Lytro's "Light Field" Camera Available for Pre-order

Back in June, I was excited about the idea of so-called “light field” photography – a digital raster process that captures not only intensity and color for each pixel, but also the direction of inbound light. The upshot? So-called “light field” cameras actually record a vector field for each image that allows software ray-tracing to produce images of the scene arbitrarily focused at any depth, including infinite.

I’m still excited about that idea, and I thought it was worth mentioning that the first commercial devices produced by the inventor’s start-up are now available for pre-order, with shipping expected in 2012. I am a late adopter, by nature, and it’s extremely unlikely I’ll be plunking down the $400 Lytro is asking for its 8GB model, sight unseen. For me, at least, the focus-later feature doesn’t justify that kind of expense. I hope they make it, though, so I can eventually buy a cheaper model. And I’ll be very curious when the reviews start coming out. [Thanks, Laura!]

0 Responses to Lytro's "Light Field" Camera Available for Pre-order

VRAndy on October 28th, 2011 at 6:43 pm said:

This looks pretty neat.

One worry to me is that I can’t see any evidence of a tripod mount.

Reply ↓
- Marc de Vinck on October 29th, 2011 at 6:31 am said:
  
  I thought about that too. You could easily make a plastic ‘clip’ on a MakerBot, or through a 3D printing service.
  
  Reply ↓
Tom G on October 29th, 2011 at 6:23 am said:

Consider this Instructable about how to make a real scene look like a model,
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Achieve-Miniature-Effect-via-Photoshop/?ALLSTEPS
and then imagine using a lytro to make a model look like a real scene. You might be able soon to create a 3-d viewing experience where things come into focus only when you look
at them. Might need a plug-in to add smog/UV effects to a lytro model shot.

Reply ↓