The brains at Stanford University that brought us the SynthCam app and the Frankencamera are about to spin off into a separate company and offer their first commercial option: The Lytro. Boasting the same plenoptic lens shown at other events, it allows you to snap a single photo, a single instant in time, and then post process it later to change parameters like exposure, focus, and more.
The main lens is fixed in place; there is no auto-focus, auto-aperture, or other gubbins. This limits the number of moving parts which need to be adjusted every time a photo is taken, and which cause a lag between pressing the shutter-release button and capturing the image. Lytro’s snaps, by contrast, will be truly instantaneous, just like old film-based snapshot cameras. The light-field approach means they will always be in focus (since the plane of focus can be moved at will after the photograph has been taken). And the main lens is preset so that it always captures the greatest amount of light possible. This means that exposure time can be extremely short even in poorly lit conditions.
Unfortunately, this first offering will be useful only for hobbyists thanks to its 525×525 resolution. It’ll be perfect for home use (I can only imagine how many photos I could have saved if I could have adjusted the focus after the fact, and I’m actually somewhat knowledgable about cameras), and is actually targeted at internet sharing sites. They’ve already raised $50m in venture capital, so hopefully they’ll start ramping up production soon.
via Computational photography: Candid camera | The Economist.
