C
yclopital
3D
Lighted Print Viewer
Owners Manual
Viewer Package Includes:
•
Main Body, Book Viewer
•
3D Print Holder
•
CD or flash with two image processing templates
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•
Sample Prints
•
Owner’s Manual
Benefits, Features & Specifications:
• Perfect for modern sized images taken with the Fuji W3/W1
• Detachable print holder allows easy viewing of standard 4 x 6 prints or
custom photo books
• Focus adjustment allows glasses-free viewing for most people
• Tripod mount for tabletop viewing or handle grip
• Efficient, white LED lamps provide bright, uniform illumination. Color
temperature is 5000K
• Portable, 6 hours of continuous viewing using two AA batteries
• Stunningly wide 47 degree field of view accommodates ortho-stereo
viewing for photos taken with the Fuji W3, W1 or other digital camera
capable of capturing wide-angle stereo photos.
• Fully coated, precision optics with large achromatic lenses and collapsible
eye-cups to block stray light
• Automatic power saving timer turns off lights after 2 minutes
• Formatting templates included for convenient printing at home or a print
shop or service. Print holder accommodates 10 prints at once
• Image size is 61mm x 48mm (per side) centered on standard 4 x 6 prints
with 2mm center spacing
• Dimensions: Viewer size 146 x 90 x 115mm (5.75 x 3.5 x 3.5”) WxHxD
Print holder 160 x 102 x 23mm (6.3 x 4 x .9”)
• Weight with batteries: 510g (18oz)
*Note: not compatible with antique-sized stereo cards
Viewer Usage
• Insert photos into photo holder
• Push button on top, right-side of unit to turn
on the lights (1)
• Adjust focus as needed to achieve clarity (2)
• If glasses are needed, eye-cups are
collapsible
• To use for photo books, detach photo holder by pushing in two tabs at the
base of the Viewer (3)
• Batteries are located at the top, front of Viewer secured with a single
screw. Rechargeable AA batteries are recommended (4).
• Clean lenses with optical lens clothes only
• Attach optional handle grip or tripod as desired for comfort
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Preparing Your Images for the Viewer
For best results, it’s important that your prints are formatted and sized properly
and printed with a high quality system that minimizes pixelation. In personal
printers, we highly recommend the Canon Selphy CP800/900 Desktop Printer
that uses a dye sublimation process and sells for only $90 at B & H Photo and
Amazon. In professional printers, the “Continuous Tone” print process used in
the Fuji Frontier systems found at some Walgreens Drug Stores can also
produce good results. Ink jet printers are NOT recommended.
The recommended formatting procedure is detailed here. The process requires
that you download two free software programs from the internet, StereoPhoto
Maker and IrfanView, instructions are given below.
Preliminary Set-up:
• Confirm that you have the latest version of StereoPhoto Maker (SPM),
v4.37 or newer. If you need a free download or update for SPM, go to
http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/stphmkr/
• Confirm that you have the latest version of IrfanView, v4.28 or greater. If
you need a free download or update, go to http://www.irfanview.com/
• Create a new folder on the root of your C Drive to be used exclusively for
your Print Viewer image processing, named: 3D_PrintViewer. Within the
3D_Print Viewer folder create 3 folders with the names: MPOs, Temp,
Ready2Print. If you use these exact names, the templates will pre-fill the
dialogs and make the formatting process easier.
• Your Print Viewer package includes a CD or flash drive containing two
image processing templates, “LPV_SPM_Tmplt.mcv” and
“LPV_IV_Tmplt.ini”; copy the templates into your new 3D_PrintViewer
folder. The templates can also be downloaded from the Cyclopital3D
website at http://www.cyclopital3d.com/support/
Full Formatting Instructions, STEP 1:
• Start SPM. When it opens, you will see a black screen
• Sort your photos and select the MPO files you wish to print. Copy them
into the MPOs folder you created under the 3D_PrintViewer folder
• Click: “File” from top menu, then “MultiConversion…” to see dialog
box shown on page 4
• Click “Restore(File)” near the bottom right of screen and a new, smaller
dialog box will appear as shown below:
Quick Print Instructions for one photo:
• Open StereoPhoto Maker
• Choose File> Open Stereo Image
• Set image background color: File>Print Stereo card, on bottom ride side
of dialog box “BG color,” select black. Right below BG color, check the
box for “Full Page.” Then, “x” out of the dialog box. (This step might
not be necessary after setting it the first time)
• To identify the printer and print parameters: choose File> Print
Setup>Printer (box on bottom right). Select the Selphy printer, choose
paper size 4x6 Postcard, Landscape orientation and click “OK.”
