Increasingly, retail and e-commerce sites are using animated 3D images to let potential customers examine all visible parts of any item they are considering as a purchase.
You can now create an animated photo of any item using 3DBin, an app that facilitates 360-degree or 180-degree photography from your iPhone. Just circle around your subject and shoot a series of shots. A convenient redo option allows users to retake photos, useful when you want to maintain the same distance from the object while taking pictures. A handy transparency feature helps you position and frame your shot.
The emergence of 3D in recent years has created a lot of buzz, and a number of mobile apps with various interpretations of 3D — such as Itsees3D for the iPad and Seene for the iPhone have emerged in the space. That’s in addition to more direct competitors such as RotaryView CupChair and Arqspin.
You don’t have to be selling anything to use 3DBin. You can easily use the app for recreational purposes to capture your cat or your kid in 3D just for fun.
After you shoot enough images for your animation, the software takes over the rest of the process by weaving the images together, all in the space of a few minutes.
The images can be exported as a movie to the camera roll on your device or you can access and manipulate the files from your browser window.
On the phone, just move your finger back and forth over the image to see the different angles.
Of course you can also share them on popular social networks and embed them in your blog or website.
The app is available in the iTunes store now. For a few days, 3DBin will be offered as a free download with all the features and options unlocked. After a few days, the app will remain free, but it will cost 99 cents to unlock in-app features.
3DBin is optimized for the iPhone 5 and requires iOS 7.
➤ 3DBin
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.