Mirror Stereo
Mirror-Stereo 3D
This is a technique for taking stereoscopic 3-D pictures, using a simple mirror attachment, on any still film or digital camera.
The Kodak Handle instant camera fitted with a Mirror-Stereo 3D adapter.
Mirror-Stereo 3D viewers:
 |
 |
The left eye sees the left image directly. The right eye sees the reversed image reflected in the mirror. The two images appear to be a single image, but with depth. This is where “two wrongs make a right” (seeing a mirror image of a mirror image).
Cameras adapted for Mirror-Stereo 3D:
The Kodak Handle instant camera. Note the appearance of two lenses, one real, and one reflected in the mirror. The stereo base is the distance between the real and reflected lenses.
35mm SLR
The threaded rod behind the mirror was turned to adjust the angle of the mirror, and therefore the convergence distance of the optical center lines of the real lens, and the reflected lens. This adjustment pulls or pushes the image in or out of the picture toward the viewer.
Kodak Pocket Instamatic 30 Camera
Bauer XL Super 8 movie camera
Accidental Mirror-Stereo 3D
Sometimes, we come across scenes in real life, or pictures where there is 3-D information in a scene, as when store-front windows catch a reflection. You can see the following pictures stereoscopically by placing a mirror at the midpoint of the image, and looking directly toward the image in the mirror.
Lakes also provide accidental 3D. The real camera takes one “eye”, and the reflected camera takes the other. Lake pictures have to be turned and viewed sideways.
Slightly off topic but also mirror stereo 3D:
3-D information is available when photos are taken of reflective sunglasses, when there are reflections of common objects in the scene:
View them parallel eyed, so that your right eye sees the reflection on the right side of the photo, and your left eye gets the view from the left.
This project is shown only to demonstrate past work by Steve Hines.