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20 Essential Tips and Tricks Every Flickr User Should Know

Alex Castle and Norman Chan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0600

For photographers, the last decade has been a very exciting time. Between the rise of the DSLR, Photoshop, affordable HD camcorders, and other technologies, the tools of the trade have seen dramatic changes. But one of the most important innovations has been Flickr.com, which hasn’t changed how pictures are taken, but how they’re stored and shared.

Flickr is an online photo management service and social network, which has become the service of choice for professional and amateur photographers to share their work and discuss their trade. Its open API has allowed the community to develop hundreds of third party apps and add-ons to enhance its otherwise minimal interface. Because we know that many of our readers are into the art and tech of photography, we’ve compiled the 20 essential tips and tricks that we think every Flickr user should know. And even if you aren't a photographer or don't have a Flickr account, we have cool tricks for searching and browsing through Flickr's incredible database of photos.

Read on to find out how to get the most of Flickr!

Automatically Upload the Contents of a Folder to Flickr

We’ve already shown you how to do quick, batch uploads to Flickr, but wouldn’t be nice if you could just select a folder, and have to the contents of that folder automatically uploaded to Flickr, a la Dropbox? Well, as it turns out, you can, using a program called Flickr Foldr Monitr. As the name implies, the program monitrs—err, monitors a folder, and uploads any pictures dropped into that folder to Flickr.

Here’s how you set it up.

1) Download Flickr Foldr Monitr

2) Install the program. It’s a small program, so this is quick.

3) Select the folder you want to monitor. We chose C:/Photos, and checked the Include Subfolders box.

4) Click on Options.

5) We selected to upload photos to sets based on directory name. This makes organization easy, but remember that users with free accounts are limited to three sets, so choose your directories wisely. We also chose to have the Monitr start syncing and minimize itself when run, so it behaves like Dropbox.

6) Click on Authenticate, and you’ll be taken to the standard Flickr app authentication page. When you’re finished, click on the Finish Authentication button.

7) Click Go. Now the Foldr Monitr is active, and any pictures you put in the folder will be uploaded.

Add Flickr to Windows search with Flickr Search Connectr

Among the new features in Windows 7 is Search Federation, which allows third-party services, such as Flickr, to integrate seamlessly with the explorer’s search bar. This means that you can select “Flickr” the same way as you would select a normal library in Windows 7, then type a query into the search bar in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Photos will show up in the explorer, as though they were on your local computer even though they’re actually on Flickr’s servers.

The enable Flickr search, do the following:

1) Go to http://www.istartedsomething.com/flickrsearch/

2) Scroll down to where it says “Get the Flickr Search Connectr.”

3) Select whether you want to search results from all of Flickr or from a certain user (such as yourself) and how you want to sort the results.

4) Click Download the connector.

5) Now simply double click the flickr.osdx file that was downloaded to your computer, and Flickr search will be added to the Windows 7 explorer.

Upload Videos to Flickr

Earlier this year, Flickr opened up video hosting for Pro and Free members. Free account holders can share 2 videos a month, uploading them using the web or Desktop Uploadr utility. The rules for videos are simple: they must be safe or moderate content, and you can only upload videos you’ve created yourself – no YouTube-style hosting of TV show clips. Videos show up in normal search results, but only play when you click through to the video’s permalink page. You can also filter searches to only display video results.

Since Flickr considers videos a “long photo,” they’ve instituted a time limit of 90 seconds for each clip. If you upload a file that’s longer than 90 seconds, Flickr will NOT split up the video into separate clips – only the first minute and a half will play. High-definition video (720p) uploads are possible, but only Pro members can share those clips (check out this HD gallery).

A Free account member can still upload an HD clip, but Flickr will downsize it to 500 pixels wide (500x281 for widescreen videos, 500x375 for 4:3 content). The service will store the full resolution version until a Free user upgrades their account. There’s also a file size cap of 150MB per video (500MB if you’re a Pro user uploading an HD clip).

Finally, here are the file container formats that Flickr accepts for video uploads: AVI, WMV, MOV, MPEG 4, 3PG. As for codecs, Flickr doesn’t have an official list of supported types -- H.264 works, but and DivX and Xvid do not.

Know Creative Commons Your Rights

Flickr uses the popular Creative Commons licenses to allow you to choose how the photos you post can be used. If you choose to apply one of these licenses to your photos, you’re granting the public the right to distribute those photos, with one or more conditions. Here are the four common conditions of Creative Commons licenses, and what they mean:

Attribution: If a person wishes to distribute this photo, they must credit the photographer. Though originally an option, this condition is now included by default in all valid Creative Commons licenses—you cannot select a license without Attribution on Flickr.

NonCommercial: Any use, distribution, or derivation of this photo can only be used for non-commercial purposes. In other words, your picture cannot be used in advertisements, on for-profit websites, in magazines, or for any other money-making purpose.

NoDerivs: Anyone who wishes to distribute your pictures must distribute them exactly as you posted them—they cannot make derivative works.

