You’d be forgiven if you thought [Nicholas Sherlock’s] new lens design was a macro lens that was 3D printed. In fact, it is, but it is also a macro lens that takes 3D images using two different cameras. If you have a pair of Sony E/FEs, you can 3D print your own copy today. If you don’t, you might have to adjust the design or wait for future releases. In any event, you are sure to enjoy the example photos, and there’s a video review of the device you can watch below.
The design merges two 4x microscope lenses to provide a 2X stereo image with a 5mm baseline. As you might expect, the secret is a prism in the assembly that allows one camera to shoot directly at the subject and the other to shoot with a 5mm offset. This is trickier than you might think because the cameras shift the image some, also.
If you have 3D glasses, you can see the result of a video on YouTube using the lens below, too. The method allows both lenses to point at a target without angling them, which reduces distortion. The design also allows for handheld shooting, which means you can go to the tiny subjects instead of bringing them into a studio.
We’ll admit, we don’t know you’d focus stack 3D images. If you’ll settle for 2D images, you can get buy with a lot less, of course.
Should put both regular and cross-eye 3D’s up to see, cross-eye doesn’t take any glasses to see.
The anaglyph video is actually YouTube’s doing. If you go to the project’s site (first link) there are side-by-side images, and if you’re on the right platform you can view the video in stereo using something like a VR headset or a phone with one of those weird cardboard goggle things.
So? Canon has had a VR lens for years now that is far superior.
You are aware what site you’re on, right? “Why build it, you can already buy it” is about the silliest thing to say around here. The Canon dual RF lens is $1800 USD.
To add to my comment: also, the Canon isn’t a damn macro lens, so they aren’t even equivalent.
I always thought it would be cool to shoot video with 3D macro lenses to, say, be an ant crawling around a colony and watch the movie in VR or in a 3D theater with glasses.
The resulting pictures look nice, but this looks like such an impossibly clumsy contraption and requires you to own 2 cameras.
Surely you can do this in an easier manner, and with one camera, I mean especially if you shoot static onjects you can just shift the lens a bit, so how about a servo/actuator that rotates or flips a mirror or prism assembly a bit to quickly take two shots from diffetrent angles for instance.
On a tripod, sure, but this is specifically designed to be shot handheld and of living moving subjects. At 2x magnification the field of view is only 18x12mm.
Any system based on taking two sequential shots is too slow, because your lens position will drift enough due to hand shake to be useless by the time the shutter recycles.
Taking the shots simultaneously with two cameras allows for a single flash shot to perfectly sync the two exposures, ensuring that they happen at the same physical location.
Today’s digital optical sensors are very capable of capturing two very clear images on a single frame.
So why use two cameras! You can do it all in the optics. just like it was done on film in the 1800’s.
I going to test your excelent project. Lenses and prism already ordered. Problem is that I have two Z-cam cameras with Canon EF mount. Is it possible to get projest for Canon EF. I’m raedy to pay for it.