Category Archives: 3D Tech

3D, 3D Tech, Virtual Reality 360

Virtual Reality Contact Lenses 

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Contact lenses that enhance normal vision with megapixel 3D panoramic images are being designed by scientists using military funding.

….

Innovega’s contact lenses could effectively generate displays with a screen size “equivalent to a 240-inch television, viewed at a distance of 10 feet.”

Moreover, by projecting slightly different pictures to each eye, the display can generate the illusion of 3D. “You get full 3D, full HD, fully panoramic images,” Willey said.

Although some might balk at using contact lenses, “100 million people already do, including 20 percent of the key target group of 18- to 34-year-olds, those involved in gaming and using smartphones,”

Source: Virtual Reality Contact Lenses Could Be Available by 2014

Eliminates the VR helmet and 3D glasses, apparently.

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3D, 3D Tech, Virtual Reality 360

iPhone app and 3D glasses for converting 2D video into 3D effect

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Creator says they have a new secret sauce for 2D to 3D conversion, and when used on your iPhone with their glasses, will add a 3D effect to your existing 2D videos.

But of course, the obligatory 3D quote:

Remember 3D TV? It flopped. Turns out nobody wants to wear silly glasses while watching prime-time sitcoms. Who woulda thunk?

Source: These $50 Glasses Bring Anything On Your Phone To Life In 3D | Co.Design | business + design

Of course, the same author thinks VR helmets are cool but then also said that “people in VR look dorky“.

I do not understand this bias – ordinary glasses used in 3D are  called “silly” or “goggles”- yet Virtual Reality helmets are not a problem at all. If 3D died because of “silly” “goggles”, then VR is dead on arrival due to having to wear helmet headsets!

In the real world, 3D died not because of glasses but because there was almost no 3D content for consumers to watch on their new 3D TVs. But for some reason, the media perpetuate the myth about “3D goggles” halting 3D sales. (Meanwhile, cinema 3D, which also requires glasses, continues to thrive…. hmmmm.)

3D, 3D Tech, Cameras, Software, Technical

Using 2 cameras to create fake narrow depth of field images

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Small sensor cameras – such as smart phones and point and shoot cameras – are unable to create significant blurring of the background or foreground. Narrow depth of field is mostly limited to large sensor cameras – or to long telephoto shots.

But, two camera sensors may be used to measure depth in the scene. One camera is used for the actual photo and the second for depth. Parallax, or the difference between the two camera images, varies by distance to the subject. This information is used to blur the original image based on distance to the subject. (Blurring is done by averaging local pixels together using a simple average or a weighted average.)

This means that software creates the narrow depth of field effect, rather than large sensors and expensive lenses.

The HTC One M8 smart phone has this feature today. The linked article gives examples of how this works, in practice. Take a look at their sample photos!

We compare the HTC One M8 camera with a Fuji X-M1 to see what its bokeh-style effects are really like.

Source: HTC One M8 Camera vs A Proper Camera: Fake Bokeh On Trial

Note that if the cameras are very close together, as is typical on a smart phone, the ability to accurate measure distance a long ways from the camera is greatly diminished. Image resolution and interaxial spacing both impact the capability of this feature.

Rumors are that the iPhone 7 will feature dual cameras for the same reason – to create narrow depth of field photos using tiny sensor cameras built in to the phone.

Currently, the best narrow depth of field comes from DSLR full frame cameras and expensive, large aperture lenses.

But post processing software is eliminating many advantages of the full size cameras. Modern post processing noise reduction enables many small sensor cameras to perform more like their big cousins in low light. And now, with dual cameras and depth processing, little cameras may soon deliver narrow depth of field at lower cost than the big guns.

This should be worrisome to the DSLR makers. Particularly as increasing numbers of shooters would prefer to travel light – and not have to carry big camera bodies and heavy lenses.

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3D, 3D Tech, Business

Samsung said to not include 3D on 2016 TV models

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Samsung continues to sell prior years models that include 3D but their newest TVs,
introduced for 2016, are said to not include 3D:

According to data from the NPD Group, 3D TVs have accounted for a diminishing share of US flat-panel TV sales every year since 2012, and the same goes for 3D-compatible Blu-ray players compared with 2D-only models. 3D TVs fell from 23 percent to 16 percent in that period, and 3D players from 40 percent to 25 percent.

“In terms of purchase motivators, I think 3D is pretty low on the list at this point,” said NPD analyst Ben Arnold. “There was a lot of interest in the feature from consumers early on, but most reports were the experience was not worth the hassle of wearing 3D glasses or finding content.”

Source: With a bullet to the head from Samsung, 3D TV is now deader than ever – CNET

The lack of 3D content is THE problem. With Youtube killing off their multi-format 3D player, there went the crowd created content too. VR headset “helmets” will provide 3D viewing capabilities but doubt that one will wear one of those helmets to watch a 3D movie.

With so much dreariness on 3D TV, I am now shooting 2D: 2D stills and 4K video in 2D, but still shooting 3D still photography. Phereo.com remains the best place for sharing your 3D still photos with others.