P3D Re: Viewing with vs. without lenses

[Tony Alderson <aifxtony@xxxxxxx>]

Dr. George A. Themelis wrote:
>(...)So the question I have now is (...) for 
>what other situations freeviewing has an advantage?  

Oh, I can only think of about a million or so...

For example, I much prefer freeviewing the stereo pairs in "Stereoscopy"
and "Stereo World" for two main reasons: first, it's a lot more
convenient, and second, I don't see the halftone screen. (Sometimes
fuzzy is an advantage.)

I don't generally carry large, adjustable mirror boxes, but by
freeviewing I can see stereo in repeating patterns around me, and do so
every day. Did I mention I can fuse divergently as well as convergently?
Have you ever tried (for one example) fusing the columns of ancient
Greek and Roman temples, or our modern recreations of them? How about
the ceilings and walls of theaters? Well, it's fun to me, but then small
minds are easily amused... 

But I've put this into practical use too, to sync up strips of film in
my movie work. To confirm the analysis of the MJ-12 papers as a hoax. To
solve those silly "find the dif" puzzles on the comic pages. To check
out stereocards in antique stores or museums (where they never seem to
have stereoscopes!). Never have found a counterfeit bill this way, tho'!

I find freevision extremely helpful in doing mono-to-stereo conversions.
Using some sort of mirror device is about the only alternative, and is
really clumsy and slow. When I first started doing comics, I could only
parallel freeview, so I used a large concave lens (roughly 8 inches in
diameter, I think Ray Zone may still have this in his collection) to
reduce the pages to a size I could fuse. (We worked at 1.5 to 2 times
the size of the printed final). Talk about losing detail! John Rupkalvis
clued me in on the possibilities of cross-eye viewing, which I
eventually learned. (Had to unlearn parallel first!) Now that really
helped speed up the process.

On the other hand, this really demonstrated to me the difference viewing
conditions make for a stereo pair. Cross-eye fusion of two 18x24 inch
pages is real different from a 9x12 inch anaglyph. So I've had to learn
to translate between the two, and I try to proof in a format close to
the final situation, so I don't get too surprised (and disappointed!) at
my printed piece.

Not that I've got anything against stereoscopes. I own a variety and use
them a lot too. But I'd rather use my hands to open an "old-fashioned"
paper bag of potato chips than have to get out a scissors to open these
dang new-fangled plastic things.

Tony Alderson