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Photograph courtesy of Mission3D
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By WILSON ROTHMAN
This summer, with the latest Spy Kids installment, 3D photography is finally experiencing a renaissance it hasn't enjoyed since the early 1980s. The movie coincides with the launch of the first easy-to-use 3D picture creator of the digital age, Mission3D's Photo3D camera kit and imaging software. All you need is to supply a digital camera. (A conventional camera will also work, but you'll need to scan the film into your computer.)
The kit consists of a cleverly designed stand for a digital camera, which attaches using the standard tripod screw hole. The stand lets you take two nearly identical shots from slightly different vantage points; 3D images result from this marriage of "left-eye" and "right-eye" shots. Snap one picture, slide the camera a notch to the right, and then snap another. Needless to say, your subjects must keep absolutely still between shots.
Next, import the digital images into Mission3D's Photo3D Mixer software on your Windows PC (a Mac version is due out later this year). The program automatically overlays the images and shifts the colors of the left and right to blue and red for viewing with the included 3D glasses. Put them on and, with any luck, your computer screen becomes a shimmering 3D diorama. Photo3D Mixer not only prints your new 3D image; it can also print your source shots side-by-side on a page for "cross-eyed" view or even viewing with one of those antique stereoscopes.
Even though getting started with Photo3D is easy, the nuances of 3D photography take some getting used to. For example, when something in the foreground comes through clearly in 3D, there's a chance that items in the background will be out of alignment. Mission3D's website FAQ gives technique pointers to hone your abilities, but this is one product that falls squarely into the category of "summer project."
Stereoscopes aside, 3D glasses are the key to viewing your creations. Newer 3D glasses from movies and books may work, but older ones won't deliver the appropriate impact. In late August, Mission3D plans to launch a program to send cardboard glasses to individual friends and family members. That way, the sweet 3D pics you post to the Web or mail out as holiday cards won't remain unappreciated — and dizzyingly out of focus.
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