Dollar $tore $t£r€0gRā₽h¥ #10- On Camera Lens Hacks for Digital Stereo

Posted on by Mad Shifty

 

This one was a BIG EPISODE. THERE ARE 17(ish) PROJECTS IN TOTAL… The main episode is embedded first, but I made many supplimentary video and image posts to demonstrate the multitude of different projects I included in this episode. Here they are in order of mention and demonstration.

THIS IS THE MAIN PROJECT VIDEO POST
  1. CLIP ON BEAMSPLITTER LENS (MIRROR TYPE)- For Single Lens Smartphones
  2. CLIP ON SMARTPHONE LENSES- For Stereo Smartphones and even Stereo Point & Shoots like the Fuji W series or Panasonic Lumix, etc
  3. DOUBLE MIRROR RIG- For Single Lens Smartphones to utilize Front & Rear facing cameras Simultaneously with the aid of an app. I made each side of the rig out of two 45° corners (used for shipping framed pictures of glass), taped together with craft mirrors taped at the top.
  4. LENS BALLS CONFIGURATIONS (STEREO BALLS)- For Single Lens Smartphones, can do Stereoball set up or Multiball!
  5. LINEAR POLARIZED LENS FILTERS- For Stereo Smartphones or Stereo Point & Shoots, for capturing polarized images in stereo like Vectographs, Stereojets, Polarized 3D Movies or Polarized Shadowgraphs, special effects stereos, etc..
  6. PRISMS- CHANDELIER PRISMS WERE USED For Single Lens Smartphones, or also stereo smartphones & point & shoots. use a prism to split image capture into multiple vantage points 
  7. MASKS- For Single Lens Smartphones when taking hyperstereos or to mask areas in Stereo Smartphones/Point & Shoots to minimize editing in post 
  8. 4 LENS MULTI RIG- For 2 ANDROID Stereo Smartphones with a Splitter & Selfie Stick
  9. MULTIRIGGING WITH SOUND ACTIVATED SHUTTER APPS- For multiple Single Lens or Stereo Smartphones. Download a Sound Activated Shuttering App on all phones you want to multi rig to fire simultaneously using a loud sound
  10. MULTIRIGGING WITH REMOTE SHUTTER- For ANDROID Single Lens or Stereo Smartphones (I’ve only ever successfully done this with Android phones)
  11. TWINRIGGING/MULTIRIGGING VIA FINGER SYNCING- TWINRIG 2 Single Lens Smartphones or 2 Stereo Smartphones and Finger Sync the Shutters
  12. X PRISM BEAM COMBINER- Use 1 For Single Lens Cha Chas or 2 For Stereo Smartphones & Stereo Point & Shoots- The X Prism acts as a beam splitter AND a beam combiner and will produce a 3 vantage point RGB Differential light effect
  13. DOUBLE RHOMBUS PRISM BASELINE EXTENDER / REDUCER- For Stereo Smartphones & Point & Shoots. TWO Configurations can be achieved from the prisms pictured
  14. DOUBLE RHOMBUS PRISM BEAMSPLITTER- For Single Lens Smartphones- The same prism set can be configured to form a beamsplitter to mount on Single Lens Smartphones
  15. CLOSEUP LENS/ MAGNIFIER- For Single Lens Smartphone Cha Chas or Stereo Smartphones
  16. DIY FILTERS & SPECIAL LENS EFFECTS- For Single Lens or Stereo Smartphones or Point & Shoots- Practically ANY sort of transparent or translucent material can be used to shoot special effects images and video
  17. WASHER MOUNTS FOR DIY FILTERS & SPECIAL EFFECT LENSES- For Single Lens Smartphones & Stereo Smartphones & Point & Shoots. Mount your optical “DIY FILTERS” On Washers with openings wide enough to cover your lenses for clean and easy DIY SPECIAL EFFECT FILTERS that are neat and easy to use.

