S3D and AR, emergence and augmentation, have certain similarities, for both call into question the surface of the image on the side of the viewer by introducing virtual elements into real space. A comparative analysis of the two strategies reveals that the mimetic program that largely structures the production and reception of technical images is not centred squarely on illusion, but more generally on immersion and more particularly on egocentric spatial immersion, which perceptually places the viewer at the centre of the virtual world. But at the present time, as they have developed so far, S3D and AR are imperfect responses to this ideal.