{"id":360,"date":"2011-06-23T16:23:32","date_gmt":"2011-06-23T16:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tech-no.104.210.61.21.xip.io\/?p=360"},"modified":"2011-06-29T04:59:17","modified_gmt":"2011-06-29T04:59:17","slug":"lytro-the-camera-that-could-change-photography-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tech-no.org\/?p=360","title":{"rendered":"Lytro: The camera that could change photography forever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What is it? A nifty camera that lets you change focus after taking the picture. Why should you care? i say because it makes photography fun for everyone!<\/p>\n

According to Lytro, “The team at Lytro is completing the job of a century\u2019s worth of theory and exploration about light fields. Lytro\u2019s engineers and scientists have taken light fields out of the lab \u2013 miniaturizing a roomful of cameras tethered to a supercomputer and making it fit in your pocket”<\/p>\n

Info from the FAQ:<\/h2>\n

How is this light field camera different from my current camera?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great question. Unlike regular digital or film cameras, which can only record a scene in two-dimensions, light field cameras captures all of the light rays traveling in every direction through a scene. This means that some aspects of a picture can be manipulated after the fact. To acquire this additional data, Lytro cameras include an innovative new light field sensor that captures the color, intensity and vector direction of light rays.<\/p>\n

Translation:<\/em> Light field cameras unleash the power of the light, so you don\u2019t have to go through the pain of taking 50 pictures to get that really great one.<\/p>\n

What are some of the features of a light field camera?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shoot now, focus later:<\/em> Because the camera captures the entire light field, there is no need to focus ahead of time. You can simply capture the moment, and adjust the focus later. This means you can concentrate on what\u2019s happening in the scene, not fiddle with your camera.\u00a0Lytro pictures can be \u00a0focused to your liking days, weeks, even years after they\u2019re taken.<\/p>\n

Unparalleled speed:<\/em> This is fast. Since the camera doesn\u2019t focus before a photo is taken, you don\u2019t miss important moments due to autofocus shutter lag.<\/p>\n

Living pictures.<\/em> When shared online, both the photographer and viewer can play with Lytro pictures, including changing the focus.<\/p>\n

Low-light sensitivity: <\/em>Everyone knows low light\u00a0pictures are usually very entertaining, but they\u2019re also pretty difficult to capture with a regular camera or cell phone. By using all of the available light in a scene, Lytro cameras capture great pictures in low light environments without use of a flash \u2013 from clubs to concerts to candlelit dinners.<\/p>\n

Immersive 3D: <\/em>Using the full light field, Lytro cameras will allow you to easily switch between 2D and 3D views or shift the perspective of the scene.<\/p>\n

What does that actually mean \u2013 \u201cfocus later\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The FAQ\u2019s will politely defer to the\u00a0Picture Gallery<\/a> to answer this question. Typically, punting on questions is considered poor taste in the FAQ community, but the Picture Gallery has this one in the bag. Seeing is believing. Go check it out.<\/p>\n

Just click on a point on any picture. You will see this point suddenly become much sharper. What\u2019s happening? This is the light field in action. Living pictures use the full light field and can serve up different points of focus after you click the shutter rather than before.<\/p>\n

What is a light field?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The light field is a core concept in imaging science. The light field fully defines how a scene appears, from the foreground to the background and everything in between. \u00a0Lytro cameras record the light field of a scene. \u00a0Check out the\u00a0Science Inside<\/a> section on our site to learn more.<\/p>\n

Who is behind this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t your average camera company. Dr. Ren Ng is the CEO. Light field science and computational photography was the subject of Dr. Ng\u2019s PhD dissertation in computer science at Stanford, which won the internationally recognized ACM award in 2007. In more than six years of research, Dr. Ng miniaturized the light field technology, taking a roomful of cameras and computers in a lab environment and shrinking it into an affordable, portable, easy-to-use camera.<\/p>\n

Lytro has assembled a team with deep experience in product development, engineering, imaging, mobile, wireless, and processors. Kurt Akeley, our CTO, is the co-founder of SGI and inventor of OpenGL. And, if you\u2019re not yet convinced on the smart people comment, we have two Nobel Laureates as advisors to the company.<\/p>\n

Why has this never been done before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Short answer: It has in the academic labs, but never in your hands until now.<\/p>\n

Light field science and computational photography have been extensively researched for more than a century in academic environments. This has been in theory for many years, but after years of research, Ren was able to take a technology that used to require a roomful of cameras and shrink it to fit in your purse.<\/p>\n

What is a living picture?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A living picture is a moment that doesn\u2019t die with the shutter snap. Living pictures enable you and your friends and family to relive your moment, how you experienced it the first time.<\/p>\n

We hope that living pictures will give you, the photographer, a new creative avenue for taking pictures, letting you \u00a0express yourself with an entirely new way to capture a scene. As more people take light field pictures, we\u2019re excited for the\u00a0 tremendous creativity and innovation that the camera will unleash.<\/p>\n

Some info from the marketing department at Lytro:<\/h2>\n
\n

Light Field Defined<\/h1>\n

What is the light field?<\/h3>\n

The light field is a core concept in imaging science, representing fundamentally more powerful data than in regular photographs. The light field fully defines how a scene appears. It is the amount of light traveling in every direction through every point in space \u2013 it\u2019s all the light rays in a scene. Conventional cameras cannot record the light field.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Light Field Capture<\/h1>\n

How does a light field camera capture the light rays?<\/h3>\n

Recording light fields requires an innovative, entirely new kind of sensor called a light field sensor. The light field sensor captures the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light. This directional information is completely lost with traditional camera sensors, which simply add up all the light rays and record them as a single amount of light.<\/p>\n

Light Field Processing<\/h1>\n

How do light field cameras make use of the additional information?<\/h3>\n

By substituting powerful software for many of the internal parts of regular cameras, light field processing introduces new capabilities that were never before possible. Sophisticated algorithms use the full light field to unleash new ways to make and view pictures.<\/p>\n

Relying on software rather than components can improve performance, from increased speed of picture taking to the potential for capturing better pictures in low light. It also creates new opportunities to innovate on camera lenses, controls and design.<\/p>\n

Picture Capabilities<\/h1>\n

How are light field pictures different?<\/h3>\n

The way we communicate visually is evolving rapidly, and people\u2019s expectations are changing in lockstep. Light field cameras offer astonishing capabilities. They allow both the picture taker and the viewer to focus pictures after they\u2019re snapped, shift their perspective of the scene, and even switch seamlessly between 2D and 3D views. With these amazing capabilities, pictures become immersive, interactive visual stories that were never before possible \u2013 they become living pictures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

quick intro on the camera here: http:\/\/www.lytro.com\/cameras<\/p>\n

More pictures:
\n<\/p>\n

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