Cyclopital3D Lighted Print Viewer - Manual (Page 6)

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First, find the object that is furthest away in the scene, then select a point on
this object in the left image and measure from this point to the same
(homologous) point on the same object in the right image. If the print is
properly formatted for the LPV this distance will be 65mm or a bit less.
You can use the “Auto alignment” function in SPM to achieve a constant
infinity spacing for all the images processed in a batch which is why the “Auto
alignment” option is selected in the step by step process. With the auto
alignment parameters set to: “Input the deviation(%) of the image width” and a
value of “3.5%” the result is an infinity spacing in the re-sized mounted pairs
of 65mm (61 mm + (3.5% of 61mm = 2mm) + 2mm septum).
The Aspect Ratio
One big difference between MPO files from a Fuji W1 or W3 and other stereo
formats is that MPO files from a Fuji camera generally have an aspect ratio
that is close to that of the LPV (by design). However, the aspect ratio of a
stereo image is really a matter of artistic choice of framing. Even though your
camera may produce images that have an aspect ratio of say 4:3, you can
always crop the images to be whatever you like. You are not limited to the
specific aspect ratio of the LPV. However, if the aspect ratio of your image
does not match the aspect ratio of the LPV, then some of the viewable area
will be black. In this case an image may show “full width” but not full height,
(with “black bars” top and bottom), where others may show full height but not
full width (with black bars on both sides).
The native aspect ratio of the LPV is 61:48 (pretty close to 4:3). If your images
have an aspect ratio that is much different then you have 3 choices:
1. Let SPM automatically crop the images to match the aspect ratio of the
LPV. This cropping is what happens in the “step by step” process,
because the “Crop” option is selected in the “Multi conversion” dialog.
The images are cropped symmetrically, top and bottom, or left and right,
whichever is required. If the source images are MPO files from a Fuji not
much is lost. Note, in this case a “vertically oriented” image will have a
lot cut off the top and the bottom to turn it into a “horizontally oriented”
image to match the viewer.
2. Manually crop each image to match the aspect ratio of the viewer. This is
similar to option #1, but you make the choice of what to crop out instead
of just taking the “center” of the image. Obviously, if you crop manually
then you must crop each picture individually, it's a bit more work, but it's
probably worth it.
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The Aspect Ratio (cont.)
2. (Cont.) To crop an image manually use the "Free Cropping Option..."
from the pull down on the crop tool in SPM. Make sure "Keep Aspect-
ratio” is checked and set the Aspect-Ratio is 61, 48. Crop the image and
save it as a stereo side-by-side image, being careful about your current
"viewing" mode; if your viewing mode is cross
-eyed then a cross-eyed
image will be saved and this may or may not be what you want. Once
the aspect ratios of all your images match the viewer, you can batch
process them for printing using the same parameters as described for the
MPO files.
3. The last option is to let SPM automatically add borders around your
images to maintain the aspect ratio of the sources. To do this simply
select the “Border” option instead of the “Crop” option in the “Multi
conversion” dialog in the step-by-step process. Note that the color used
for this border is the background color of the SPM photo viewer. If it’s
not already black, you should set it to black before you start batch
processing. If you’re wondering, the “Absolute” option (next to the
“Border” option) stretches each axis of the source image to fit the output
size, which probably isn't very useful because it can severely distort the
image by making the X and Y scales different.
If you want some images "cropped" and some "bordered" or you have some
cross-eyed sources and some parallel sources, you must batch process the
pictures of each case into the "temporary files" as separate batches. All the
temporary files will end up the same size, in side-by-side parallel format, so
you can batch process all the temporary files using IrfanView (as described in
the step by step process) from all the source variants in one go.
The purpose of the step that uses IrfanView is simply to center the (temporary)
images created using SPM in a 4X6 “Canvas” and to fill the outside borders
around the image with black. Note, the parameters loaded into IrfanView from
the supplied template also scale the image down by 1% before the border is
applied. This is to make up for the 1% growth most print services apply to
make sure the image fills the print edge to edge. This can be changed if your
print service provider uses a larger number, but if you change the percentage
you also have to change the “Canvas Size” border settings. The end result
should be an image that is 3600 pixels wide and 2400 pixels tall.