HOW DOES A STEREOSCOPE WORK?
Vision A stereoscope is a device that is used to view pairs of photographs as a 3-D image. To understand how a stereoscope works requires a basic understanding of human vision. Humans see in what is called binocular vision, in which both eyes are used to produce a single image. On average, human eyes are about 60mm apart. When we look at something, such as a person walking toward us or a tree in the distance, the retina of each eye receives a flat, two-dimensional image of the same thing at slightly different angles. The eyes transmit the dual images to the brain, which merge the two images into one 3-D representation of the image. The goal of a stereoscope is to artificially mimic this process. The Photographs Taking photographs to be used with a stereoscope is a deceptively complex task. It’s not as easy as taking a photograph with your camera, moving slightly left or right and taking a second photograph. The reality is that there is little margin for error. The photographs must be t
