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Showing posts with label 3d. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3d. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
The News in Depth
My friends know me to be a person of great depth. I've always been enchanted by stereo-imagery, a.k.a. 3D. As I kid, I loved the View-Master, with those little round reels of eye-popping cartoon characters, TV shows, and (ugh!) scenic tourist attractions. I kept my View-Master and reels long after my sane friends had outgrown theirs. In fact, I have them still, and then some. I now cherish the once despised scenic reels.
Years later, I discovered that many hobbyists (more than I could count on my extremities, even taking my shoes off) were actually doing their own stereo-photography, using special cameras or two regular cameras plus some extra gadgets. I spent years scouring eBay for 50 year old, klunky, manual stereo cameras that cost more than my first car. There had been a stereo-photography fad in the 1960's, and many of these cameras were still in circulation. They had no auto-anything, and what's more, the commercial stereo slide making services had disappeared.
If I wanted to make stereo-slides to view, I had to have my film developed uncut and do it myself. Many an evening I spent hunched over a light box, cutting postage stamp sized film chips, carefully aligning them with fractions-of-millimeter precision, and then pulling my hand away, usually with the oh-so-carefully-placed film chip stuck to my fingers. Turns out you have to align the images very carefully, or some people whose eyes are not double-jointed get headaches and nausea.
Being a stereo-photographer was like being a Red Sox fan ... you had to be a bit of a masochist.
Then along came digital cameras and even ... gasp! ... digital stereo cameras! Fujifilm leads the pack with the FinePix REAL 3D W1 and W3 cameras. Completely automatic (with manual controls if you want 'em), and completely pocket size. It was more than a stereophile could have dreamed of. And a couple of other companies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon too.
And as if that weren't enough, there are now 3D capable HD TVs on the market. What an age!
And yet I am concerned. Apart from loosing the mystique of being the oddball stereo nut, I'm afraid 3D TV will open us up to yet more intrusive advertising. Can you imagine having your nose tweaked by that smug Geico gecko? Or having your living room filled with little floating animated Mucinex boogers? Or Michelin's adorable road-kill zombie critters? How about having that box of Depends thrust right in your face? Or being stuck in the midst of the sex-offending, indecently exposed Cialis couple in their lawn bathtubs? And that's not even considering the programs themselves!
3D TV? I'll look into it.
Years later, I discovered that many hobbyists (more than I could count on my extremities, even taking my shoes off) were actually doing their own stereo-photography, using special cameras or two regular cameras plus some extra gadgets. I spent years scouring eBay for 50 year old, klunky, manual stereo cameras that cost more than my first car. There had been a stereo-photography fad in the 1960's, and many of these cameras were still in circulation. They had no auto-anything, and what's more, the commercial stereo slide making services had disappeared.
If I wanted to make stereo-slides to view, I had to have my film developed uncut and do it myself. Many an evening I spent hunched over a light box, cutting postage stamp sized film chips, carefully aligning them with fractions-of-millimeter precision, and then pulling my hand away, usually with the oh-so-carefully-placed film chip stuck to my fingers. Turns out you have to align the images very carefully, or some people whose eyes are not double-jointed get headaches and nausea.
Being a stereo-photographer was like being a Red Sox fan ... you had to be a bit of a masochist.
Then along came digital cameras and even ... gasp! ... digital stereo cameras! Fujifilm leads the pack with the FinePix REAL 3D W1 and W3 cameras. Completely automatic (with manual controls if you want 'em), and completely pocket size. It was more than a stereophile could have dreamed of. And a couple of other companies seem to be jumping on the bandwagon too.
And as if that weren't enough, there are now 3D capable HD TVs on the market. What an age!
And yet I am concerned. Apart from loosing the mystique of being the oddball stereo nut, I'm afraid 3D TV will open us up to yet more intrusive advertising. Can you imagine having your nose tweaked by that smug Geico gecko? Or having your living room filled with little floating animated Mucinex boogers? Or Michelin's adorable road-kill zombie critters? How about having that box of Depends thrust right in your face? Or being stuck in the midst of the sex-offending, indecently exposed Cialis couple in their lawn bathtubs? And that's not even considering the programs themselves!
3D TV? I'll look into it.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Belated Valentine's Day Post
With Valentine's Day now safely behind us, it's time for the First (And Possibly Last) Annual Belated Valentine's Day Post. Rather the reciting the litany of loved ones, all of whom are dearer and more important to me than I can say, I'm going to write about technology I love.
In particular, there are two products that are currently my All Time Favorite Products ... this week, at least.
The first is a recumbent tricycle, better known as a 'bent trike. I started bike commuting a few years ago, and expanded that pursuit into more recreational riding. Once I started riding just for fun, I started thinking about less practical, but more fun human-powered vehicles. In researching this, I wound up borrowing a 'bent trike from some neighbors who just happened to have one sitting in their basement. It was an older model, but still very functional once I made a few adjustments.