1-CLIP ON BEAMSPLITTER LENS (MIRROR TYPE)

There are a variety of mirror type beamsplitters for smartphones, with qualities ranging from so-so to top of the line. I have gotten perfectly adequate smartphone stereos from a mirror beamsplitter, but I DO prefer prism splits because the lens size on a smartphone is so small.

2-CLIP ON SMARTPHONE LENSES

Any pairs of clip on lenses can be used- for either single lens Cha Chas with smartphones or pairs for stereo smartphones and point & shoots. Make sure your lenses are identical if using a pair for stereocamera/phone shooting. Above: Apair of fisheye lenses are clipped on an LG Thrill to create a VR type capture. The 2nd & 3rd pic show captures with a kaleidescope prism lens and a macro lens.

3-DOUBLE MIRROR RIG- for Synchronous Capture from Front & Rear Cameras

For this project I used my iphone 6. There are quite a few apps that allow simultaneous camera capture which records as a split screen, the app I used for my model phone was called “Double Camera”

DOUBLE MIRROR RIG FOR SYNCHRONOUS SHOOTING FROM FRONT & REAR CAMERAS ON AN IPHONE (6) IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN APP THAT ALLOWS SIMULTANEOUS FRONT & REAR CAMERA CAPTURING OF STILLS & VIDEO

Of course, post editing will be necessary since the front and rear cameras have 2 different lenses, but most stereo workflows require post editing anyway. The extra step in the workflow is minimal, it just requires enlarging and cropping the smaller of the two image captures before alignment which can be done before bringing into a stereo editing program like i3D steroid.

These are images made with my very first DOUBLE MIRROR RIG, made with a pair of green acrylic mirrors taped to a rubber band 😂 the captures of course, were green, so I made them into B/W images in post.

I’ve been asked specifically about the construction of this rig, I’ve used 4 corner guards for packing/shipping artwork or glass, these can be found at packing and office supply stores like UPS and Staples, etc. I tape 2 together in a rhombus configuration and tape the mirror on top, and use tape to secure each piece to either side of my phone. Afterwards, I can break it down and even use the corners to store the mirrors in safely for travel, I can store it in my pocket.

4- LINEAR POLARIZED LENSES

I cut a pair of paper glasses with linear polarized lenses, like those sold at American Paper Optics for this project. As you can see in the video, different placements of the lenses result in either orthoscopic or pseudoscopic stereo results.

It is recommended to mark the front, back, top and bottom of the glasses when cutting out for stereo shooting as in time they will get disorganized and it will be difficult to judge the ACTUAL direction of the lenses.

This =👀 SBS video perfectly illustrates how polarized lenses can be used to capture polarized stereo imagery IN stereo AS TO SEPERATE linear polarized imagery into TWO stereo images

5- LENS BALL CONFIGURATIONS

STEREO BALLS- SINGLE LENS SMARTPHONE VIDEO AND STILLS CAN BE SHOT “THROUGH” ACRYLIC BALLS TO CAPTURE STEREO OR MULTISCOPIC FISHEYE IMAGES. POST EDITING IS REQUIRED, IMAGES APPEAR UPSIDEDOWN THROUGH THE BALLS.

6- PRISMS

A couple of snapshots using a 5 sided pyramid type chandelier prism as seen in the video and also a triangle prism
The last two stereos above were shot through this triangular prism, laying the flat end over the lens with the top triangle vertex over the lens.

7- MASKS

Masking off an area of potential trouble such as in hyperstereo Cha Cha situations or any time you can use masks for easier post editing is a smart idea that is easy enough do do by mounting or holding up a piece of card over the area you do not wish to capture. Sharp or fuzzy gradated edges can be achieved by positioning card farther away or closer to the taking lens(es)

8- 4 LENS MULTIRIG FROM 2 STEREO SMARTPHONES

2 ANDROID Stereo Smartphones (I use two LG THRILLS) can be twinrigged in your desired configuration and shuttered simultaneously with a SPLITTER designed to operate video on two phones simultaneously. I have mine hooked up to a selfie stick and operate the shutter on both stereo cameras by pushing a single button. additional post editing is needed due to up/down camera config but this is minimal.

