Source Photographs

You don't need a special camera, you can use an ordinary one or even a phone. Take two photographs of the same subject, one for the left-hand image and after moving the camera slightly to the right (about 10cm), another for the right-hand image. Choose a subject that won't move between photos. It is difficult to get the spacing just right, and it is good to be able to choose how strong the 3D effect is, so it is best to take 3-5 photos at various spacings. Always take them in sequence from left to right so you don't get mixed up. When you have loaded them onto your PC, rename them with the same filename followed by a single digit number. You must keep the left to right sequence, for example:

DSCN0362.JPG renamed to scenery2.JPG

DSCN0363.JPG renamed to scenery3.JPG

DSCN0364.JPG deleted as it was blurred, the gap in the number sequence does not matter.

DSCN0365.JPG renamed to scenery5.JPG

Copy the selected and renamed files into a separate directory. Don't run the program on a directory into which you have just copied dozens of files straight from the camera, all with names like DSCN????.JPG. There will be chaos as the program tries to match them all up!

Input files must be upright, if they are not, rotate them first.

Each set of images (all those for the same subject) must be in the same format - .jpg, .tiff or .png, and the extensions must have the same case - all lowercase or all uppercase. They must be exactly the same size in pixels, if they aren't you could use image editing software like Shotwell to cut the larger ones(s) down to match the size of the smallest.

Options

3D Format

Anaglyph:

A red/cyan colour 3D image viewed with coloured spectacles.

Side-by-side:

A side-by-side 3D image viewed straight ahead. Lefthand image on the left, righthand on the right.

Crossover:

A side-by-side 3D image viewed with eyes crossed. Righthand image on the left, lefthand on the right.

3D Style

Level:

A normal 3D image with the front of the picture level with the screen.

Popup:

The front of the 3D image will popout in front of the screen.

Sets to Process

One:

For the 3D effect to work it is essential that each pair of images is prefectly aligned vertically and in angle, the software does this for you. it then merges them into a single output image.

To process a single set of images - all for the same subject, first use the File/File option to choose any file from the set.

scenery1.jpg

scenery2.jpg

scenery3.jpg

Selecting any of the scenery files will process all of them. The program will create a 3D image for each pair of originals, so you are able to choose the best combination of images for left and right. It is not recommeded to use more than 5 originals as the number of output images goes up dramatically:

2 originals produce 1 3D image

3 originals produce 3 3D images

4 originals produce 6 3D images

5 originals produce 10 3D images

6 originals produce 15 3D images

7 originals produce 21 3D images

8 originals produce 28 3D images

9 originals produce 36 3D images

10 originals produce 45 3D images

All the 3D images get the same filename (except the final digit) and extension as the originals. Two digits with a '+' between indicate the numbers of the original files used and there is a letter each for the format and style. These examples are 'Anaglyph' format with 'Level' style.

3Dscenery1+2AL.jpg has scenery1.jpg as the left image and scenery2.jpg as the right.

3Dscenery1+3AL.jpg has scenery1.jpg as the left image and scenery3.jpg as the right.

3Dscenery2+3AL.jpg has scenery2.jpg as the left image and scenery3.jpg as the right.

3Dscenery1+3AL.jpg is likely to have the most pronounced 3D effect as the original images are the furthest apart.

All:

To process all the image sets in a directory, first use the File/Directory option to choose the directory with the image sets in.

A directory containing:

scenery1.jpg

scenery2.jpg

scenery3.jpg

castle1.jpg

castle2.jpg

castle3.jpg

Will result in the same images as in the example above, plus a similar set for the castle.

Sets to View

You can scroll through the images using the arrows buttons. Images take a while to create so they won't be available immediately after you start the processing.

New:

Only 3D images that you have just created will be shown.

File:

Only the 3D images from the file selected will be shown. Note that you must select an unprocessed input file.

Directory:

All the 3D images in the current directory will be shown.

Notes

The program won't read image files from a USB memory stick, copy them onto your PC.

An existing 3D image file will not be overwritten, so if you create a 3D file, then decide to edit the input images and create a new 3D image from them you will need to move, rename or delete the existing 3D image file first.

If you start reviewing 3D images before the program has finished processing, and decide that there are some that you do not want, don't delete them until the program has completely finished, or the program may recreate them.

Some images are too difficult for the aligning software, so the resulting image will be unusable

Subjects

Movement

Stationary objects like buildings or scenery give good results.
Pictures of people should work, provided they can keep still for a few seconds.
Objects like trees and water may be work in the right circumstances, if there isn't too much wind, and the water is placid.
Moving vehicles or people, or fast-flowing water like a waterfall or waves won't work.

Quality of Effect

A picture with objects at varying distances results in a convincing effect.
Distant scenery won't work well, as there is little perspective effect anyway.

You can run these programs yourself to experiment with other settings:

Hugin - for image alignment - http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

ImageMagick - for 3D image composition - http://www.imagemagick.org/