Stereo image to single image and depth map

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I just wrote about doing this as a comment about the new light-field lens, but can't post images there, so here's a quickie version with images...

The comment:

One other thing you can do (for less money) is take a stereo image (Stereo camera or Stereo Lens or two cameras close together) and software convert that to have a depth map (plus one of the original images). Haven't tried the result in Photoshop though, one for later perhaps (maybe the depth map will need inverting, or can PS be told which way is closer?).

I've done this with a Fuji W3 3D camera to make 3D images for Facebook (which annoyingly, at least when I was experimenting, didn't accept actual 3D images), but you could combine two cameras on a mount to do it with bigger sensors (the software can auto-align them to take out small mechanical differences).
Obviously works best with deep DoF, so small sensors or stopped down lenses.

Details:
http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/stphmkr/makedm/index.html
(Although I think it's perhaps better to get DMag 5 and 9b from the original page than the archive provided by the author of the above page, as they are more recent.)

(ends)

This is literally the first image I ran across that I thought might look okay, so whizzed it through the software (it's like 5-ish clicks once DMag is installed)...

3D Image (.JPS renamed to .JPG):

2D image:

Depth map:

Red/Cyan version, for those with glasses...

Yellow/Blue:

threed123 wrote:

Whenever I am out with my digital camera without my 3D cameras (I also have two stereo cameras, the W3 and the Panasonic 3D1 pocket camera), I use the cha-cha (body shift left, then shift right) method to create a left/right eye images. And then use those two images in Stereomaker to create a stereo image, whether printed SBS or a digital MPO file for my 3D monitor or TV. No reason to create depth maps regardless of camera then. I suppose if you have a 2D image that would look great in 3D, then going through the depth-map process would be worth it. My point, why go through the depth-map process with a stereo image to make a printable SBS image, when you can print a SBS image from a stereo image in Stereomaker without a depth map. Or am I missing what you are trying to do?

My comment was originally to the article on the launch of the K-Lens, suggesting another possible approach, for less money.

Specific use cases of that lens were said to include loading a 2D image and Depth map into Photoshop and doing all sorts of masking, DoF adjusting, Focus point adjusting, etc.

For example it's much easier to mask fuzzy subjects with a depth map. Also if you want the sky darker - select on great distance, etc.

From the article:
"The lens is able to record a grid of images that contain information about the relative distance of different objects in the scene. This information can then be used in post-processing to adjust the focus point in the scene, as well as to easily mask different areas to alter the brightness and colors of different layers in the scene."
https://www.dpreview.com/news/9729848884/hands-on-with-the-k-lens-a-light-field-lens-that-captures-3d-data-for-post-capture-refocusing