ShareAlike: Any derivative works made from your photo must be shared under the same Creative Commons license as the photo itself. This condition is obviously mutually exclusive to the NoDerivs condition above.

So which should you use? Generally, the most lenient license that you’re comfortable with. If you want others to see your photography, then the more freedom you give people, the more likely they are to distribute your photo for you, raising your profile. If you use Flickr for purely personal photos, then of course you’ll want to keep all rights reserved.

Parse a Hotlinked Flickr Image

When someone uses Flickr to host a photo on their blog, the hotlinked image actually contains information that can lead you back to that user’s Flickr page so you can browse the rest of the photos from that set. Decoding the status photo URL is pretty easy. For example, let’s take a look at a cool photo from user SlimJim:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4112962396_07998b272f.jpg

The part of the URL we care about is the first part of the filename – in this case, 4112962396. Copy this photo ID number and paste it at the end of this address: “http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=”. This will take you to the Flickr photo page, where you can see the username of the photo’s owner and click through to their photostream.

Quick Tip: You can input a Flickr photostream address (ie. http://www.flickr.com/photos/username) to http://idgettr.com/ to get that account’s Flickr user ID number. This id number can then be used with a variety of Flickr API tools to set up slideshows, galleries, or RSS feeds.

5 Essential Flickr Greasemonkey Scripts

If you’re looking for something to customize the way you interact Flickr, without going as far as to install a FireFox add-on, consider Greasemonkey scripts. These snippets of code can be loaded into the Firefox GreaseMonkey plugin, and apply subtle enhancements to the Flickr UI. You can find a giant listing of Flickr GreaseMonkey Scripts here, but we’ve collected five of our favorites for you below:

Multi Group Sender: A simple script that changes the behavior of the normal “Send to group “ button to allow you to send to multiple groups at once. Excellent for getting your photos some exposure.

Flickr AllSizes+: Adds a convenient “All Sizes” button to photo pages, which allows you to quickly access any size version of the photo.

flickrPM: Adds extra icons next to user photos in discussion forums and photo pages, making it easier to get more information about other Flickr users, and to get in contact with them.

Greased Lightbox: Not just for Flickr, this script opens thumbnail images from services like Flickr and Google images in a popout “lightbox” without actually having to load a new page.

Flickr Auto Page: Don’t worry about hitting the end of the page with Auto Page, which automatically loads new images as you scroll down.

Download All of a User or Group's Photos

Now that the Flickrleech website has gone offline, where do you turn to batch download images from a single user or group? Flickr Downloadr is an open-source desktop application that lets you preview images based on keyword search, specific user id, or group name. You can sort your results to filter out ones copyrighted with a Creative Commons license, and then batch download any chosen images to a local disk. The interface is designed to look integrated with Windows Vista and 7, but the newest version also works with XP.

Take a Stroll through the Flickr App Garden

In this article, you’ve seen how Flickr can be augmented with extensions, plugins, bookmarklets, mobile apps and more. But truthfully, what we’ve shown you is just a fraction of the huge collection of applications and webapps written with the Flickr API, which allow you to interact with Flickr in all sorts of new ways. Flickr collects all these apps for you in an app-store-esque-but-free service called the “App Garden.” Just point your browser to www.flickr.com/services/ and start browsing apps. The app garden’s pretty crowded, though, so we’ll call out some of our favorite featured apps.

Picnik: This webapp is essentially photoshop-lite in a browser window. It’s got the tools you need for most any basic photo manipulation, and it’s free. Best of all, it integrates with Flickr, letting you edit your photos directly, without any extra uploading or downloading.

Color Hunter: For all you designers out there, Flickr can be an excellent source of inspiration, with its never-ending stream of professional quality photographs. Color Hunter lets you take a photo that inspires you, and extract a color pallet from it. Further, you can tell Color Hunter a tag to search for, such as “Ocean” and it will search Flickr for photos with that tag and show you a list of pictures, with pallets.

Flogr: For any aspiring photographer, a photoblog is pretty much a necessity these days. Fortunately, there are webapps like Flogr, which handles a lot of the coding for you, easily turning your Flickr photostream into a photoblog.

Flickr Schedulr: Once you’ve set your photo blog up with Flogr, or developed a following on Flickr, you need to start making sure you keep uploading a steady stream of photos to keep people’s attention. Flickr Schedulr allows you to schedule uploads, meaning that you don’t have to log on to upload a photo once or twice a day—instead, you just queue a bunch up in advance, and let Flickr Schedulr take care of the rest.

Fd’s Flickr Toys: After all that talk of running a photoblog, it’s time for a little fun and games. That’s what fd’s Flickr Toys are for—having fun with (or at the expense of) your Flickr photos. The Flickr Toys let you make jigsaw puzzles, fake magazine covers, motivational pictures, Warhol-esque pop portraits, and more.