• In the Print Setup dialog box: enter print width size 120mm (height will
automatically adjust), check “Print Center” box and click “OK.” Click
OK again to print.
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• Using the “Look in” drop down box, locate the template file:
“LPV_SPM_Tmplt.mcv” (in the 3D_PrintViewer folder) select it and click
“Open” to load it and revert to “Multi Conversion” dialog.
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“Restoring” the dialog from the template file in the last step will populate the
Multi Conversion Dialog with parameters appropriate for converting MPO files
from your Fuji W1 or W3 camera to intermediate files that will be further processed with IrfanView (shown below). The end result will be .jpg files that are
ready to be printed by a print service provider (recommended) or possibly on
your own high quality printer. Of course, alternate workflow and formatting
options are possible.
• From the drop down list, select “Input the deviation(%) of the image width”
and also set the value to 3.5% as shown below. Important: Performing Auto
Alignment on the MPO images will set the spacing of homologous “far
points” in the prints to the proper distance for the Lighted Print Viewer.
• Note, If images were taken using the Cyclopital3D Auxiliary Lens Adapter,
you may want to check the box to “Correct barrel distortion” and set it’s
parameter appropriately (value is dependent on which lens was used with the
ALA, for Raynox HD-5050 set value to 35).
• In the “Multi Conversion” Dialog change “Look In” to the folder that contains the MPO images you want to format for use in the Print Viewer.
• The “Output Folder” should be set to the “Temp” folder you created to hold
the temporary image files that will be generated by this step.
The fields in the Multi Conversion Dialog should look similar to what is
shown above. Note that the “Width” field is set to 1441 and the “Height” to
1134, this is done for you when you “Restore(File)” but the fields in the dialog
don’t show the whole numbers, the LS digits are hidden.
• Click the “Auto alignment Setting” button and set the window adjustment
field in the dialog box, as shown on next page (6).
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• Click “OK” to close Auto Alignment Setting dialog and revert to “Multi
Conversion” dialog box.
• Click “Convert All Files” and wait for the conversion process to complete.
Note; if “Multi Job” was checked you will see two processing dialogs, this is
normal. The “Multi Job” will use two cores of a multi-core processor and
image processing will complete twice as fast.
• When image processing is complete, exit the processing dialog(s) and close
SPM. Proceed on to step 2.
IMPORTANT!!! Unfortunately, the actual value for the percent deviation is
not stored in the .mcv file, so you MUST SET the percentage value in the
Auto alignment setting dialog before you start the batch process in SPM
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STEP 2:
• Start IrfanView
• Click: “File->Batch Conversion/Rename…”
to see screen shown below:
• Set the radio button under “Work as” to “Batch conversion”
• Set “Look in” to the directory that contains the temporary image files
generated by SPM in the previous process. (“Temp” under
“3D_PrintViewer”)
• Click “Add all” and all the images will be added to the “input files” list at
the bottom of the page.
• Set the “Output directory for result files” to the folder you created
“Ready2Print.” This folder will contain the image files you will take or
send to your print service provider.
• Make sure the box for “Use Advanced options for bulk resize…” is
checked.
• Click “Advanced” under Batch conversion settings”, you will see the “Set
for all images” dialog
The “Batch conversion settings” should be set as shown above- don’t worry;
you don’t have to set any of this stuff yourself.
• Click “Load Settings” (lower left) and browse for the template file:
“LPV_IV_Tmplt.ini” and open it; this will populate the variables in dialog
box. This file should be found in the 3D_PrintViewer Directory you created.
The important parameters in this box are the “Settings” for the canvas size and
the value for DPI. This step centers the image on the print “canvas” and fills
the borders with black.
• Click “OK” to close the “Set for all images” dialog and revert to the “Batch
conversion” dialog.
• Click “Start Batch” in the “Batch conversion” dialog.
• When the process completes you are finished, click “Exit batch” and close
out of IrfanView.
• Delete the temporary image files (all files in the “Temp” folder under
“3D_PrintViewer”) created by SPM
Note: Edited photos or .jpg files can be formatted for use with the LPV using a
similar process. Read advanced Concepts for a more detailed explanation.
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STEP 3:
Transfer the finished print files to your print service provider and have them
printed on 4X6 inch glossy paper. Be sure your print service provider is using a
“continuous photographic process” and NOT ink-jet or screen printing to make
the prints; otherwise you will see “pixels” in the prints.
