A stereo camera is a type of camera

Camera

A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...

 with two or more lenses with a separate image sensor

Image sensor

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...

 or film frame for each lens. This allows the camera to simulate human binocular vision

Binocular vision

Binocular vision is vision in which both eyes are used together. The word binocular comes from two Latin roots, bini for double, and oculus for eye. Having two eyes confers at least four advantages over having one. First, it gives a creature a spare eye in case one is damaged. Second, it gives a...

, and therefore gives it the ability to capture three-dimensional images, a process known as stereo photography. Stereo cameras may be used for making stereoviews

Stereoscopy

Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...

 and 3D pictures for movies, or for range imaging. The distance between the lenses in a typical stereo camera (the intra-axial distance) is about the distance between one's eyes (known as the intra-ocular distance) and is about 6.35cm, though a longer base line (greater inter-camera distance) produces more extreme 3-dimensionality.

In the 1950s, stereo cameras gained some popularity with the Stereo Realist

Stereo Realist

The Stereo Realist was a stereo camera that was manufactured by the David White Company from 1947 to 1971. It was the most popular 35mm stereo camera ever manufactured and started the era of stereo photography for the masses that continued even after it was no longer manufactured.-History:Seton...

 and similar cameras that employed 135 film

135 film

The term 135 was introduced by Kodak in 1934 as a designation for cartridge film wide, specifically for still photography. It quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 120 film by the late 1960s to become the most popular photographic film format...

 to make stereo slides.

3D pictures following the theory behind stereo cameras can also be made more inexpensively by taking two pictures with the same camera, but moving the camera a few inches either left or right. If the image is edited so that each eye sees a different image, then the image will appear to be 3D. This method has problems with objects moving in the different views, though works well with still life.

Stereo cameras are sometimes mounted in cars to detect the lane's width and the proximity of an object on the road.

Not all two-lens cameras are used for taking stereoscopic photos. A twin-lens reflex camera

Twin-lens reflex camera

A twin-lens reflex camera is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective or "taking lens" , while the other is used for the viewfinder system, which is usually viewed from above at waist level...

 uses one lens to image to a focusing/composition screen and the other to capture the image on film. These are usually in a vertical configuration. Examples, would be a vintage Rolleiflex

Rolleiflex

Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...

 or a modern twin lens like a Mamiya C330

Mamiya C330

The Mamiya C330 professional f is a traditional film twin-lens reflex camera introduced in the 1970s for the professional and advanced amateur photography markets. This model was 340 grams lighter than the previous model C33, which weighed 2040 grams...

.

Types of stereo cameras

There have been many types of cameras that take stereo images, most of which are no longer manufactured. The most notable types are:

• Jules Richard Verascope
• Kodak Stereo Camera
  Kodak Stereo Camera
  The Kodak Stereo Camera was a 35mm film stereo camera produced between 1954 and 1959. Similar to the Stereo Realist, the camera employed two lenses to take twin shots of scenes, which could then be viewed in dedicated image viewers. The lenses supported adjustable apertures and variable shutter...
  
   Kodak's own offering in the field of Realist format cameras which actually outsold the Realist during the five years it was available and might have eclipsed it in all time sales had it been introduced prior to the end of 1954.
• Loreo
  Loreo
  Loreo is a manufacturer of stereo photography equipment, including 3D cameras and stereo lens attachments for SLR cameras. Stereo pictures taken using Loreo systems are instantly viewable using 3D viewers without any cutting or remounting. These stereophotos are in the same format and size as any...
  
   3D Lens in a Cap (Hong Kong) - an accessory device, which incorporates a pair of small closely spaced lens, and a simple mirror box as an attachment for many modern SLR digital cameras. The latest version has 25mm wider angle lenses. Loreo also makes currently, a cross-view 35mm film only, 3D CAMERA, (model 321) which takes "deeper" stereo images, with a wider mirror system, sold with a folding print viewer included.
• Nimslo 3D
  Nimslo
  The Nimslo is a stereo camera with a brightfield viewfinder that produces 3D pictures which can be viewed without glasses. This is done using Lenticular printing. It uses common 35 mm film in 135 film format cartridges. It was produced in the 1980s by Nimstec Atlanta, Georgia, USA.-Features:The...
  
   The first compact consumer level lenticular camera, designed to take 3D prints that are viewable without glasses or special technique. Though it didn't "catch on" and was soon discontinued, it inspired many 3 and 4 lens clones marketed well into the 1990s.
• RBT In the modern 3D world, a several thousand dollar RBT camera was made in Germany by rebuilding two 35mm high end cameras into an integrated & unitized stereo camera. RBT announced the discontinuation of the Cameras on Jan 1, 2011.
• Stereo Realist
  Stereo Realist
  The Stereo Realist was a stereo camera that was manufactured by the David White Company from 1947 to 1971. It was the most popular 35mm stereo camera ever manufactured and started the era of stereo photography for the masses that continued even after it was no longer manufactured.-History:Seton...
  
   The original "Realist Format" camera, first sold in 1947, which inspired many imitators who introduced cameras capable of producing the 5P stereo slides which remain fairly popular to this day.
• View-Master Personal Stereo Camera
  View-Master Personal Stereo Camera
  The View-Master Personal Stereo Camera was a 35mm film camera designed to take 3D stereo photos for viewing in a View-Master. First released in 1952, the camera took 69 pairs of photos on a 36 exposure roll 35mm film, taking one set while the film was unwound from the canister, and another set...
  
   Introduced in 1952, this camera allowed individuals to make their own personal View-Master reels, either by using the commercial processing services available at the time or by using the custom cutter and blank reel mounts.
• Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1
  Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1
  The Fujifilm FinePix W Series Real 3D is a line of consumer-grade digital cameras designed to capture stereoscopic images that recreate the perception of 3-D depth, having both still and video formats while retaining standard 2D still image and movie modes...
  
  , a digital stereo camera.

In 2009, 3D technologies experienced a resurgence, including stereo cameras, with continuing developments in plenoptic camera

Plenoptic camera

A light-field camera, also called a plenoptic camera, is a camera that uses a microlens array to capture 4D light field information about a scene...

 technologies, as well as the emergence of stereo digital camera products such as the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D series

Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D series

The Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D cameras can take three-dimensional pictures using two lenses, and display them to the naked eye in 3D. They are manufactured by Fujifilm, under their FinePix brand.- Models :*Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1 camera, launched in July 2009...

 and the Minoru 3D Webcam

Minoru 3D Webcam

The Minoru 3D Webcam is a stereoscopic webcam by Promotion and Display Technology of Salford, Greater Manchester. Released in January 2009, it won the "Fans Favorite" award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas...

.

Use of dual cameras

Modern low cost digital cameras, and even dSLRs, can be mounted in pairs, with both triggered simultaneously. For nonmoving images this can be done by pressing both camera actuating buttons simultaneously, but this is not sufficiently accurate for moving objects. Certain camera models can accept modified programming from an image chip, and the software to trigger a slave camera from a master has been developed as open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

software.

External links

• Detailed information about 3D-Cameras at Stereoscopy.com
• 3D Cameras New and Old 3D Cameras