Great article but I have to admit I don't understand it. Aren't all binoculars, by nature, 3D? Two eyes, two lenses and such.

Having never used 3D binoculars I have no frame of reference. It sounded like there was a third image in the center. Can that be right?

Can you help me understand?

 

All binoculars can and do produce natural parallax with then lets your brain see the view in multiple levels of depth. However, the further away the target is the less the depth can be perceived due to the small baseline distance between the two optics of the binocular. So when you are viewing the stars, you will see no sense of depth because all those targets are just too far away. With the 3D binoculars what is done is that several "array" panels are placed in the FOV which artificially produce this same parallax effect but as if the baseline distance between the two optics was huge. As a result, it appears as if the star field is very close and you can see varying depths between the stars. So in these binoculars there are three array panels, one in center and one in upper left and the other on the right of center. Each array panel simulates a different offset or baseline distance so each array shows stars within it at its own distinct depth level so you get 3 differing depth levels from the 3 arrays, and the non-arrayed portion of the FOV shows the 4th level.

In other words, objects in center array appear closest, those in a second array appear less close, those in the non-arrayed area appear further, and those in last array appear furthest. So something like that.

 

Thanks. That helps.

 

Great review, Bill. I am quite intrigued on may levels! Fascinating things these are.

Thanks -

Dave - expecting thunder & lightning tomorrow! Yay Spring!