We have tested the Canon CP800 photo printer with great results. This Canon
printer uses dye sublimation continuous printing and is small enough to be
portable. Also, some Walgreens stores use Fuji Frontier printer with
appropriate settings to produce good results. Please check our web site for an
updated list of print service providers that use a continuous photographic
process to make 4X6 prints.
Advanced Concepts: Image Formatting
In the previous section we provided step by step instructions for formatting
MPO files from a Fuji camera for the LPV. There was no explanation of “why”
you were doing what you were doing, just how. This section will explain the
theory behind the process and provide instructions for printing from various
other (Non-MPO) stereo image formats. This assumes that you already have
digital stereo photographs on your computer that you wish to print and that you
are somewhat familiar with the operation of StereoPhoto Maker (SPM). The
actual process will be similar to what was described previously in the step by
step instructions however, depending on the format of your source images you
will need to make a few decisions and change some of the settings in SPM
from the values contained in the supplied image processing templates. When
you get things set up the way you want them you can save your own SPM and
IrfanView (IV) templates to make future processing easier.
You may be able to use the step by step procedure “as is” or with very little
modification if all you are doing is processing a different image storage format.
For example, if your sources are parallel side-by-side images in .jpg format
you can use the procedure directly with no change, just use the .jpg files in
place of the .mpo files. Similarly, if your source images are cross-eyed side-byside jpg files, all you have to do is select the "cross" radio button in the "Auto
alignment setting" dialog, AND check the box "Swap Left/Right" in the "Multi
Conversion" dialog, everything else remains the same. If the aspect ratio of
your stereo files is much different from 4:3 or if you are interested in the
theory of mounting prints for a stereoscope, then please, read on.
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The Image Size:
Printed images for use with the LPV are formatted as side-by-side pairs, with
the left eye image on the left side and the right eye image on the right. The size
of the image for each eye is the same, with the maximum viewable area being
61mm wide and 48mm tall. There is an area 2mm wide between the right and
left images, the “septum,” that cannot be seen with the viewer. This area,
which separates the right and left images should be black. The image pair
should be centered horizontally and vertically in the 4X6 print “canvas,” and
the “borders” around the image should be black.
The step by step process formats Images for printing with a file “resolution” of
600 dpi, which results in a “chip width” of 61mm consisting of 1441 “dots” or
“pixels,” (chip means one side of the pair, either the left or right image). The
vertical dimension is 48mm or 1134 dots, which is why the “re-size”
parameters in the “Multi-conversion” dialog are set to 1441 by 1134.
The space between the chips is set by the value of the “L/R Space(Only Print/
Save available)” option in the “View->Border Options” dialog. This is a little
obscure because you might expect to find the parameter in the “Multi
conversion” dialog itself, but it’s not. Fortunately, the value is stored in the
processing template (.mcv file) and set when the “Restore(File)” option is used
in the “Multi conversion” dialog.
Infinity Spacing
The lenses of the LPV are separated by 65 mm. Therefore the “infinity
spacing” (far point spacing) of homologous far points in the right and left
images should also be 65mm (or slightly less). If the far point separation is the
same as the separation of the lens axis, then there is no need for an interocular
adjustment on the viewer. This is a result of the “prismatic effect” of the lenses
which exactly compensate for use “off axis” by persons with eyes that are
spaced narrower or wider than the lenses. Instead of having an interocular
adjustment, large lenses are used to accommodate a wide range of users eye
spacing however, for this to work well the images MUST be formatted
properly (with the correct “far point spacing”).
If an image pair has a far point spacing that is larger than the lens separation
(65 mm), the user’s eyes will have to diverge in order to fuse the cyclopean
image (the 3D image seen by the “mind’s eye”); this should be avoided
because it can cause viewing discomfort and may even make the image
impossible to fuse. You can use a ruler to measure the far point spacing in a
mounted pair.
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First, find the object that is furthest away in the scene, then select a point on
this object in the left image and measure from this point to the same
(homologous) point on the same object in the right image. If the print is
properly formatted for the LPV this distance will be 65mm or a bit less.
You can use the “Auto alignment” function in SPM to achieve a constant
infinity spacing for all the images processed in a batch which is why the “Auto
alignment” option is selected in the step by step process. With the auto
alignment parameters set to: “Input the deviation(%) of the image width” and a
value of “3.5%” the result is an infinity spacing in the re-sized mounted pairs
of 65mm (61 mm + (3.5% of 61mm = 2mm) + 2mm septum).
The Aspect Ratio (cont.)
