Lytro, the world’s first commercially available plenoptic or light field camera that allows you to endlessly refocus the image after you’ve clicked the shutter, is now available to consumers after a limited release last Spring.
Announced only a couple of days ago, the Lytro finally hits stores around the world with a brand new set of features to allow for more manual control. A new firmware update to the camera will allow users to control the shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, and auto exposure.
The magic of the Lytro camera is in its ability to read light rays (11 million of them) with a special sensor that corresponds with a micro-lens array that allows for the camera’s unique plenoptic capabilities. In so many words, there are two modes the camera can operate: ‘regular mode’ and ‘creative mode’ that allows you to control the blur in the scene with just a tap after you’ve taken the picture. For instance: bird in the foreground and blurry mountain in the background – simply tap the mountain and the bird is blurry and the mountain is in focus. It’s actually incredible, but what are some of the real applications besides its novelty? Perhaps time will tell, but gosh in the meantime it sure is fun.
Lytro was founded by Stanford University Computer Graphics Laboratory alumnus Ren Ng after about a century of trying to get plenoptic cameras in the hands of consumers. The first light field camera was first proposed by Franco-Luxembourgish physicist and inventor Gabriel Lippmann (he also has one of the coolest mustaches in history) using integral photography as its technology.
The Lytro has one of the funniest and impractical designs for a camera and seems almost anti-ergonomic. Regardless, if you have the $399 bucks to blow it might be a fun camera to take photos and wow your friends on Facebook. The base model boasts 8 gigs of storage and comes in 5 different colors while their “Red Hot” model has 16 gigs and can hold 750 pictures – perfect for that plenoptic fanatic. And with an application that is both a Mac and Window compatible, you’ll be able to “refocus, sort, and share” in no time.
