| By :
Mark Etinger
In this day and age, 3D technology has been on the tip of everyone's tongues, what with its constant use in movies and some television shows. But now 3D has found a new home in digital cameras. Ever since 2009, camera companies have been coming out with more affordable and high-tech models for the everyday middle-class user. Some cell phone companies are joining on the band wagon as well and including phone models that have 3D cameras built in. Sounds great, right? But how exactly does this technology work? Originally, they have used the process of stereoscopy, which is the technique of creating 3D images from a 2D plane. This technology has been used throughout the years, which includes the memorable blue and red glasses they give out in the movie theaters. However, the camera optics that are available on-line or in-store are a different sort of animal entirely. The newer models of these cameras create a 3D image by utilizing two different lenses that are roughly the same distance apart as our eyes. It takes a picture with these two different perceptions, and then overlaps them so that it create the illusion of the image in question "popping up"; an interesting result of this effect is that the image looks 3D but still retains the "flatness" of a traditional 2D picture. However, these new digital cameras are built so that they can still take 2D images as well. Some can even take a picture of the same object at two different angles, so you can capture more than one side at the same time; this makes for some very interesting pictures indeed. There is also a continued experimentation with plenoptic cameras, which uses a microlens to capture a 4D light field from the scene. They're great for following movement of an object, so much so that there are those trying to make security cameras out of this technology in the hopes that 3D renderings can be made out of a suspect caught on tape. But how are these new 3D cameras becoming more affordable for the average consumer? The more these companies experiment with the technology, the more they can find cheaper alternatives to creating the cameras, thus selling them at lower prices. And since we have improved in leaps and bounds from the original 3D technology that was used in the '50s, it's much easier to make quick progress. Sooner or later, it seems, every household will have at least one inexpensive 3D digital camera. The technology is becoming easier to improve and far more common, and who knows? In a few years, we may see our kids toting them around!
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