3D Stereo Anaglyph Slide Bar

Anaglyphs, are one of many ways to produce stereo images. Some require a camera especially! designed for the purpose. Other ways are to use special attachments, to make one camera take multiple images. But the simplest, and the only way stereo images can be easily viewed on the inter-net, is to make anaglyphs. Some people prefer to use the two step Cha Cha method (taking one image, and side stepping about 1/2 foot to take the second), but I much prefer to use some form of homemade or "Commercial Slide Bar".
Keeping the camera steady, and from turning or rolling, is paramount to making good anaglyphs. Using a tripod is a necessity for this. Using a cable release, or the cameras self timer is also recommended for each exposure.

Anaglyphs are layered images, produced from a red and blue color layer of a digital image, combined with the normal Y (luminance), and Cr - Cb (chroma) channels. One color layer is slightly offset from the other, so when viewed with red and blue glasses a three dimensional image is seen. Two cameras can also be strapped to a bar for this purpose. But that is needlessly expensive! when a slide bar will work as well - with only one camera.

Using a slide bar is not a highly technical process, and anyone can make three dimensional images using a homemade one. The distance you slide the camera from left to right, is the trick. For close up work 1/2 inch of slide will be about right, for a distant landscape as much as 3 inches may be required. This is one of those practice makes perfect things, and has no set rule. Too much slide, and your images will have ghost shadows, not enough, and there will be little stereo effect. A good rule of thumb is; at normal distances the amount of slide, will be about the distance between your eyes. This comes out to be around 2 to 2 & 1/2 inches.

Before we go further; yes red and blue glasses will produce some color distortion. The best are the red and cyan glasses, but are not as commonly available. Originally this type of image was produced in B&W,  and still remains the optimum way to view anaglyphs. But whether viewed in color, or B&W,  is still a very unique photographic image.
Both red and blue, and red and cyan glasses are available form several sources on the inter-net, at a very reasonable cost. Some just for the price of an envelope, and a stamp.

Prior to the photos, and a rough description of the construction. You will need a way to combine these two images. Some people use Adobe Photo Shop, but in my opinion is the hard! long way about doing it. There are several programs, some freely available on the inter-net, that are designed to do this. The best, and the most efficient of these is AnaBuilder. Free to download  here "AnaBuilder" has an automatic align function, that will do all the work for you. Plus fine tuning controls if you need them, and many other functions to aid in the anaglyph making process. Such as a ghost removal tool.
The program will also produce any of the different stereo viewing modes in use, such as crossed eye, or side by side viewing. And red left, or red right, stereo reversal modes. Red left is the most common, and pretty well the standard.

Top view of the slide bar, showing the felt pads on the tripod mount section, and the camera mount. A double thickness of felt was used on the camera mount, to keep the camera body from dragging or catching on the tripod section. The felt was fastened to the wood, by using a thin smear of Elmers Wood Glue on the slide sections. The doubled felt, was also assembled by light gluing between each layer. A 1/4 inch round paper punch was used to make a neat hole in the felt, for the camera mount screw.

Bottom view of the slide bar, showing the tripod mount socket, and the wing nut assembly for attaching the camera. Following is a list of materials, and general instructions on assembling the bar. The bar was lightly sanded, and finished with MINWAX special walnut 224 wood stain, after the final assembly.
The only special tool used in the bar construction, was a drill press adapter stand (uses a standard hand drill). So you will either need one of these, or know someone who has a drill press, or access to one. A doweling jig might be a third option. The holes must! be drilled straight, you cannot do this free handed. In fact I used my adapter stand, to do all the drilling on this project.

Materials:

First take a 3 inch piece of yellow pine 1 x 2, and drill with a press two parallel 1/4 inch holes to a depth 2 & 3/4 inches into the wood, cut the 3 inch piece into two 1 & 1/2 inch pieces. One piece will be drilled straight through, this is the tripod section. The other piece will be drilled to 3/4 inch, this is the camera section. The holes are centered, top and bottom, and 3/8 inch from the outside edges of the wood block.

Next drill a 3/8 inch hole (center) through the drilled through block for the T-nut tripod socket, counter sink it on the screw side to keep it flush. Push the T-nut into place, and fastened it with the 1/4 x 20 x 1/2 inch screw. I also counter sunk the T-nut side of the wood with a 3/4 inch speed-bore bit to keep it flush (see photo). The T-nut has four little claw feet to keep it from turning in the hole, I cut off two of these, to lessen the weakening of the wood. Also to keep them from penetrating, and interfering with the wooden dowel slides. Aligning the remaining two claws, in parallel with the dowel holes.

For camera mount side drill a 1/4 inch hole (center), and counter sink it on the camera side to 3/16 inch with a 1/2 inch drill. This is for 1/2 of the small rubber grommet which is pushed on the screw, place a drop of super glue just at the junction of the screw, and grommet (not the wood) to hold it in place. This is to keep the 1/4 inch screw secured in the block, and could be omitted if you want to carry the camera mount screw in your pocket. The camera mount is the 1/4 x 20 x 2 screw cut to the proper length (saw off head end), about 4 treads showing on the camera side of the slide block. Run the wing-nut on, jam it with the 1/4 inch nut, to which add some locktite compound.
Use the rough cut end of the screw for the wingnut end, this will keep the rough threads from damaging your cameras tripod socket. For a sure tighter fit, wham the cut end of the screw with a hammer. This will mash a thread or two, and cause the wingnut to bind on the screw. Last add a small thin washer between the 1/4 nut, and the wood block for smoother turning of the assembly.

Final assembly is cutting two length of 1/4 inch hardwood dowel, 6 & 1/4 inch long, and making an end block. Mine is 3/4 x 1 x 1 & 1/2 inches in size. Drilling this accurately is a chore, since it must be perfectly aligned with the holes in the slide. And you may have to make several before you get one right, I made four. Drill the block with the 1/4 inch drill bit, to 3/8 inch depth. Assemble with epoxy glue, I used the one hour drying kind.
This was to give me time to lay the assembly on a flat surface, and make sure everything was lined up. Add to this some heavy weight, like a thick dictionary to hold everything in place, and let cure 24 hours. Afterward add your felt, and lightly sand and stain the slide bar. "Finished".

Your slide bar will now slide, over a distance of 3 & 1/2 inches or just a fraction more. Plenty for making even distant landscape anaglyphs, and even doubling as a tripod mounted Macro Slide. I did not design the slide bar to hold DSLR cameras, but its strength is more than adequate to support compact, and bridge digital cameras.
While I have seen easier ways to make a slide bar, using drawer slide rails etc. I enjoyed this project, and am pleased with the out come. It is something you can say "I made this" about, without having to apologize for its appearance.