Manage a Flickr RSS Feed

Flickr offers several different RSS feeds to serve photos from individual accounts, groups, pools, and even photo comments. Each feed has parameter options that let you filter specific users, photo sizes, languages, and friends. The user ID parameter can be acquired from sites like http://idgettr.com. Here are some basic feeds you can tap for your blog or RSS reader:

Public photos: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_public.gne

Friends’ photostreams: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_friends.gne (user_id parameter required)

Public favorites: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_faves.gne (user_id parameter required)

Group pools: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne (id parameter required)

Only recent activity: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/activity.gne (user_id parameter required)

Recent Forum Discussion topics: http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/forums.gne

So, if you want to create a feed that just shows the photos of your friends, the feed would be:
http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/photos_friends.gne?user_id=XXXXXXXX?friends=1. Check the Flickr feeds page for specific parameter syntax.

You can also use a Flickr RSS feed to create a dynamic Windows 7 wallpaper. Go to C:\Windows\Resources\Themes, and make a copy of one of the themes (we picked aero.theme) to your Desktop. Open it in Notepad and add the following code to the file:

[slideshow]
Interval=1800000
aShuffle=1
RssFeed= (your RSS feed goes here)

Then save it, and double-click to install your theme (You may need to right click and open with Windows Shell Common Dll). Only RSS feeds that include images as enclosure items will work. With Flickr, that means you’ll need to add the “?format=atom_1” extension to the end of the base feed.

Use Flickr Stats Wisely

If you’re a pro user, Flickr’s Stats page can tell you a lot about how popular your photos are. Here’s a quick breakdown of the kind of information you can find on the picture stats and user stats pages:

How many people are viewing your photos

If you click on the Photo Stats link in the Additional Information section of a photo page, you’ll see the number of views, favorites and comments the photo has received recently, and in total. If you have a pro account, you can click Account stats at the top of the photo stats page to see a listing of your most popular photos, and their stats.

Where they’re coming from

You can also see a list of top referrers, both for individual photos and on an account-wide level. This is an excellent tool for uncovering the cause of a sudden spike in popularity for a photo, as it will help you identify if it’s been linked to by a popular blog or other website.

If one of your referrers is a search engine (and it almost certainly will be) you can click on that referrer to see a list of the search terms that brought people to your photo.

Send Photos to Flickr with Email

Though this feature was originally set up for users to upload photos from their web-enabled camera phones, email is a really quick way to get your photos up on your Flickr account. The way this works is that Flickr gives you a secret email address (which you can set up here), and you just send your photo as an attachment to that address to upload the photo to your account. The subject line of the email becomes the title of the photo, and any email body text becomes the photo description. The email address is supposed to be private, but you can give it with your friends and family if you want to create a shared pool of photos.

You can also add tags to these emailed photos by adding the “tags:” at the end of the subject line or on any new line of the body text. For example, if you wanted to tag an image ‘comic-con’ and ‘costume’, you would append “tags: comic-con costume” to the end of the subject line. Put tags in quotes if they are longer than a single word. Tip: turn off the auto-signature on your phone (ie. “Sent from my iPhone”) before sending photos to Flickr, or else it’ll appear in your image description.

Additionally, you can set the privacy settings for each email upload but appending a little bit of text to the secret email address. If your secret email is secretemail@photos.flickr.com, for example, use secretemail+friends@photos.flickr.com to only make the photo visible to users on your friends list. Other options include:

secretemail +family@photos.flickr.com - Visible to family
secretemail +ff@photos.flickr.com - Visible to friends and family
secretemail +private@photos.flickr.com - Only visible to you
secretemail +public@photos.flickr.com - Visible to everyone

Email Flickr Photos Directly to Your Blog or Twitter

Along with emailing photos to your Flickr account, you can also get Flickr to post that photo to your Twitter feed. This requires linking and authorizing Flickr to modify your Twitter account. Go to the Add Twitter page, and click the “Head over to Twitter now” button. Once authorized, emailing a photo attachment to your secret Flickr2Twitter email address (which is separate from your normal secret Flickr upload email) will post a tweet with a shortened Flickr link (http://flic.kr) to your Twitter stream. The subject line of that email will be the title of the image and also the tweet (max 116 characters).

Upload to Flickr from your Favorite Desktop Client

Flickr is a great tool for managing your photos online, but there’s still something to be said for the power and speed offered by a dedicated desktop photo-management or photo-manipulation program. Fortunately, plugins have been written for all of the most popular photo apps using Flickr’s API, which allow you to upload to Flickr directly from within those programs. Here are some examples:

Google Picasa

Picasa is an excellent photo management program available for free from Google. It’s able to tag and organize photos, and it’s available for free here. Picasa is made to work with Google’s Picasa Web Albums service, but it’s also possible to upload directly to Flickr using a plugin called picasa2flickr which can be found here.

