Incoherent digital holographic photography and videography under sunlight by in-line geometry with a liquid crystal lens

Incoherent digital holography (IDH) is a passive 3D imaging technique using incoherent light. Herein, we propose, theoretically describe, and experimentally demonstrate an in-line IDH geometry with a liquid crystal lens and a polarization image sensor for passive 3D videography under sunlight. The transmission-type, refractive birefringent liquid crystal lens enables an in-line, self-interference geometry with high-light utilization efficiency. To acquire high-quality reconstructed images, we developed a lens system with reduced aberrations and vignetting and a numerical propagation method to eliminate ringing artifacts. We then demonstrated monochromatic 3D photography and videography under indoor (light emitting diode) and outdoor (sunlight) illumination conditions, successfully achieving selective focus and reduced ringing artifacts to give high-quality reconstructed images.