is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

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pesinasiller
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Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2020 6:14 pm

is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by pesinasiller »

I'm trying to emulate the functionality of a Nimslo or Nishika camera to create animations like these:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlGrA1UH2vq/
Is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

stereomaton
Posts: 215
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 12:33 pm
Location: France

Re: is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by stereomaton »

The StereoPi itself has two dedicated camera ports, and you can connect only one camera per port.
One solution for your Nimslo-like shot would be to use two StereoPi boards working together.
A simple and dirty way would be to use an external button as described in this thread and connect the button to the two StereoPi boards (the way exposed there allows it without damage), but the jitter might be too large depending on the speed of the elements in your scene to freeze the two pairs at the same moment (not tried, but there are lots of jumps prone to introduce jitter, although unloaded systems might serve the request without much delay). Water falling like in your example require high speed synchronisation for example.
The more elegant way I have in mind would be hard to summarize in a forum post.
Stereophotographer and hacker
Despite my quite active participation in the forum, I am not in the StereoPi team
StereoPi (v1) Standard Edition + CM3Lite module + a few cameras

itsikw
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:50 pm

Re: is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by itsikw »

I would like to build a twin StereoPi setup controlled by a single external button. You mention that you have a 'more elegant' way to do it. Can you elaborate, if not here then by email?

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Realizator
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Re: is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by Realizator »

Hi itsikw,
Actually, Stereomaton described his elegant way in the article, and we posted it on our blog: https://stereopi.com/blog/synchronizing ... opi-boards
JFYI, user 3DStereoPhoto is trying to achieve the same goal (as he mentioned in this message: viewtopic.php?p=2460#p2460)
Eugene a.k.a. Realizator

itsikw
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 3:50 pm

Re: is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by itsikw »

Fantastic stuff.
My application is different from those that were hitherto mentioned: it is 3D lenticular photography.
I understand that the emphasis in the project is synchronization. This certainly is a nice feature to have, but in many cases the scene is stationary, and precise synchronization is not essential.
Is there a simpler way if I give up synchronization?

stereomaton
Posts: 215
Joined: Tue May 21, 2019 12:33 pm
Location: France

Re: is there a way to connect 4 cameras?

Post by stereomaton »

The article has indeed an emphasis on fast synchronization with a lot of little tricks to achieve it.
If your scene is stationary (or even has slow movements), using the button solution presented in the first answer will be enough and simpler. In the linked thread, the user MauriceCyril has answered with more detailed step-by-step guide based on my first proposal.
Stereophotographer and hacker
Despite my quite active participation in the forum, I am not in the StereoPi team
StereoPi (v1) Standard Edition + CM3Lite module + a few cameras

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