Multiview camera array, multiview system, and method having camera sub-arrays with a shared camera

A multiview system comprising:

• a multiview camera array having a plurality of camera sub-arrays configured to capture a multiview image of a scene, camera sub-arrays of the camera sub-array plurality being interleaved with one another and at least two of the camera sub-arrays having a camera in common;
• and a multiview display configured to display the multiview image, a number of different views of the multiview image corresponding to a number of cameras in the camera sub-arrays of the multiview camera array, wherein:
• baseline distances between adjacent cameras within different ones of the camera sub-arrays are integer multiples of one another;
• cameras of each camera subarray are configured to capture a plurality of images of the scene representing different views of a multiview image of the scene;
• and the multiview camera array is configured to select among the pluralities of images based on a distance between the multiview camera array and an object in the scene.

A method of capturing a multiview image, the method comprising:

• capturing a first plurality of different views of a scene using a first sub-array of cameras spaced apart from one another by a first baseline distance;
• capturing a second plurality of different views of a scene using a second sub-array of cameras spaced apart from one another by a second baseline distance, the first baseline distance being an integer multiple of the second baseline distance and at least one camera of the second sub-array of cameras being a member of the first sub-array of cameras;
• selecting between the first and second pluralities of different views based on a distance between the first sub-array of cameras and an object in the scene;
• and forming the multiview image from the selected first or second plurality of different views.