Adobe Lightroom

If you’re seriously into photography, chances are good you use Adobe Lightroom, which allows you to organize and process your photographs. If you use Lightroom, and you want to show off your photo’s on Flickr, you can download the Export-to-Flickr plugin here. This plugin is “donationware” which means that after a trial period, you must make a donation of at least 1 cent to keep using it. A bit of a pain, but a very handy plugin nonetheless.

If you’d like to try out a full version of Lightroom for free for a couple of months, check out the public beta of Lightroom 3, which is going on right now.

Adobe Photoshop Elements

For those not willing to shell out $200 for Lightroom or $700 for Photoshop, the $80 Photoshop Elements is a strong choice, with all the photo editing tools needed by the vast majority of users. Unlike the previous two programs, you don’t even need a plugin to upload to Flickr from Photoshop elements, the functionality is built-in. To access it, look in the Online Album menu, under More Options.

Make the Most of Flickr’s Geotagging Feature

Here are three easy ways to Geotag photos:

Tag from the Flickr photo page itself

Using a bookmarklet called loc.alize.this you can geotag your Flickr photos from inside your browser. Simply go to the bookmarklet’s homepage and save the bookmarklet to your bookmarks list or quickbar. Then, visit the photo page for one of your photos, and click on the bookmarklet. It’ll inject the geotagging code right into the page, without having to reload.

Tag from Picasa

Picasa has an excellent geotagging interface, complete with integrated Google map. Simply download the program[picasa.google.com], use it to tag your images (the tags will be saved into the images EXIF data) and then use the Picasa2Flickr plugin listed above to upload the photos to Flickr.

Tag from a dedicated program

For the fastest tagging experience, you’ll want to go with a dedicated tagging program, such as GeoSetter. Being entirely devoted to geotagging, Geosetter has the most complete list of features as is the fastest way to automatically or manually tag photos. Plus, like Picasa, tagging your photos before uploading to Flickr means that the geo information is stored both locally and in the cloud.

To see all of the geotagged photos on Flickr displayed on a map, just hit up http://www.flickr.com/map/, navigate to part of the world map, and click Search the map.

Use Flickr’s URL Shortener, Flic.kr

Flickr employs its own URL shortening service, Flic.kr, for linking to images in tweets, but you can also use it to link you images without using a third-party service like tinyURL or Bit.ly. The only tricky thing is that Flic.kr doesn’t have a landing page to shorten URLS, and photo id numbers are shortened using a complicated base58 system. Fortunately, the user-created http://urlkr.com/ site will let you generate a Flic.kr URL from a full-length address. If you want to link people to your main Flickr photostream page, you can also use the address http://flic.kr/username, which is shorter than http://flickr.com/username by three characters.

Educate Yourself with Flickr

Flickr is more than just a photo sharing site; it’s a community. That means that you can link your account to friends and family, and that there are thousands of user groups, where people share photos and carry on discussions. Many of these are very topical (“Live Music”) for instance, but there are others that can be very educational for the up-and-coming photographer. Here are some examples:

Beginners Digital Photography: General purpose discussion for those new to digital photography.

Nikon Digital Learning Center: An educational group sponsored by Nikon, and focusing on Nikon gear.

Canon DSLR User Group: The flip side of the coin—A group focusing on digital photography with Canon cameras.

Photoshop Support Group: A forum for photographers to talk about Photoshop

Adobe Lightroom: Similar to the above, but focusing on Adobe’s Lightroom product.

And that’s just a small sample of the educational groups on Flickr. If there’s something you’re interested in or have questions about, just do a group search[http://www.flickr.com/groups/] and chances are good that you’ll find just what you’re looking for.

4 Different (and Awesome) Ways to Browse Flickr

Even if you’re not a professional photographer or active Flickr contributor, you can still have fun browsing the millions of photos uploaded by other users. In fact, you don’t even have to register a Flickr account to enjoy other people’s photographs. Flickr’s native search and Explore feature are decent for casual browsing, but here are some cool sites that let you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Multicolr: You may have heard of Flickr Color Picker, a site that lets you search Flickr photos based on color palette, but Multicolr does the task better. Not only can you choose from 120 starting colors, you can add up to 10 colors to the mix to find an interesting image that incorporates those tones.

Spell with Flickr: This search site lets you find photos that feature specific letters, so you can spell out words or phrases with random user photos. Handy for writing ransom notes!

Findr: Tags are useful for identifying pictures, but search results can be difficult to navigate. This site lets you filter searches with related tags, narrowing down results until you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Retrievr: Retrievr lets you pick a color and draw a picture in a window, after which it’ll try to find Flickr results that match the shape of drawing. The technology behind this site is still experimental so it doesn’t work 100% of the time. But when it does, the results are very cool. Alternatively, you can upload an image for the site to process and find similar-looking photos.

Access Flickr on your Smartphone

You don’t take your photos sitting at your desk, so why should you only be able to access Flickr there? You’re not, of course, thanks to the wealth of Flickr-API-powered smartphone apps, available on all the major platforms. There are lots of offerings, but here are our favorites for each service:

iPhone: Flickr

The iPhone has the honor of being the only smartphone platform which currently has an official Flickr app. When you consider that the app is free, fast, and as feature-packed as any of the competition, it’s hard to recommend anything else. Did we mention that it’s free?

