produce a 3D image ďŹ le.
Interval 3D Shooting is designed for producing stereo image pairs from a moving vehicle. The camera takes two shots in quick succession when the shutter button is pressed. It’s used for taking pictures from a moving car, train or even plane. :PV DBO DIPPTF UIF PSEFS JO XIJDI UIF TIPUT BSF taken and set the delay interval between the two shots. As with the Individual Shutter 3D Shooting mode, the best results are obtained when the camera is moved by between 1/30th and 1/50th of the distance to the subject for the second shot.
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Although a 3D picture is produced, some cropping of the original shots is always required and parts of the picture may not overlap correctly in the end result.
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Editing 3D Stills Editing controls include the standard 2D functions such as cropping, resizing, rotating, ipping, sharpening and adding text and/or borders. The Stereo menu accesses a range of 3D conversions, which allow you to convert the MPO ďŹ le into different formats for WJFXJOH XJUI EJGGFSFOU % TZTUFNT :PV DBO TFMFDU GSPN the following conversions: interlaced, grey and colour anaglyph, side-by-side, above/below, single image view, page ip for 3D shutter glasses and IZ3D. Examples are shown on this page.
Editing functions supported by FujiďŹ lm’s My FinePix Studio.
FujiďŹ lm’s REAL 3D W-series cameras come with a software application, My FinePix Studio, which provides several basic still and video editing controls as well as facilities for uploading images and videos to social XFCTJUFT MJLF :PV5VCF BOE 'BDFCPPL :PV DBO BMTP PSEFS 3D prints of still photos directly from FujiďŹ lm’s online services. Still picture editing functions are limited to splitting MPO ďŹ les and combining two JPEG images to produce B % QJDUVSF JO .10 GPSNBU :PV DBO BMTP WJFX .10 images in simulated 3D mode. A wider range of adjustments is provided by StereoPhoto Maker, a Windows-only freeware application. A useful Beginner’s Guide is also available from this website to help you discover what you can do with MPO stills. When you open an MPO ďŹ le in StereoPhoto Maker, the left and right views are displayed below a toolbar with the normal drop-down menus plus icons that reveal their purposes as you mouse over them.
The interlaced conversion.
Creating a colour anaglyph with StereoPhoto Maker.
Opening an MPO ďŹ le in StereoPhoto Maker displays both images in the stereo pair and enables you to adjust them and create a variety of stereo effects.
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Viewing and Editing 3D Movies The most important factor to remember when editing 3D movie clips is to keep them synchronised. In other words, if you cut six frames from the start of the left movie stream you must cut the same number of frames from the right stream. Both StereoMovie Maker and My FinePix Studio will do this automatically. They also allow you to apply certain corrections (mainly colour and alignment adjustments) to both streams simultaneously.
Media Player Classic Home Studio lets you view the left and right video streams simultaneously. Any application that supports the AVI format should allow you to view movie clips recorded with a 3D camera. Windows users can double-click on a 3D-AVI ďŹ le and open it in Media Player Classic Home Studio and view the left and right movies simultaneously. A 3D movie viewer is also available in FujiďŹ lm’s My FinePix Studio. Right-clicking on the screen in My FinePix Studio lets you open the editing tools, which include facilities for
splitting the movie into separate streams, trimming the ends of clips and connecting clips to produce a longer movie. It can also combine two 2D movies to produce a 3D movie – although this will only work if they have been shot as a stereo pair. The freeware application, StereoMovie Maker also allows you to edit and play 3D movies shot in 3D-AVI format. The latest version adds support for 1280 x 720-pixel (720p) HD movie ďŹ les.
Alignment adjustments in StereoMovie Maker.
My FinePix Studio displays the left and right views of the selected 3D-AVI ďŹ le.
Occasionally a slight difference in the timing of frames may occur when the lens is zoomed in while a movie is being recorded. Frame-by-frame correction can help you to correct these differences and reduce jitter in the end result.
Splitting a 3D-AVI ďŹ le into two streams with My FinePix Studio.
Frame-by-frame adjustments in StereoMovie Maker.
USEFUL LINKS: www.oz3d.info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy http://www.fujiďŹ lm.com/products/3d/ http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/stphmkr/ http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/stvmkr/ http://mac3dviewer.apple-solutions.net/en/ http://3dphotography.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/ extracting-the-two-images-from-fujiďŹ lm-real-3ds mpo-format-on-a-mac/ http://www.artoďŹ llusion.org/ $ĂŚ0HOTOGRAPHYĂŚĂŚĂŚ ĂŚĂŚĂŚWWW PHOTOREVIEW COM AUĂŚĂŚĂŚĂŚÂĽĂŚ-EDIAĂŚ0UBLISHINGĂŚ
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