{"id":45,"date":"2012-10-17T17:36:41","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T17:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vicgi.com\/blog\/?p=45"},"modified":"2021-11-18T20:01:21","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T20:01:21","slug":"the-optimum-lateral-displacement-for-stereo-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vicgi.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/17\/the-optimum-lateral-displacement-for-stereo-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"The optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

The optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography<\/h1>\n

By
Isaac Cheung
Co-founder of vicgi.com<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

When taking the stereo pairs<\/a> for 3D photography or lenticular printing the normal procedure is to take the first picture to simulate the image to be seen by the left eye, and then move the camera sideways to the right to take another picture for the right eye.\u00a0 The amount of lateral displacement, i.e. how much the camera moves to the right, is an independent variable<\/a> that one can control.\u00a0 The final depth in a stereo image will be the function<\/a> of this displacement.\u00a0 The more the camera moves to the right, the deeper the depth, and vice versa.\u00a0 In this paper, we try to define the maximum displacement, also called maximum parallax<\/a> or the maximum stereo base, for a 3D image that is pleasant to be viewed.<\/p>\n

Comfort reading distance<\/h2>\n
\"reading<\/a>
Figure 1. Most Comfortable Reading Distance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When a person reads, the most comfortable reading distance is about 30cm (11.8″).\u00a0 At this distance, the ciliary muscles<\/a> of the eyes are at their most relaxed state.\u00a0 Since the distance between two eyes is about 6.5cm (2.6″), from Figure 2 below we can deduct that the angle of view \u03b1 will be<\/p>\n

\u03b1 = 2.tan-1<\/sup>(65\u00f72\/300) = 12.37o<\/sup> \u2245 12o<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"optimum<\/a>
Figure 2 Optimum Parallax<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Optimum Parallax<\/h2>\n

Since stereo photography has been around for some time, many empirical formulas have been proposed; the Golden Rules of Stereo Photography<\/a>, for example. Free software such as StereoBase<\/a> can also be used to calculate camera shifts.<\/p>\n

But based on the 12o<\/sup> deduction we had above and our experience, the maximum parallax should not create an angle of view greater than\u00a012o<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

When we view a far object the viewing angle will be small and the 3D effect will be less. For example, we know that the sun and the moon are spheres but they look like a disc to us instead because the viewing angle is practically zero. \u00a0On the other hand, when we view closer objects the viewing angle will be big and the 3D effect will be strong. \u00a0But when the viewing distance is less than 30cm we will need to cross our eyes and that will create dizziness when we focus too long.<\/p>\n

Based on this fact, the optimum parallax or stereo base should always create a viewing angle between 0o<\/sup> and 12o<\/sup>. When shooting far away objects such as a mountain the stereo base can be as big as a few meters. \u00a0When shooting close-up objects such as an inset then the stereo base can just be as little as a few millimeters.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography ByIsaac CheungCo-founder of vicgi.com Introduction When taking the stereo pairs for 3D photography or lenticular printing the normal procedure is to take the first picture to simulate the image to be seen by the left eye, and then move the camera sideways to the right to take another…<\/p>\n

Read More “The optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lenticular-printing"],"yoast_head":"\nThe optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography - Lenticular Printing for the beginners and the veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vicgi.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/17\/the-optimum-lateral-displacement-for-stereo-photography\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The optimum lateral displacement for stereo photography - 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