I do have a phd in a theoretical quantum optics, so no, I have no idea if such a weird angle will actually work in practice given the physical and budgetary con

I do have a phd in a theoretical quantum optics, so no, I have no idea if such a weird angle will actually work in practice given the physical and budgetary constraints. :-D Seriously, though, I have idea. We can take two pictures focusing once the near part, and once on the far part. If cameras are cheap (I haven't researched), maybe two on either end of the device would mitigate the complexity of the lenses required.