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As you may remember from our previous discussions I have never owned an iPhone, but I have learned a lot about them from your frequent comments to others on these threads. It may not be pleasant for you, but the confrontational nature of many of the discussions makes the subject more enjoyable to read. If your goal is to educate people about Apple products who normally wouldn’t be interested... I believe you actually are succeeding with many of us. I hope that you won’t mind this somewhat rambling post.

I have an interest in 3-D photography and have a dedicated Fuji 3-D camera, a pair of Canons that use software known as SDM (Stereo Data Maker), and also an EVO 3D cell phone with a 3D Camera. I also take 3-D pictures of “static” scenes using a DSLR type camera by taking one exposure then shifting the camera sideways and taking another exposure and using software to get the two photos adjusted to work well as a 3-D pair.

Surprisingly, I have gotten some really good 3-D pairs with the EVO 3D cell phone for the reason you stated in one of your posts, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” The EVO 3D was released in 2011... for its time the EVO 3D had a surprisingly good camera; it is still superior to almost all of the cheap 3-D cameras that are currently found on Amazon and eBay.

The other point that you might make in future discussions is that in most situations... lighting is often a more important element in a good exposure than the equipment used. Good lighting is far more complex than most people realize and is more often the result of proper planning than dumb luck.

In 2014 Google released an update to their camera app that was intended to mimic the narrow field of focus that can normally is difficult achieved without a large sensor. It works by prompting you to slowly move the camera after you first take your exposure. From this movement the app creates a “depth map” which the software can use to blur the parts of the picture that are either nearer or closer to the subject that the subject the photographer wants to direct the viewers attention on.

Masuji SUTO, AKA Muttyan is the Japanese prodigy who has released and is constantly upgrading Stereo Photo Maker, the most important 3-D software package currently available. He immediately recognized that the depth map incorporated into the new Google Camera App could also be used to create 3-D images. He released an update to Stereo Photo Maker shortly after the Camera App was released which allows anyone taking pictures with the Google Camera App to easily convert them to impressive 3-D stereo pairs.

I should mention that the best way my wife and I have to view 3-D photos is on our 3-D television, but in December Google released an App platform called Google Cardboard. This app uses an inexpensive (around $10 for the ones we bought) cardboard mount for your Android cell phone which has a couple of powerful magnifying lenses, you strap it on your head and it creates a Virtual Reality experience. As your head around the motion sensors in the phone change your view. Some of the Apps are very fun; we especially like the roller coaster apps, but it also turns a phone with a high resolution display into a great 3-D photo or movie viewer. Because of the magnification... it actually it actually makes very good use of phones with very high resolution displays.

There are actually are 3-D apps for iPhones. I even bought a Hasbro viewer designed for an iPhone that I adapted for my Android devices. None of the iPhone 3-D photography Apps that I am currently aware of can compare to the Google Camera App when using depth map integration with Stereo Photo Maker. If Apple finds a way to incorporate a depth map into their camera app I think that a lot of 3-D photo enthusiasts would take a serious look at the iPhone.

Thanks for reading my long post.