Interest in a 3D lens?

[bhu]

Started thinking about a split lens (not sure of the technical term) for taking 3D video and fair 3D stills and wondered if anyone else might be interested.

There are some 2-path + combiner lens designs out there as examples you can find on a search for 3D lenses. Ideally, the lens would have twin shutters synchronized to the camera for field-sequential 3D. If the sensor can capture continuous 60 fps stereo (120 fps) and switch to the maximum capture rate for a burst to obtain a pair of stills with minimal temporal separation, a single-sensor body may be good enough. The lens, of course, would be optically slow and heavy along with being expensive but I might be interested in purchasing it. The current generation sensor and processor should work and the next generation will be even more capable as physical and electronic shutters become faster in order to minimize ghosting.

 

Varying pupil distance, or whatever the photography term is for it, for hyper/hypo-stereo, or a zoom, may be too much to ask of a lens this unique for Fuji X systems right now so I would settle for as fast a prime as possible in a package not too horribly bulky. It may be difficult enough to calibrate focus for the two optical paths before they are combined in front of the sensor. IQ will be challenging.

 

Anyway, are there any thoughts on this?

 

[Larry Bolch]

It is a problem turning a normal camera into a stereo capable camera, but not a kludge.  There are a variety of devices such as the one illustrated here. They work, but with limitations. Since they place the images on a single frame, they demand vertical imaging. This one was made by Pentax, and is of very high quality, with front surface mirrors and rigid geometry. It only works well on a normal lens—around 50mm with film, and with the 35mm Fujinon. Since both images are in the same frame, it effectively sets the field of view at double the lens's focal length. No way around it.

(Pardon the image quality. Late at night. Shot in the kitchen with the kitchen light, not in a commercial studio.)

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A far better solution is tracking down a used Fujifilm Finepix W1 or W3. These are neat, pocket-size cameras designed to be fully featured stereo cameras. They work very well and have a fanatic following. Why reinvent the wheel when Fuji has already given us the solution?