Ways To Sync Two Compact Cameras?

[hdr]

Hi, does anyone know of ways to modify the innards of two compact cameras to make them synched for shooting 3D pairs?

Since these cameras are now a dime a dozen, I am all fired up with enthusiasm to do it but lack the expertise. I intend to mount the two cameras side-by-side on a straight bar created from a sawn angle-bracket. Any good source for such projects?

My main interest is to hunt for a pair of widest-angled compact cameras with the closest focussing distance. (The W3 or 3D1, etc will not meet my requirements).

 

[bishopwill]

If you haven't bought anything yet I would suggest checking out the CHDK firmware for Canon cameras. Using the firmware lets you attach a shutter release chained to the two cameras so they can fire at the same time. You just have to make sure the camera you are looking at is supported by CHDK. I made my shutter release with a couple of mini USB cables, a keychain flashlight from Dollar Tree and about 15 minutes of my time. It would have taken less time but I had the wrong size wire strippers. You can check out a video here

on how someone else made theirs. You can fire the shutter release on a single press, but I use the double press - you press and hold it and the cameras auto focus, then release and press again within a half second of releasing it and both cameras will fire. This eliminates/minimizes any lag between them firing.

I think this is a cheaper/easier solution than tearing the cameras apart.

 

[hdr]

bishopwill wrote:

... I think this is a cheaper/easier solution than tearing the cameras apart.

Thank you very much for your good suggestion. I absolutely appreciate it and lapped it all up.

Thanks again.

 

[3dreal]

Based on CHKD there is SDM-stereodatamaker. go to yahoo-techgroup stereodatamaker. newest sdm186 -with a lot of novelties-is in the final stage. be aware, nearest base can only be achieved by mouting the camera vertically. by mounting side by side(one camera upside down with zbar) one can get smallest base for horizontally oriented cams. AND: cmos-cameras have a rolling-shutter-problem.

ccd-cams are adviced. that means older cams.

be aware before deciding which camera you use. smaller sensor=larger Depth-of-field. largest is 1/1.7.

smaller sensor of SDM-cams is 1:2.3

photosynch is perfect, with some newer and older cameras and some inofficals sd186 versions there were flash-synchproblems.

i would wait a bit until final sd186 is out, maybe these days. testings, adjustings are under way by the developpers.

 

[hdr]

Thank you, 3D, for all the good tips.

If only some camera maker will come out with an

ultra-wide-angle and close-focussing 3D camera, that would be wonderful, since then we would not need to spend all our time doing all those complicated projects instead of spending the time on the photography.

 

[3dreal]

someone on photo3d(yahoo-tech-groups) has a prism-solution for fuji w3 to take closeups. small base than cyclopital-adapter. 16mm base.

have seen a solution to add +2 closeuplens over two lenses of 3dmagic-cameras. will try it out asap.

or get loreo-macro-lens.

 

[3dreal]

A simple and cheap hardware-configuration is being setup to get perfect (1/7000) videosynch for Stereodatamaker-cameras.

 

[threed123]

I don't get the comment about the 3D1 or W3 not being capable for up close shots or maybe I misunderstood. Here are two W3 shots, and yes I had to use stereomaker to change the separation so that your eyes wouldn't bug out, but you would have to do that anyway with two synced cameras, and the W3 and 3D1 are pretty cheap now. These are anaglyphs: The ducks pic is one of my all time favorites.



http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/bob432_photos/Ducks.jpg

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/oo266/bob432_photos/butterfly.jpg

 

[hdr]

threed123 wrote:

... I don't get the comment about the 3D1 or W3 not being capable for up close shots or maybe I misunderstood...

Both the W3 and 3D1 can do nice close ups in macro (the W3 with zoom).

But in scene mode, the 3D1's stereo base is insufficient for good depth effect. The W3 is excellent for scene shots, but for artistic shots with the near object very close, it would have obstructed the far objects and background. not to mention that there is a limit to how close the focus can be. Wide-angle and close-focussing lenses will make such shots easier to create.

 

[3dreal]

cyclopital3d has macro-attachments for fuji w3. digi-dat. has a macrobox for s95-cameras and s90.

pierre meindre at yahoo-tech group photo3d has shown a solution/instructions where he can shoot even closer with w3.

 

[hdr]

3dreal wrote:

... pierre meindre at yahoo-tech group photo3d has shown a solution/instructions where he can shoot even closer with w3...

Thank you. Will appreciate if you could show the thread link at Yahoo Tech Group.

 

[3dreal]

I would go there and login to all three photo3d, fuji3d, stereodatamaker-yahoo-tech-groups. ther is also 3dtv.

 

[hdr]

3dreal wrote:

I would go there and login to all three photo3d, fuji3d, stereodatamaker-yahoo-tech-groups. ther is also 3dtv

Been there already earlier, then spent the whole morning searching. Any idea what technique they used for close-focussing?

 

[3dreal]

Forums are for asking....

google: silvain weiller fuji 3d macro

 

[3dreal]

http://sweiller.free.fr/FUJI-W3-3D/Base(W3W1)/FujiW3BPS.PDF

Loading…

groups.yahoo.com