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jfizer
New Participant
May 8, 2013

Stereoscopic photography and image viewing.

  • May 8, 2013
  • 12 replies
  • 12968 views
Just wondering if this has been discussed so far.

Many years ago (90s) I worked with stereoscopic LCD shutter glasses and stereo pair images, both computer generated and photos. My initial development plan is to make an image viewing app for the Oculus Rift, where large resolution images (and image pairs) can be loaded and viewed by tilting the head and looking around (to get around the low resolution display in the Rift, images will be loaded at a 1 to 1 pixel ratio and the viewer can move their head around to see the full image).

It seems to me like there would be an obvious linkage between the Oculus products and stereoscopic photography, so a discussion of hardware and techniques could be interesting.

What I've been using is a Pentax digital SLR camera with a prism lens to split a single image into a stereo pair.

This works, but it has a fixed interocular distance so there is no control over the depth of field (the image viewer I am working on will allow you to shift an image pair left & right to manipulate the distance between them).

I've been thinking of getting a dual camera rig, but that gets expensive.

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    zenman53186
    Participant
    September 24, 2017
    I am posting this because I had searched for a stereoscope image view for the Oculus since I purchased it, and didn't find a single thread that explained how this could be done. There seem to be a lot of people looking for such a viewer, but those threads always have concluded that no one cares enough to make it possible.

    There are two ways to view stereoscopic images on the Oculus. Neither is perfect and both required some minor effort, but both get the job done.

    First Method: The advantage of this method is that the tool interfacing with the Oculus is the Virtual Desktop tool, and does all the work. The stereo image display tool doesn't need to be aware of the Oculus. This method also includes head-tracking so you can look up, down, side to side on your image. Virtual Desktop allows you to increase or decrease the size of your virtual screen, and thus the size of the stereo image.

    Tools: Virtual Desktop (http://steampowered.com/ ), StereoPhotoMaker64 (http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/index.html )

    1. The Virtual Desktop from Steam allows you to view stereo images in Oculus as long as the image is displayed full screen. The tool has commands to allow you to see a variety of stereo formats: Full SBS, Half SBS, Over Under, SBS direct, etc (these commands are in the "3D Options" menu on the "Settings" tab). The common JPEG stereoscopic image format (.jps extension) is a Half SBS format. You can view any side-by-side stereo image by displaying it full screen, then hitting the F6 key (Half SBS) to see it in stereo in Oculus.

    2. StereoPhotoMaker64 is a great stereo photo manipulation tool, and displays stereo images in full screen. This is only one of many image display tools that does this; any image display tool that displays the image full screen can then be seen in Oculus using Virtual Desktop. However, StereoPhotoMaker64 has functions that allow you to manipulate the stereo image for easier viewing depending on your needs (modify stereo separation, swap left-to-right, etc) which makes it convenient when viewing stereo images.

    3. So the approach to use is:
    - Bring up Virtual Desktop, and put on your Oculus.
    - Bring up StereoPhotoMaker64 (or any other image display tool). Display the image full screen.
    - Select the Virtual Deskop tool, and press the appropriate key for the image format (i.e. F6 for Half-SBS).

    Second Method: This method uses a dedicated stereo viewing tool that works with the Oculus, and so it is a little easier to use. However, it does not include headtracking (as far as I could determine), so the image shows directly in front of you and moves when you move  your head.

    Tools: Steam VR Oculus interface (http://www.steampowered.com/ ), sView Stereo Image Viewer (http://www.sview.ru/ )

    1. Steam has a VR interface that works with Oculus. Many of the Steam VR applications will automatically bring up this interface when you run the app. You'll need to download and install the SteamVR app to get this interface. It supports the "Open VR" standard.

    2. sView is a tool that has been around for a while. It currently has support for the "Open VR" standard which means that it works with the SteamVR Oculus interface.

    3. So the approach to use is:
    - Bring up sView. Using the "File" command to choose your image. Hit the FullScreen button to display it in full screen (you won't see it in Oculus unless it is in FullScreen). Put on your Oculus and view the image.

    Another tool that has been promoted for viewing stereo images with Oculus is the VR Player tool. Unfortunately, Norton AntiVirus flags this tool as a Threat and automatically removes it due to it falling under a "WS.Reputation.1" category (which means that while it doesn't show a specific threat, there have been complaints from the Norton community about the file). This means that I haven't used the tool (since I run Norton Antivirus).
    qasim182962
    New Participant
    December 15, 2023

    Stereoscopic photography and image viewing represent a captivating dimension in the realm of visual experiences. Oakville Stereoscopic photography involves capturing two slightly offset images to create a three-dimensional effect when viewed together. This technique mimics the way human eyes perceive depth, providing a more immersive and realistic visual encounter. The resulting images, commonly known as stereograms or 3D images, require specialized viewing methods, such as stereoscopes or 3D glasses, to merge the two perspectives seamlessly. Stereoscopic technology has evolved over the years, finding applications in fields like entertainment, education, and even medical imaging

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