Android: Pixelpipe

There’s no official Flickr app for Android, but there is Pixelpipe[http://pixelpipe.com/], a multi-platform program for uploading content from mobile devices to more than 100 different online services, including Flickr. The app’s not quite as slick as the iPhone’s, but the huge number of supported services, and the low price point (a dollar for the full version, free light version) makes this an easy recommend.

Windows Mobile: m.flickr.com

Ok, so you’re using a WinMo phone. We feel for you. Fortunately, no matter what platform smartphone you use, you can access Flickr’s mobile site, m.flickr.com. And actually, you’re not missing out on too much; Flickr’s mobile site is a fantastic example of how a mobile site should be made, giving you quick access to your photos, as well as those of your contacts, the day’s most interesting photos, and those taken nearby. Unfortunately, you can’t upload photos with the website, but you can still use the upload-by-email function.

5 Sweet Firefox Flickr Plug-ins

There are dozens, if not hundreds of Firefox plug-ins that integrate Flickr with the browser. But as is the case with most Firefox Add-ons, installing too many can bog the browser down. Here are our picks for the five most essential ones that are worth installing.

FireUploader: This extension is an all-inclusive file manager that lets you upload and download to a variety of file sharing and social networking sites, including Flickr. You just have to log in and authorize the add-on with Flickr to use its simple file browser window to manage batch photo uploads.

Cooliris: Formerly known as PicLens, this add-on lets you browse Flickr images on an infinite 3D wall (as well as images from other image sites). It’s a really cool way to browse large galleries and view image searches. Alternatively, you can also visit picturesandbox.com to get a similar photo landscape for searches.

Uploadr: Don’t confuse this with Flickr’s official Uploadr desktop app. This independently developed Firefox add-on lets you right-click to upload images you find on other websites directly to your Flickr account. Think of it as using Flickr for image bookmarking.

Better Flickr: Like Better Gmail, this is Lifehacker’s custom compilation of Greasemonkey scripts for Flickr, packaged in a Firefox add-on. It adds convenient interface features like a photo magnifier and thumbnails enhancer to make the Flickr homepage easier to use.

Flickr Original: If you like to archive photos, this lightweight extension is for you. It lets you view and download the original size file for any Flickr photo, granted the user is sharing it with the public. Sure, you can replicate its functionality by browsing the Flickr website, but this will save you a few clicks.

Have any essential Flickr tips we didn't mention? Post them in the comments section below!

How to Build Your Own 3D Camera Rig for Under $20

Eric Kurland — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0600

How Does Stereoscopic 3D Photography Work?

Stereoscopic 3-D photography has been around almost as long as photography itself. In the 1830s Sir Charles Wheatstone theorized that we see the world in three dimensions because our eyes are set about 2.5 inches apart, and see from two slightly different viewpoints. You can test this by holding your thumb at arms length. Close one eye and look at your thumb, then look with just the other eye, and you will see that there is a deviation, or parallax, between what your eyes see. Your brain fuses these two views together, interpreting the amounts of parallax as depth. This is called binocular stereopsis.

Wheatstone figured out that two cameras could be placed side-by-side and take simultaneous pictures, creating a pair of photographs from both left eye and right eye perspectives. When viewed through a stereoscope, the left eye only sees the left image, the right eye only sees the right image, and we perceive a single 3-D view.

The author's 3D photos from Comic-Con

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stereo photos were all the rage, with many thousands of stereo cards produced. In fact, many Victorian era homes kept a stereoscope as the centerpiece of their living rooms - sort of the entertainment center of the day. Still, the process of making 3-D images was very complicated, as it was necessary to have two synchronized cameras to take the pictures, and quite a bit of skill to align and mount the finished prints or slides for viewing. Over the years, a number of film cameras have been made with dual optics and shutters, specifically for stereography, but these still require a great deal of meticulous work by the photographer in order to properly align pictures for display.

Do-It-Yourself 3D

The 21st century has seen a resurgence in the popularity of stereography, or 3D imagery, and thanks to the availability of inexpensive digital cameras and photo-processing software, do-it-yourself 3D imagery is now possible.

The simplest method for taking a 3D photo requires just a single camera, and a stationary subject. Place your feet firmly on the ground, with your weight on your left foot, and take a picture. Shift your weight to your right foot and take a second picture. You now have a stereo pair of images, one for the left eye and one for the right eye, which can be viewed in 3D. Obviously, this technique, called “sidestep” or “cha-cha” 3D, only works for subjects that are not in motion.

To take stereographs of dynamic subjects, we will need to take two photos at exactly the same time. Japanese camera manufacturer Fuji recently released the first digital camera equipped with two lenses for 3D. Of course, for the technologically savvy, you can make your own 3D camera rig using common building materials and two digital cameras.

