Digital Photography Technology Takes a Big Leap Beyond the Familiar with the Truly Revolutionary Lytro Light-Field Camera
New digital cameras and lenses are always big news at PhotographyTalk; and 2012 has already seen the introduction of many long-awaited products, with many more to come. In the midst of all the hoopla for the latest photography equipment, which is at least familiar, comes a camera that is not an upgrade or the re-configuring of existing technology. It is the first product from a new company that could turn digital photography as you know it on its ear.
Introduced at the end of February 2012, the Lytro camera (from the company of the same name) just doesn’t look different, but radically alters how images are captured and what can be done with them during editing. Take a picture with the Lytro, transfer it to your computer and then bring objects and subjects into focus, which were not in focus when registered on the sensor.
Typically if you photograph a group of people standing at various distances from the camera, then some of them will not be in focus. Use a Lytro camera instead and you’re able to refocus any of them on your computer using Lytro’s proprietary software. Place your Lytro photos on its free photo-sharing Web site and your family members and friends are able to view the images AND also make any subject sharp and crisp that may not have been in focus on the original. “Is that Uncle Joe in the background?” Change the focus and you’ll recognize Uncle Joe clearly.
The Lytro camera is a small, rectangular box that fits in a pocket or bag. The company is clearly targeting the point-and-shoot camera market as its competitor. The dimensions of the camera are 4.4 x 1.6 x 1.6”, and weighs approximately 7.5 ounces. Construction materials are aluminum for the front section and a rubberized plastic for the rear section. The Lytro is a “light-field” camera, relying on an entirely different technology than found in common digital cameras. The resolution of the camera’s sensor is not expressed in megapixels, but megarays. The Lytro is an 11-megaray camera, or the capability to capture 11 million rays of light.
Because of this unique and revolutionary technology, the Lytro camera reads and records a greater array of data of the light entering the lens, including the direction of the light rays. According to Lytro (the company), these enhanced picture files give the photographer more editing versatility and creativity.
The exterior of the Lytro camera is rather simple: an 8x zoom lens to the front and a touch-screen viewfinder on the back, two buttons for power and shutter release and a touch slider to zoom the lens.
Lytro (the company) will reportedly have newer version of the software available in the near future that will provide even more unheard-of editing choices. What if you could make every element in a photo in focus simultaneously? How would you like to view a photograph from a different perspective? Want to see a 2D and 3D version of a photo and switch between the views easily?
As you might expect with a new product that is trying to leap way beyond the box, the Lytro camera initially has some limitations. As mentioned above, you must use the matching software to manipulate images and it is only Mac-compatible. Look for a Windows version later during 2012. You won’t find a flash attachment, either; but one may not be needed, since the lens is always set to f/2, capturing plenty of light.
One early tester of the Lytro camera reports that he only needed a few days to re-adjust his thinking about digital photography and take good pictures, and then manipulate the focus of the objects within them on a computer.
Unless you’re a gadget freak of the first order, you may want the Lytro story to develop further before spending $399 for the first model. It will be seen as a bit of a novelty by many, but the car, the telephone and the airplane were all considered “novelties” with no possible future value.
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Photo by:© Lytro, Inc. 2011