Glossary

• 1/30th rule - The separation between the perspective of the two images should be 1/30th the distance to the nearest subject.
• Cha-cha - A method of taking 3d photos where you use one camera to take two photographs, one for the left and one for the right, by moving the camera to each location. This can be done with a slide bar or by just shifting your body.
• Cross view - A stereograph where the left eye is on the right of the image and the right eye is on the left of the image. Most people find these photos easier to view, especially in larger sizes.
• Dual Cameras - The use of two cameras, usually identical hardware, to capture a both images of a stereograph at one time. A synchronous trigger such as hardware mods or an IR remote are often used.
• Parallel view - A stereograph where the left eye and right eye are presented as the world is seen naturally. Your eyes look parallel to each other to see the 3d image.
• Slide bar - A tool used for increased precision when taking cha-cha stereographs.
• Stereo Baseline - The horizontal distance between the two images taken, basically the distance between your eyes.
• Stereo Camera - A camera made for taking stereo photographs, such as the Fujifilm FinePix REAL 3D W1

Links

• 3dphoto.net/forum - A lot of great information from DIYers can be found in the forums here.
• ledametrix.com - Lots of good information, examples, and information on different stereoscopic still photography gear.
• Wikipedia - Stereoscopy covers a lot of the aspects of stereoscopy.
• Jasper slide bars - These appear to be the best slide bars, though I've never used them.
• f29 - wo0den slidebar is a cheap, simple DIY slidebar that looks very promising.

Loreo 3d Lens in a Cap

I bought a Loreo 3d Lens in a Cap with the expectation that it would be a fun little toy. Indeed it is, but it was remarkably difficult to use with much success. It failed with the two feature incompatibilities of being zoomed in too tight for its stereo base line and too limited in its near focus.

The perspective of the lens makes it difficult to photograph large things without standing very far away from them. Coupled with the narrow baseline and the 1/30th rule this defeats the purpose of shooting in stereo. So, this lens doesn't work well for shooting large objects.

The near focus of this lens is limited to something greater than about a meter. This means you can't photograph things up close, there is no macro ability. you can photograph something like a basketball and have good composition, but not something like an action figure because there would be a lot of extra extra space around the subject. Since you can't crop the image easily it makes for compositionally poor images for small objects.

The result is basically a long portrait lens with an ƒ/11 aperture. ƒ/11 is not the best aperture for portraits with a lot of bokeh, and if you want to have a secondary subject in the distance you still have have to stand a long way away from it. For instance, this photo of Blake was taken many miles form the Golden Gate Bridge and you still can't see both sides of it.

There's a rumor that Loreo is working on a lens with a wider focal length. This would probably solve both of the problems listed above, and would certainly solve a least the narrow perspective.

Honestly I wouldn't recommend buying the Loreo because of these limitations. If you happen to find one for cheap or want to borrow one that could be fun, but otherwise I'd seek out other methods for stereoscopy like the simple cha-cha method or picking up two cheap pocket cams or webcams.