2. (Cont.) To crop an image manually use the "Free Cropping Option..."
from the pull down on the crop tool in SPM. Make sure "Keep Aspectratio” is checked and set the Aspect-Ratio is 61, 48. Crop the image and
save it as a stereo side-by-side image, being careful about your current
"viewing" mode; if your viewing mode is cross-eyed then a cross-eyed
image will be saved and this may or may not be what you want. Once
the aspect ratios of all your images match the viewer, you can batch
process them for printing using the same parameters as described for the
MPO files.
The Aspect Ratio
One big difference between MPO files from a Fuji W1 or W3 and other stereo
formats is that MPO files from a Fuji camera generally have an aspect ratio
that is close to that of the LPV (by design). However, the aspect ratio of a
stereo image is really a matter of artistic choice of framing. Even though your
camera may produce images that have an aspect ratio of say 4:3, you can
always crop the images to be whatever you like. You are not limited to the
specific aspect ratio of the LPV. However, if the aspect ratio of your image
does not match the aspect ratio of the LPV, then some of the viewable area
will be black. In this case an image may show “full width” but not full height,
(with “black bars” top and bottom), where others may show full height but not
full width (with black bars on both sides).
The native aspect ratio of the LPV is 61:48 (pretty close to 4:3). If your images
have an aspect ratio that is much different then you have 3 choices:
1. Let SPM automatically crop the images to match the aspect ratio of the
LPV. This cropping is what happens in the “step by step” process,
because the “Crop” option is selected in the “Multi conversion” dialog.
The images are cropped symmetrically, top and bottom, or left and right,
whichever is required. If the source images are MPO files from a Fuji not
much is lost. Note, in this case a “vertically oriented” image will have a
lot cut off the top and the bottom to turn it into a “horizontally oriented”
image to match the viewer.
2. Manually crop each image to match the aspect ratio of the viewer. This is
similar to option #1, but you make the choice of what to crop out instead
of just taking the “center” of the image. Obviously, if you crop manually
then you must crop each picture individually, it's a bit more work, but it's
probably worth it.
3. The last option is to let SPM automatically add borders around your
images to maintain the aspect ratio of the sources. To do this simply
select the “Border” option instead of the “Crop” option in the “Multi
conversion” dialog in the step-by-step process. Note that the color used
for this border is the background color of the SPM photo viewer. If it’s
not already black, you should set it to black before you start batch
processing. If you’re wondering, the “Absolute” option (next to the
“Border” option) stretches each axis of the source image to fit the output
size, which probably isn't very useful because it can severely distort the
image by making the X and Y scales different.
If you want some images "cropped" and some "bordered" or you have some
cross-eyed sources and some parallel sources, you must batch process the
pictures of each case into the "temporary files" as separate batches. All the
temporary files will end up the same size, in side-by-side parallel format, so
you can batch process all the temporary files using IrfanView (as described in
the step by step process) from all the source variants in one go.
The purpose of the step that uses IrfanView is simply to center the (temporary)
images created using SPM in a 4X6 “Canvas” and to fill the outside borders
around the image with black. Note, the parameters loaded into IrfanView from
the supplied template also scale the image down by 1% before the border is
applied. This is to make up for the 1% growth most print services apply to
make sure the image fills the print edge to edge. This can be changed if your
print service provider uses a larger number, but if you change the percentage
you also have to change the “Canvas Size” border settings. The end result
should be an image that is 3600 pixels wide and 2400 pixels tall.
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The Stereo Window
The stereo window is an important concept in stereoscopic viewing
experience. If you don’t already understand what the stereo window is and
why it’s important, you should take some time and look it up on the internet.
Although it’s technically possible, SPM does not have a UI mechanism to set
the stereo window position independent of the far point spacing. However, if
the far point spacing and image width are constant, then distance from the
observer to the stereo window will also be constant. When you use the
procedure described in the step-by-step process, the stereo window is set to be
about 6 feet in front the camera and is perceived to be closer if the far point is
closer than infinity. This window position also matches the “natural” stereo
window of the LPV.
Although SPM does not have a UI method to set the window position
independent of the far point spacing, it can be done when batch processing by
manipulating the parameters for “Auto alignment” and “Multi Conversion.” If
the method for setting the stereo window in the “Auto alignment Setting”
dialog is set to “Input the deviation(%) of the image width,” the percentage
value specified can be thought of as the maximum amount of deviation
allowed in the image if all the objects in the image are to remain “behind” the
stereo window. It’s OK for an image to have more deviation than this if the
parts of the image that end up in front of the stereo window do not intersect
the sides of the frame, then there is no “window violation.” However, if the
image has more total deviation than is defined by the “% deviation” parameter
AND the near objects intersect the image frame, then there will be a window
violation. Because the view is so wide in the LPV, a “window violation” may
or may not be troublesome; if it is, there are several ways to fix it, as explained
below:
1. You can crop the image to reduce the total deviation to less than 3.5%.
This probably means trimming off the foreground (bottom).