I would also like to add that my good friend Hiroshi Yoshinaga in Japan has created a 4 lens multi rig using two canon DSLR cameras fitted with a pair of Loreo brand beamsplitter lenses and creates very high quality 4 image multi’s which he animates for wiggle gifs. Please check out his account HERE https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnmY_WPDrEN/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

9- MULTIRIGGING ANY TYPE OF SMARTPHONES USING THE AID OF A SOUND ACTIVATED SHUTTERING APP

There are an ENORMOUS variety of sound activated shuttering apps which can be downloaded for any type and model of smartphone. When your smartphone is actively running the app, any sound with a loud enough decibel level, such as a loud sharp handclap, will trigger the shutter on all phones within earshot that are running the apps. You can trigger any number of phones, even those of different brands and models, with a sound triggering app running. The shuttering may not be as exact as something like gen locking, but it may be exact enough for many purposes.. experiment around until you find something suitable 🙂

10- MULTIRIGGING ANDROID SMARTPHONES USING A REMOTE SHUTTER

I only suggest using a remote shutter for MULTIRIGGING ANDROID SMARTPHONES as I have never successfully used a remote shutter for multiple iphones

11- TWINRIGGING OR MULTIRIGGING VIA FINGER SYNCING

Finger syncing is a tried and true method for capturing stereos with two cameras and is a technique that has been used by stereographers for the entire history of twinning. Fingersync two cameras or smartphones for a stereo photo pair, fingersync two stereo cameras or stereo smartphones (or even regular smartphones or cameras with a beam splitting lens) for multiple image captures.

12- X PRISM BEAM SPLITTER/COMBINER

These can be purchased from me (send me a DM on Instagram as my 3D Shop is currently closed but I still have a few in stock) or online easily as they are a very popular trend. Simply place one over you lens(es) and capture some magical images! Be CAREFUL they are EXTREMELY SHARP

Stereo Stills shot through an X PRISM.

13- DOUBLE RHOMBUS PRISM BASELINE EXTENDER / REDUCER

=👀 SBS Stereo video demonstrating the BASELINE EXTENDER that can me made from two pair of 90° prisms. Two types of rhombus configurations can be made allowing for a larger or smaller baseline extension/reduction. These same two prism pairs can be used as a single lens beamsplitter as well, see the project below
Two different rhombus configurations can be made from these particular prisms.

14- DOUBLE RHOMBUS PRISM BEAMSPLITTER

The same two pairs of 90° prisms can be used together as a prism beamsplitter for a single lens smartphone. These particular prisms allowed for two different baseline configurations!

15- CLOSE UP LENS/MAGNIFIER

Magnifying lenses of any sort can be used, such as a traditional handheld looking glass or a fresnel sheet

16- DIY FILTERS & SPECIAL LENS EFFECTS

Practically any transparent/translucent material can be used as a potential DIY filter. You can experiment with plastics, fabrics, reflective materials. You can use lenses from glasses, optical materials, shoot through tubes for heyhole effects, there is simply no end to what you can experiment with so have fun and play around

UPCYCLED OPTICAL FILTERS (POLARIZED LIGHT DIRECTIONAL MATERIAL CUT)

17- WASHER MOUNTS

If you do find a material that you particularly like, and it’s something that you want to mount onto a smartphone lens or point & shoot lens more easily, try mounting the material onto a washer. You can buy them in variety packs at most dollar stores and just make sure the hole is wide enough to completely allow the lens to show through, then you can take your material and glue around the edges and make a more professional and easy to use filter.

You can make your filters professional looking and easy to use by mounting material onto common washers

AND THATS THE END OF $$$#10 ON CAMERA LENS HACKS FOR DIGITAL STEREO- IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, DM ME ON INSTAGRAM @parkitlikeitshot

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST! -ilicia

LENS AND FILTER ATTACHMENTS USING LEGO PIECES- SEE $$$#9 LEGO MY EVERYTHING