For this project, we’ll use a pair of matching Canon PowerShot cameras and specialized synchronization software called StereoData Maker, or SDM, which is a nonvolatile firmware upgrade based on CHDK, the Canon Hack Development Kit. SDM adds a set of features to certain Canon cameras, specifically for the taking of 3D pictures.

What You Need

Two Canon PowerShot cameras compatible with SDM (Buy them here)
Two 4GB SD cards
Two right-angle metal brace clips
Two tripod screws or 1/4-inch thumbscrews
Cloth tape or sturdy electrical tape
Metal washers
Two USB cables
Altoids tin
Push-button switch (Buy them here)
Two female USB connectors
Battery holder
Three 1.5V AAA batteries
Hot-glue gun
A Dremel tool
Red/cyan 3D glasses (Buy them here)

Aside from the digital cameras and tools, the core components of the rig won't cost you more than $20! Now it's time to assemble the pieces.

Step 1: Load the SDM Firmware

First, you will need two Canon PowerShot cameras (they don’t need to be the exact same model) and the corresponding StereoData Maker firmware. While SDM isn’t available for all Canon PowerShot models, it does work on a wide variety. A full compatibility list can be found at the Stereomaker.net website. Scan the list for your cameras and download the specific firmware and common_files.zip for each. Unzip both archives to the same directory.

SDM comes with a simple installer program that will format your SD cards and install the SDM files. Run the sdminste.exe executable, insert one of your SD cards into a card reader on your PC and click “new install.” Select whether this flash card will be for the left or right camera and click OK, then follow the onscreen instructions for formatting. Do the same for the other card. Make sure to note which card is for the left camera and which is for the right.

Slide the physical write-protect tab down on the SD cards and insert each into the proper camera. The firmware only loads from the cards when they are in the “locked” position, but the cameras are still able to write photos to them normally.

Step 2: Build the Mounting Rig

The next step is to mount the cameras in a side-by-side orientation. Some hobbyists sell specialized 3D slidebars for two cameras online, but you can make your own. This can be as simple as drilling two holes in a wood ruler and bolting the cameras down with 1/4-inch thumbscrews.

Ideally, you want the lenses of your cameras as close together as possible—about the distance between two human eyes. The best way to do this is with one of the cameras turned upside down. To mount the cameras in this way, we will build something called a z-bar with two right-angle truss clips or braces, which you can buy at any hardware store.

Align the sides of these two bars and fasten them together using heavy cloth tape, leaving the holes along the base exposed. With 1/4-inch thumbscrews, mount a camera onto each clip, using metal washers on each side of the base to make sure you get a tight, level fit. Position the cameras so that the centers of the lenses are as evenly aligned as you can make them. Don’t worry if the alignment isn’t 100 percent perfect, as we can correct the images later in software.

Step 3:Build the USB Switch Remote

One of the functions added by StereoData Maker is synchronization of the cameras’ shutters via a 5-volt pulse sent through their USB ports. This requires that a battery-powered switch be attached to both cameras via USB cables. The Stereomaker.net website contains several varying schematics for this synch controller circuit.

The simplest to assemble uses a pair of USB connectors with both pins 1 wired to a button, and both pins 4 wired to a negative battery terminal. The batteries’ positive terminal connects to the other contact on the button, so that when it is pressed, it completes the circuit to both cameras. The cameras need to receive a 4.5- to 5-volt pulse, so you can use a combination of three 1.5V AAA batteries.

You can build this circuit into any small enclosure, such as an Altoids tin, which has a hinged lid for easy access. We found female USB connectors, battery holders, soldering supplies, and push-buttons online at Allelectronics.com.

Cut openings into the side of the Altoids tin to fit the two USB ports and glue the ports in place. Drill a hole in the face of the enclosure for the push-button as well. On the battery holder, connect the positive battery wire to one contact on the button switch, and carefully solder the negative battery wire to pin 4 on both USB ports. Solder a short wire from pin 1 on both USB ports to the other contact on the button. You can use the USB cables that are supplied with the cameras to connect them to your synch controller. Alternatively, you can hardwire USB cables to the controller in place of the connectors. If this step seems too daunting, there are links on the StereoData Maker website to sources that sell pre-assembled USB switches.

Step 4: Shoot Your Photos

Once you have the hardware assembled and the StereoData Maker firmware installed onto the SD cards, you are ready to start shooting 3D pictures. Power up both cameras and wait for the SDM splash screen to appear. You can access the SDM menus by briefly pressing the “direct print” button to put the camera into <alt> mode, followed by the menu button.

The SDM menus contain numerous options for both beginners and more advanced stereo photographers. For now, we will just check to ensure that the USB synchronization is turned on. Make sure that any settings you adjust on the left camera are also changed on the right camera. Press the “direct print” button again to exit the SDM menu.

The left photo

You can now set your cameras up as you normally would to take a photo, adjusting the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture identically on both cameras. Press and hold the button on your USB switch to auto-focus. When both cameras are ready, their blue LEDs will light up. Release the USB button and both cameras fire simultaneously, capturing your stereo pair.

