Lytro Light Field Camera...it's here, and you can now buy it.

[Lost Canadian]

Talk about a revolution, the light field camera is really here, and starting at $399 I think has the potential to really take off. Personally I see massive potential for this technology and am really looking forward to see how it advances.

Here's Dpreview's first look and interview with Ren Ng, the inventor of this technology.

 

[taco2go]

Very intriguing, I played with some pictures on their gallery. Variable focus and zoom.
Digital Telescopic Imagery would be a good description.
Still not clear on how it captures light rays

 

[Lost Canadian]

From the way I kinda understand it to be, the camera uses a unique array of thousands of little offset micro lenses on the sensor to detect light direction in multiple dimensions, then using sophisticated algorithms the camera can extract and peice together details of that information to allow you to select your focus, be it some of the image or all of the image. It's crazy cool, and complicated, albeit somewhat of a novelty in its present form. Should be cool to see the technology advance though.

 

[suntinez]

From the way I kinda understand it to be, the camera uses a unique array of thousands of little offset micro lenses on the sensor to detect light direction in multiple dimensions, then using sophisticated algorithms the camera can extract and peice together details of that information to allow you to select your focus, be it some of the image or all of the image. It's crazy cool, and complicated, albeit somewhat of a novelty in its present form. Should be cool to see the technology advance though.

I think it's fascinating - and close to what a holographic camera would need. If it captured phase information as well, voila - real 3D.

Hopefully Canon or Nikon doesn't swallow it up and squash it. Glad they're giving the big guys a shot in the arm.

 

[4xdog]

3D is indeed in the pipeline. Definitely a look at the future.

Remember that scene in Blade Runner when Decker (Harrison Ford) inspects that photo by zooming around the image in ways we can't normally do it? Might be comin'...

 

[4xdog]

Has anybody shot with one of these yet? Checking out the sample photos on the company's website shows some pretty average-looking images...

Don

 

[ywen]

this is only good for the creator to selective choose focus for a final presentation of the image to its audience..

the ability for viewers to navigate and choose focus is cool but gets old real quick and doesn't add any value to what I present.. at least that's my feeling for now.

 

[4xdog]

I had a chance to play with a Lytro for a few days last month. Completely underwhelming. Near useless. A cool idea that delivers nuthin'. Unless they figure out something clever like 3D, this is gonna sink without a trace.

Anybody else see anything different?

Don

 

[john101477]

I had a chance to play with a Lytro for a few days last month. Completely underwhelming. Near useless. A cool idea that delivers nuthin'. Unless they figure out something clever like 3D, this is gonna sink without a trace.

Anybody else see anything different?

Don

x2 Don these "cameras" are about useless for seasoned professionals looking for their next big shot. the shape alone was enough to detour me let alone the picture quality.