Wow!
After a few short rides, I was completely hooked on this. The feeling is like sitting in a comfortable lounge chair, and yet being able to zoom around anywhere you want. You're still pedalling, and you still feel it when you're climbing hills, but even then, it's a complete pleasure. Let's face it ... a 150 to 250 pound person balancing 3 feet off the ground on two bike wheels, each about an inch wide, is just not that stable. Sure bikes are very efficient and practical, and once you learn to ride, you never forget. But I live in New England. What about snow? Ice? Wet leaves? The trike has no problem with any of these conditions. You just keep rolling.
After failing to pursuade my neighbors to part with their trike, I was forced to buy one. My particular trike is a TerraTrike Cruiser with the optional 26" wheel upgrade, but there are plenty of other models to explore. Unfortunately, it's hard to find places to try them out. Ask your neighbors!
The other item of technology that has endeared itself to me is formally known as the Fujifilm FinePix REAL 3D W1. Most users I know of just call it the 3D Fuji or the W1 or something. I've been taking stereo (3D) photos for over 15 years, but as film got scarcer and harder to process, the options were limited. Nobody made an actual digital 3D camera, and even with a rig cobbled from two separate cameras, it was difficult to get synchronized shots, and even more difficult to view them in 3D.
The W1 is not only a decent quality (10Mp per image) stereo camera, but it's extremely portable, and has a built-in 3D viewer on the back! That's right, you can see the 3D, without special glasses, right on the back of the camera. Ok, it's not immersive like, say, an IMAX screening of Avatar, but it's still pretty impressive. Since 3D requires a bit more care in composing the shot (objects that are too close or partly cut off cause problems), the viewer on the back provides a great way to quick-check the shots immediately, so you can re-shoot if necessary.
This is also the most compact 3D camera I've ever seen, and fits nicely in a shirt pocket. For an opportunistic photographer like me, it means I can have it with me at all times ... even when riding my trike!
I mention these products because I'm getting great pleasure from them. I paid full price for them, and have no relationship with the companies other than being a very satisfied customer.
See? I'm not such a curmudgeon!
In particular, there are two products that are currently my All Time Favorite Products ... this week, at least.
The first is a recumbent tricycle, better known as a 'bent trike. I started bike commuting a few years ago, and expanded that pursuit into more recreational riding. Once I started riding just for fun, I started thinking about less practical, but more fun human-powered vehicles. In researching this, I wound up borrowing a 'bent trike from some neighbors who just happened to have one sitting in their basement. It was an older model, but still very functional once I made a few adjustments.
Wow!
After a few short rides, I was completely hooked on this. The feeling is like sitting in a comfortable lounge chair, and yet being able to zoom around anywhere you want. You're still pedalling, and you still feel it when you're climbing hills, but even then, it's a complete pleasure. Let's face it ... a 150 to 250 pound person balancing 3 feet off the ground on two bike wheels, each about an inch wide, is just not that stable. Sure bikes are very efficient and practical, and once you learn to ride, you never forget. But I live in New England. What about snow? Ice? Wet leaves? The trike has no problem with any of these conditions. You just keep rolling.
After failing to pursuade my neighbors to part with their trike, I was forced to buy one. My particular trike is a TerraTrike Cruiser with the optional 26" wheel upgrade, but there are plenty of other models to explore. Unfortunately, it's hard to find places to try them out. Ask your neighbors!
The other item of technology that has endeared itself to me is formally known as the Fujifilm FinePix REAL 3D W1. Most users I know of just call it the 3D Fuji or the W1 or something. I've been taking stereo (3D) photos for over 15 years, but as film got scarcer and harder to process, the options were limited. Nobody made an actual digital 3D camera, and even with a rig cobbled from two separate cameras, it was difficult to get synchronized shots, and even more difficult to view them in 3D.
The W1 is not only a decent quality (10Mp per image) stereo camera, but it's extremely portable, and has a built-in 3D viewer on the back! That's right, you can see the 3D, without special glasses, right on the back of the camera. Ok, it's not immersive like, say, an IMAX screening of Avatar, but it's still pretty impressive. Since 3D requires a bit more care in composing the shot (objects that are too close or partly cut off cause problems), the viewer on the back provides a great way to quick-check the shots immediately, so you can re-shoot if necessary.
This is also the most compact 3D camera I've ever seen, and fits nicely in a shirt pocket. For an opportunistic photographer like me, it means I can have it with me at all times ... even when riding my trike!
I mention these products because I'm getting great pleasure from them. I paid full price for them, and have no relationship with the companies other than being a very satisfied customer.
See? I'm not such a curmudgeon!
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