3D is seeing a revival in terms of innovations – from absolutely breathtaking 3D street art to 3D printing which is making headlines of all sorts, good and bad, to art imitating life 3D paintings. There are software or apps that can alter an image or video turning it into 3D but here’s one amazing tool that lets you capture a 3D image or video right from your iPhone!
Poppy is a device which transforms your iPhone or your iPod Touch into a 3D camera. You can capture, view and share photos and videos in 3D just by slotting your iPhone into the Poppy device. The device concept was inspired by the old child’s toy, View-Master.
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To create 3D images and videos, just slide in your iPhone or iPod touch into the device and give the box a twist. Poppy works with iPhone 4, 4S, iPhone 5 and 5th-gen iPod Touch. Poppy doesn’t work on electronics, nor batteries. The magic is all done with mirrors.
Mirrors in the device are strategically placed to capture two stereographic images using your iPhone or iPod Touch camera. When you look through Poppy’s viewfinder you will see everything in 3D as Poppy’s lenses combine the two images into one composite.
To view the 3D photo or video you capture, view it straight through Poppy. If you want to view the captures on your iPhone without Poppy or 3D glasses, you will see a video or an image with two same frames. Convert them into 3D using software such as StereoPhoto Maker to get the full 3D effect.
If you want to share your 3D creations, you can upload it straight on YouTube as YouTube now supports 3D videos letting viewers watch the videos using red/blue 3D glass.
Poppy not only works with the native iOS camera app, but also with camera apps like Instagram. Soon however, we will get to play with the Poppy app, which allows you to:
- Save videos and photos to Camera Roll
- Upload videos straight to YouTube
- Have easy controls and navigation when you connect iOS devices to Poppy
If you are interested of getting your own Poppy, you check it out on Kickstarter. By pledging Poppy for $49 you will receive a copy of Poppy around December 2013.
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