by Bob » Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:47 pm
Stereoscopic photography has been around a very long time. Actually, the first stereoscopic viewer predates photography and used drawings. Of course, once photography was in use, very early on it was used to create 3D photos -- stereoscopic Daguerreotypes exist.
Stereoscopic photography hasn't died out. There are National and International associations and clubs devoted to the subject. And, there is an annual stereoscopic convention in Ohio. And, that doesn't even count the VR crowd. The point I'm making is that even though it is not mainstream, there is still a lot of interest and a sizable market. It's a niche, but a big one. Especially when you add in the VR content creators.
My own interest in stereoscopic photography began in childhood playing with a Viewmaster (remember those). When I was a teen, I bought a used Stereo Realist 3D camera that used 35mm film. You can still buy slide mounts and viewers for that too. I stopped using it mainly because I stopped developing my own film. I like natural perspective and don't care for the exaggerated and corny 3D effects you see in 3D movies and TV so I never bought into that. I got the Insta360 One X because I do use Equirectangular 360 degree images for backgrounds and reflection maps in 3D modeling software. Creating those by taking and stitching 360 degree panoramas is a lot of work. Now, I can just snap a shutter. I'm also interested in what's called "overcapture" or "reframing" where you create and export a standard 16:9 movie from the full 360 degree footage while keyframing the point of view. Anyone who has ever tried to capture a movie of twin two-year-olds running around can appreciate how useful that can be.
The cost isn't that far out of line when you compare it to, say, a GoPro Hero Black which is pretty much in the same ball park (and, when the 360 camera is used as an action camera, has a similar target demographic). And, there are cheaper 360 degree cameras if you just want to play. There are also much more expensive ones as well. I do have a VR headset, but, you don't need to use one, you can view 3d movies and images from this camera on your phone. I believe it comes with a cheap side by side 3D viewer for that purpose and there is an optional case that's similar in principle to lenticular 3D that lets you see the 3D images on your phone without a viewer -- iPhone now, Android later.
Technology is always changing. I've gone through SD, HD, and I'm currently at 4K video. I know that 8K is probably around the corner. At some point you have to decide: is this something I'm interested in and want to pursue. 4K has met my price and availability checkpoint and I've adopted it. 8K hasn't. In the meantime 4K is still improving and becoming more widely available.