A general rule of thumb for taking good 3D photos is that the distance between the rig and your subject should be at least 30 times the distance between your two lenses. In other words, if your lenses, measured from center to center, are 2.5 inches apart, you should be at least 75 inches, or about 6 feet, away from your subject.

The right photo

Step 5: Process Your Photos

Now that you have taken a pair of images, it’s time to look at them in 3D. To do this, the two images need to be aligned and put into a format suitable for 3D viewing. While this can be done with general image-processing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, most stereographers prefer a specialized freeware application called StereoPhoto Maker.

Begin by downloading and installing the StereoPhoto Maker program. Remove the SD cards from your cameras and copy the contents onto your PC. We recommend organizing your files into subdirectories for left and right images to make it easier to keep track of them. Run the StereoPhoto Maker program and under the File menu, select “open left/right images.” A dialog box will open, asking for the left image. Browse to the folder with the left photos, select a file, and click Open. Do the same for the right-side image, selecting the corresponding picture from the folder with the right-side images. The program will open both files and show you the two pictures side-by-side.

Under the Adjust menu, select “auto color adjustment” to match the tone of the two images. Next, select “auto alignment,” and StereoPhoto Maker runs an algorithm that corrects for misalignments between the cameras, and sets the stereo window based on the nearest point in the shot. Once the auto-alignment is finished processing, you can put on your red/cyan 3D glasses, select a color anaglyph mode from the Stereo menu (we prefer Dubois anaglyph, for its color correction), and marvel at the depth in your 3D photo.

If you would like to make more advanced alignments, you can select the easy adjustment mode, and do manual corrections as needed. StereoPhoto Maker will allow you to save your pictures as anaglyphs, parallel, or cross-view pairs, and will even print out a vintage-style stereo card for your Victorian stereoscope.

Additional Resources

Stereo Club of Southern California -- The Los Angeles–based 3D club offers 3D tutorials and information on 3D photography on its website.

3-DIY.com -- The author's website on do-it-yourself 3D.

Flickr Plants Seeds for New "App Garden", Better API

Ryan Whitwam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:16:12 -0600

The Flickr API is nothing new, but the photo sharing site is now bringing it more front and center. Flickr has unveiled their new “App Garden” that provides a better interface for finding useful photo apps. The new page is more compact than the old API interface. Each app gets a thumbnail preview that links to an individual page. Here, users can tag, discuss, and favorite an app.

There are still a few missing features, though. Flickr is about sharing, but there’s no way to share a list of your apps with friends. It also doesn’t take advantage of Flickr’s friend activity feed to show off what apps you’re using. However, the recommendation system does allow users to recommend individual apps. If you’re a Flickr user, do you like the new interface?

Canon's New EOS 7D: Bigger, Faster, Smarter, Stronger

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:46:42 -0500

Canon fired the latest salvo in the hotter-than-ever digital SLR wars this week, introducing its new EOS 7D. The $1699 (body-only) EOS 7D includes some now-familiar features, such as APS-C image sensor size (1.6x crop factor), 3-inch LCD with Live View, and Full HD Video.

The $1699 (body-only) EOS 7D includes some now-familiar features, such as the APS-C image sensor size (1.6x crop factor), 3-inch LCD with Live View, and Full HD Video. Here's what's new and different.

Bigger - The EOS 7D cranks up the size of several subsystems, including

18MP image sensor
Two DIGIC 4 image processors for faster image processing and better low-light performance
ISO expandable to 12,800
100% viewfinder coverage
19-point autofocus
63 zone dual-layer metering that uses AF and color information for better exposure and image quality

Faster - Shoot faster with the EOS 7D, thanks to

8 fps burst shooting (up to 126 large JPEG or up to 15 RAW; requires Ultra DMA Compact Flash Card)
1080HD video mode now offers frame rates up to 30 fps and includes adjustable frame rates for all supported video resolutions

Smarter - The EOS 7D provides a smarter viewfinder and AF system for better information and composition

New toggleable LCD overlay for better framing and focusing even in total darkness
New Spot AF mode for focusing on tiny areas of a scene
AF Point expansion (borrowed from the EOS 1D series) automatically shifts to adjacent focus points if the selected manual focus point loses focus
Improved automatic AF point selection and Zone AF

Stronger - The EOS 7D is designed to stand up to protracted use:

Magnesium body with dust and weather resistant features
Shutter rated for up to 150,000 cycles

Lens Options, Accessories and More Information

The EOS 7D will also be bundled with Canon's 28-135mm EF IS lens, which provides framing comparable to a 45-215mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera. The kit will sell for an estimated $1,899.

Wide-angle fans will want to consider Canon's new 15-85mm EF-S IS (24-135 35mm equivalent) and 18-135mm EF-S IS (28-215mm 35mm equivalent) lenses.

