P3D Re: Scanned Stereo Pair manipulation software...

[Dan Shelley <dshelley@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Since buying a scanner I've had great fun scanning in my stereo pairs into
>the computer. I have used a couple of programs off the net, I've found the
>"Stereo Image Factory" to be very good but a bit too pricey for my pocket.
>Stereo 3D by Media Relief is also very good because like the image factory
>it allows you to set the vertical and horizontal and thereby get it right
>on the pixel, however the versions I have downloaded don't seem to fuction
>as per the instructions .. maybe it's windows '95. Some of the programs
>don't allow for this and I have found them nearly impossible to use. I
>realise that Photoshop is another option but i don't have the hard drive
>let alone the cash. Any suggestions guys???

I use a program called Micrografx Picture Publisher version 4. I believe
they are up to version 7 or 8 now, but I have not felt the need to upgrade
as I also use Corel 7 for most "high end" graphics work. I am able to
aquire images in PP4 and manipulate them incredible precisely, and the best
part is that the software came free with my first black & white hand
scanner. ALL the APEC stereo pair images on my web site were manipulated
were made using this software for examples.

The quick procedures for digitasl image manipulation for image intende only
to be viewed on the screen, and not printed. These are sort of rules of
thumb for me, and will apply to any package. (I would think... the names
might be different, but the ideas will be the same.)

1 - Scan in the original image in RGB mode at 300 DPI, 100% size.
2 - Crop the scanned image to contain only what you want to have in the
finished product.
3 - Reduce the size of the image to the final size you desire, ie 580
pixels wide, but leave it at 300 DPI. (This might make the image appear
less "sharp", but read on...)
4 - Use the "filters" or "effects" in your software to "sharpen" the image.
Spend time figuring out what is a good set of setting for your software to
optimize this feature. You do not want to over-sharpen because it will
degrade the overall image quality...
5 - Once you have the image looking the way you like, reduce it to 75 DPI
which will not change it's appearance at all, but will affect the final
output file size.
6 - Save in your output file type of choice. For this example, I would save
as an uncompressed JPG.

If I were doing this to create JPS images, it would all be different. There
are different paths to take in image manipulation based on the expected
use... I could go on, but... Is this of any interest or not?

Dan Shelley
dshelley@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.dddesign.com/3dbydan


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