REAL-TIME PICKUP METHOD FOR A 3-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE-BASED ON INTEGRAL PHOTOGRAPHY

We studied integral photography (IF), which creates three-dimensional autostereoscopic images. In particular we studied the possibility of a new method that uses a television camera to shoot directly numerous r eal images produced by a lens array. Unlike the conventional IP method in which the film is placed immediately behind a lens array, this met hod employs a television camera, which enables us to shoot moving pict ures. Of a number of factors affecting the process of image pickup, we examined some optical factors and compared them with those obtained b y the conventional IP method. The results show that with this new dire ct pickup method that uses a television camera, we can obtain an IP im age like those obtained by using the conventional IP method. Further, we conducted an experiment with an high-definition TV camera, confirmi ng the production of an autostereoscopic image by using a display devi ce that combines a liquid-crystal panel and pinholes. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.