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I'm currently exploring the idea of setting up a 3D rig based on this question.

I know I need two cameras, some sort of twin camera mount, a way to trigger both cameras at once and software to put the pictures together.

When it comes to lenses though, I'm not really sure what would be ideal. I assume wide angle because that's a closer representation to how we see.

My current lenses:
Canon 15mm 2.8 Fisheye
Canon 17-85mm 4-5.6
Canon 50mm 1.8 II
Canon 70-300mm 4-5.6

Would a combination of these lenses work well together? Like setting the 17-85 at 50mm and matching the 50 prime aperture to that one? Using the fisheye and cropping it to match another lens? What are some disadvantages I could expect using this approach.

Or would I be a lot better off just matching lenses, even if it means two of the affordable 50mm primes?

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Vian Esterhuizen
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1 Answers1

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In your other question you mention you have a 7D and 30D, I'd be worried about the results you'd get with two different cameras and two different lenses, especially if one of them is a zoom. The 7D viewfinder gives different coverage to the 30D so you can't match focal lengths by viewing through the viewfinder, you'd have to shoot several images and use a bit of trial and error.

Even if you did get focal lengths matched up or you bought a couple of identical lenses, the different cameras will give you different colour renderings, slightly different exposures and different resolutions, meaning a lot of work in post production to make the images match up.

A better idea if you really want to get into 3D stereoscopic photography would be to limit yourself to static scenes and build a mount that lets you slide the camera side to side and shoot both images with the same camera. You can then experiment with many different focal lengths.

Matt Grum
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  • I didn't realize that two different cameras would be that much of an issue. Is there a type of lens best fitted to a 3D set up? I realize you could probably do it with virtually any lens but what would yield the best results? – Vian Esterhuizen Mar 29 '12 at 19:32