Canon's new optional WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter ($699.99) provides a variety of storage and backup options for the EOS 7D, including the ability to record to a USB external hard disk and an Ultra DMA Compact Flash card inside the camera at the same time, and it also supports geotagging through Bluetooth. Learn more about the EOS 7D and WFT-E5A here.

Learn more about the EOS 7D's new AF features here.

Are you excited about the new features in the 7D? Wishing it had a different mix of goodies? Click Comment and sound off.

Photo courtesy Canon USA.

Nikon Coolpix S1000pj First Digital Camera with a Projector?

Paul Lilly — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:30:53 -0500

Is that a projector in your pocket, or a Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digital camera? Perhaps both, if the latest rumor turns out to be true.

According to NikonRumors.com, the Coolpix S1000jp will be the first digital camera with a built-in projector that allows users to project photos or movie clips onto any flat surface at up to 40 inches in size. In addition to an LED projector, the Coolpix will also include a projector stand, a multi-function remote control, and other goodies.

Other details remain sparse, although preliminary specs show the new digicam sporting an effective resolution of 12.1 megapixels, a 5x Zoom-Nikkor lens, and a 28mm (equivalent) wide-angle coverage.

Look for availability sometime this September at an as-yet unannounced price.

Image Credit: NikonRumors.com

Nikon D5000 DSLR Camera Records HD Video, Ships on Monday

Paul Lilly — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:40:04 -0500

We've known for some time that Nikon planned on releasing the D5000, a new entry-level DSLR, but it was only ten days ago that the company formerly introduced the newest model. Skip ahead and we now have a concrete release date, as Amazon lists the camera as shipping on Monday, April 27th.

Nikon's new DSLR comes with a 12.3-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor and articulating 2.7-inch vari-angle LCD display. Photographers can still view photos with the little LCD in its normal position, or it can be swung out to be rotated or tilted, opening the door to all kinds of contorted body positions when shooting images.

The D5000 also comes capable of recording HD movie clips in 720p. Recording video is somewhat new to DSLRs, starting with the D90 Nikon released back in August 2008. Other features include:

19 auto-exposure scene modes
One-button Live View
Continuous shooting up to 4fps
ISO sensitive from 200 to 3200
Built-in image sensor cleaning
In-camera Retouch image editing
Optional GPS geo-tagging

You can pre-order the D5000 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens now for $850 through Amazon.com.

Image Credit: Nikon

Millions of LIFE Magazine Photos Now Available on Google Images

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:47:35 -0600

LIFE Magazine, which published classic photojournalism from Maragaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, David Douglas Duncan and many others during its various incarnations as a weekly (1936-72), special issue (1972-78), monthly (1978-2000), and Sunday supplement (2004-2007), lives again, thanks to the new LIFE photo archive hosted by Google.

Ultimately, about 10 million photos (only about 3 percent of them ever published) will be available at Google. There's no need to wait to explore this rich photo heritage, though: about three million are already online.

So, what can you do with photos ranging from Marilyn Monroe to Winston Churchill, World War II to Vietnam, Muhammed Ali to the King of Siam? You can view photos in three different sizes, including high-resolution (5MP-6MP) sizes and use them for personal or research purposes. As the official annoucement puts it:

LIFE’s Photo Archive will be scanned and available on Google Image Search free for personal and research purposes. Copyright and ownership of all images will remain with Time Inc.

Full-size images are watermarked with the familiar block-letter LIFE logo. If you want to order a framed fine art print, click the "Purchase Image" link on each image's information page.

The easiest way to search the image archive is to open the Google LIFE Magazine images portal and use its search tool to search by keyword or photographer name. You can also click preconfigured searches by decade or by subject. If you want to use the standard Google Image search, use subject source:Life in the search box. To learn more about the collection, see articles at the Google blog and Searchengineland.

Whether you remember the heyday of photojournalism, are looking for the most famous photos of the 20th century, or just like good photography, you'll enjoy LIFE's newest incarnation. Thanks, Google!

What classic photos do you remember from LIFE Magazine? Hit Comment and tell us about your favorites.

Nikon's New SLR is the First to Shoot Video

Paul Lilly — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:18:07 -0500

Point-n-shoot digital cameras have had the ability to shoot video for quite some time, but the same feature has been noticeably absent among digital SLR (DSLR) cameras. Adding insult to injury, even low end DSLRs typically cost more than high end digital cameras, yet if owners of the latter want to take videos, it meant spending even more money on a camcorder.

Nikon looks to change that trend with the release of its latest digital single-lens reflex camera, the D90, which is the company is billing as the first SLR with video capability. Nikon made it possible to record video by using a faster frame rate and a different way of processing the images.

"The big plus is that you can now shoot video with a great lens," says Steve Heiner, Nikon's senior technical manager.

The D90 will be capable of recording both high definition and standard video clips, but the new functionality won't come cheap. Expect to pay around $1,300 for the D90 with lens when it becomes available in stores next month.

Image Credit: Nikon