Moving in stereo

July 11, 2013 10:42 PM

Stereophoto maker lets you make anaglyphs and stereo animated gifs, like these. (You can control the point of focus with your mouse in the flash versions.) Instructions for making it work on a Mac.
posted by klangklangston (8 comments total)

"control the point of focus" is a bit misleading, especially for those who aren't familiar with stereophotography. It is NOT changing the focus like the Lytro camera, rather it is where the "stereo window plane" is located when viewed in wiggle mode
posted by Sophont at 11:23 PM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

Now I'm going to have to tear my house up looking for my red and blue 3D glasses.
posted by double block and bleed at 11:29 PM on July 11, 2013

Um...The "these" and "Instructions for making it work on a Mac" links are the same.

These are really well-made anaglyphs. Fantastic depth. The only bugaboo I have about color anaglyph images is that the use of the red/blue glasses pretty much fucks-up the true colors. It all becomes a sort of generic "color".
posted by Thorzdad at 5:10 AM on July 12, 2013

Mod note: fixed the link, carry on
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:12 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Stereo Photo Maker is an indispensable tool for 3D photographers of any proficiency. I lean on Photoshop for most of my stereo photo editing tasks, but I'm still compelled to fire up Parallels on my Mac so that I can exploit SPM's astonishing auto-align command (a necessity with two or more cameras). Many stereographers ignore Photoshop entirely and use SPM for all of their aligning and editing tasks.

The fact that Stereo Photo Maker is free software elevates it even higher. It beats all other desktop 3D photography programs in features, yet is available to every 3D DIY enthusiast. If Adobe marketed a comparable application, the student version would cost $599.

Sadly, the best "intro" camera that can completely exploit SPM out of the box, Fujifilm's flawed but fun digital FinePix REAL 3D W3, is on the eve of discontinuation. Grab one while they're cheap.
http://finepix.com/3d/en/index.html

(Fuji's own 3D photo editing software, included with the W3, is a useless, broken disaster.)

Masuji Suto's 3D programs are a gift to anyone who has experimented with two offset snapshots and discovered the magnificent illusionary universe of depth that lies within.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:44 AM on July 12, 2013

If you use WINE, you can avoid parallels and use SPM in the same workspace.

I use PS for my curves, etc. but do all the alignment in SPM. I found SPM because MeFite ljshapiro sol me the Loreo they weren't using, and I wanted a way to enjoy the images and share them without having the physical prints and viewer present.

What kind of setup are you using to take the initial photos? Like, two shots slightly offset?
posted by klangklangston at 9:52 AM on July 12, 2013

Two shots slightly offset is ideal for landscapes and still-lifes. Everyone reading this thread should now snap two photos with your smartphone, pointed at the same subject but offset about two and a half inches, and drop them into Stereo Photo Maker. The effect can be startling. Synchronized cameras are another option, as is film if you're into that sort of thing.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:45 AM on July 12, 2013

Yeah, like I said, I shoot them with film. this is a roll from the Loreo, translated with Stereophoto maker.

I was just curious about how to best get the shot, as I was worried about vertical offset away from the picture plane, but since that happens a little with the Loreo, I guess it's not a huge concern.
posted by klangklangston at 12:23 PM on July 12, 2013