3D apps for your iphone

Jul 9, 2010

There is still something magical about the kind of 3D images that require those blue / red glasses (known as anaglyph images) you often received free with cereal or stuck to the cover of a comic. (Find out how they work here).

3D images still bring out the child (or is it the geek?) in most of us and although modern 3D image techniques have moved on since the days of Jaws 3D and the view master

We can now sit comfortably in the cinema watching Shrek in 3D through polarised lenses but the old school 3D glasses still have a fascination for many if only for nostalgic reasons.

How 3D anaglyph iphone apps work:

Anaglyph images require two photos slightly apart – one red or red tinted and one blue or blue tinted. Most of the following 3D camera apps guide you through taking the two images. However although this is a fairly simple process (snap one image – shift camera slightly – snap second image) some of these apps make the process more complicated than it should be (Camera 3D for example)

3D camera (see video) and TwinShot3D are perhaps the best 3D iphone cameras as they have simple instructions with much less fuss than the other apps listed.

Once taken your pictures are saved to your iphone camera roll, where they can be viewed on your iPhone or exported.

You can even print your images on a color printer and the resulting photo will work fine with red / blue anaglyph glasses.

It may take a little experimentation to get a good image but this is part of the fun in creating 3D pictures
3D Camera also lets you take 3D photos that use one of three methods to create the 3D effcect: red/cyan anaglyphs that require 3D glasses, stereograms that create 3D images when you cross your eyes and wiggle stereograms (or wiggle-grams) that use animated GIF images that move.

Taking 3D pictures with your iphone:

The iphone has a number of apps that will appeal to your inner 3D geek (as they did mine) so here is Appertunity’s round up of 3D apps that jumped right out at us (apologies for the awful pun I couldn’t resist)…

Best 3D camera apps for iphone:

Twinshot3D – simple instructions easy to use $2 / £1.19

3D camera – simple instructions easy to use $2 / £1.19

3D converter – Well executed (allows you to paint out areas of your photo and even set the level of depth for 3D effect plus it was free at time of writing!

StereoScop3 – another basic 3D camera $1 /59p

Snap 3D – basic3D camera

Auto 3D Photo ver1.1 – A basic app to convert existing iphone images into 3D anaglyph images and it was free at time of writing

Camera 3D – more complicated than it needs to be (and $2 in app fee to save pictures!)

iPeachy3D is free but is again unnecessarily complicated

Anaglyph Camera – yet another basic 3D camera $1 / 59p

3DeeCamera – Awful! Stamps each image with app promotion! $1 / 59

3D image collection apps:

3D pictures collection

600+ 3D pictures