2. You can make the border “fuzzy” so there are no hard edges to make a
window frame
3. You can move the stereo window back (towards the observer) by
cropping a little off the outside vertical edges of the mounted pair.
The Stereo Window (cont.)
If you want to move the window back by cropping off the outside edges, open
the finished image (from the directory “Ready2Print”) in Irfanviw and select
“Image->Change canvas size...” you will see the following dialog:
Make sure “If negative values used: add canvas to inside” is checked, and that
the “Border color:” is set to Black. Negative values for “Left side:”, “Right
side:”, “Top side:” and “Bottom side:” will add borders from the outside of the
print inwards, leaving the overall canvas size unchanged. We want to increase
the size of the existing borders on the left and the right by a little bit in order to
move the window closer. The side boarders are already 350 pixels wide, so to
crop 2mm off of each side of the image in the center we would add 47 pixels,
(2mm @ 600 dpi = 47 dots) making the side boarders -397 pixels wide. We
don’t want to change the image vertically, so the “Top side:” and “Bottom
side:” parameters should be set to 0. Press “OK” and the image will be
cropped, save it and it’s ready to be printed.
Exactly how much you need to move the stereo window back of course
depends on the image. Cropping 2mm from each side as described above will
allow for a total deviation of about 5%, cropping 4mm from each side (-444
pixels) will allow for more than 7% total deviation. Any more than this and
you are probably pushing the limits of “comfortable viewing”.
If you got this far I congratulate you on your tenacity. It’s possible I've been
too explicit in my instructions for image formatting. Basically you just need to
make the stereo pair fit the front opening of the viewer. That's really about all
there is to it, for the most part everything else just falls out naturally.
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Ken
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KenKen
Viewer specifications:
Overall dimensions: Width : 146mm, Height : 90mm, Depth: 115mm
Weight: 510 grams
Tripod Mount: Stainless Steel insert, ¼-20 threaded hole
Image “chip” size: 61mm X 48mm per side
Chip separation: 2mm
Lens separation: 65mm
Lens focal length: 70mm
Lens diameter: 34mm
Lens type: Achromatic doublet, with anti-reflection coating on both sides
Eye cups: Elastomeric, fold back for use with eyeglasses
Maximum Horizontal Field Of View (HFOV): 47 degrees
Maximum Vertical Field Of View (VFOV): 38 degrees
Focus System: Rack and Pinion
Focus range: +2 to -1 Diopters
Eye Relief: 2mm
Distance from observer to the “Natural” Stereo Window: 7.5ft (2275mm)
Lighting System:
Power Source: Two AA batteries, NiMH recommended
Battery Life: Six Hours of light between charges
Emitters: Ten high output white LEDs
Color Temperature: 5000K, near black body spectrum
Operation: Press button to turn light on, auto off, 2 minute timer, timer can be
reset by pressing button.
Print Holder specifications:
Overall dimensions: Width : 160mm, Height : 102mm, Depth: 23mm
Weight: 96 grams
Print size: Standard 4X6, 4 inches high (102mm) by 6 inches wide (152.4mm)
Print Capacity: 10 prints
Formatting & Printing Services Available!
Too busy to format and print your own photos? Let us do it for
you! Cost is only $1.00 per photo, plus $5 shipping and handling.
Simply send us a flash drive with the raw MPO images you
wanted printed to:
Cyclopital3D
323 S. Washington Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80521
Include your phone number or email address with your order
details and we will call or email you to confirm your order and
payment preference. Payment are accepted via check, Paypal or
credit card. Your photos will be mailed to you within 5 days of
confirmation communication.
For processing of edited or .jpg images, an additional processing
fee may apply. Also, please indicate if photos were taken using a
Cyclopital3D Adapter, which model and if an auxiliary lens was
used.
Care and Maintenance
Cleaning: use an optical grade lens cleaning cloth. Do not spray liquid directly
onto the Viewer and avoid getting any moisture in any openings.
Product Warranty
The Cyclopital3D Lighted Print Viewer comes with a 90-day warranty against
manufacturing defects in material or workmanship. It is warranted for normal
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Caution: this is a delicate precision product and should be treated with the
same care given to any fine camera or lens. Do not apply excessive force to the
focus mechanism or the print holder when removing or a$aching.
All rights reserved, Cyclopital3D, Inc. 2010
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