Shoot now, focus later. That’s just the start of what you can do with a Lytro camera, the camera that captures the entire light field.
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.
Translation: Light field cameras unleash the power of the light, so you don’t have to go through the pain of taking 50 pictures to get that really great one.
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.
Translation: Light field cameras unleash the power of the light, so you don’t have to go through the pain of taking 50 pictures to get that really great one.
This isn’t your average camera company. Dr. Ren Ng is the CEO. Light field science and computational photography was the subject of Dr. Ng’s 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.
This is the start of the picture revolution. Visit their Picture Gallery to experience living pictures for yourself.
The team at Lytro is completing the job of a century’s worth of theory and exploration about light fields. Lytro’s engineers and scientists have taken light fields out of the lab – miniaturizing a roomful of cameras tethered to a supercomputer and making it fit in your pocket.
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 – it’s all the light rays in a scene. Conventional cameras cannot record the light field.
Credit: Lytro
How does a light field camera capture the light rays?
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.
Light Field Processing
How do light field cameras make use of the additional information?
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.
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.
How are light field pictures different?
The way we communicate visually is evolving rapidly, and people’s 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’re 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 – they become living pictures.
What are some of the features of a light field camera?
Shoot now, focus later: 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’s happening in the scene, not fiddle with your camera. Lytro pictures can be focused to your liking days, weeks, even years after they’re taken.
Unparalleled speed: This is fast. Since the camera doesn’t focus before a photo is taken, you don’t miss important moments due to autofocus shutter lag.
Living pictures. When shared online, both the photographer and viewer can play with Lytro pictures, including changing the focus.
Low-light sensitivity: Everyone knows low light pictures are usually very entertaining, but they’re 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 – from clubs to concerts to candlelit dinners.
Immersive 3D: 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.
What does that actually mean – “focus later”?
The FAQ’s will politely defer to the Picture Gallery 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.
Just click on a point on any picture. You will see this point suddenly become much sharper. What’s 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.
Take a Deeper Dive
Want to learn more? Check out the Lytro Blog. Want to learn a lot more? Read the CEO’s dissertation.
This is the start of the picture revolution. Visit their Picture Gallery to experience living pictures for yourself.
Credit: Lytro / Jason Bradle
How does a light field camera capture the light rays?
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.
Light Field Processing
How do light field cameras make use of the additional information?
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.
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.
Credit: Lytro
Picture Capabilities
How are light field pictures different?
The way we communicate visually is evolving rapidly, and people’s 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’re 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 – they become living pictures.
Credit: Lytro
What are some of the features of a light field camera?
Shoot now, focus later: 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’s happening in the scene, not fiddle with your camera. Lytro pictures can be focused to your liking days, weeks, even years after they’re taken.
Unparalleled speed: This is fast. Since the camera doesn’t focus before a photo is taken, you don’t miss important moments due to autofocus shutter lag.
Living pictures. When shared online, both the photographer and viewer can play with Lytro pictures, including changing the focus.
Low-light sensitivity: Everyone knows low light pictures are usually very entertaining, but they’re 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 – from clubs to concerts to candlelit dinners.
Immersive 3D: 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.
What does that actually mean – “focus later”?
The FAQ’s will politely defer to the Picture Gallery 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.
Just click on a point on any picture. You will see this point suddenly become much sharper. What’s 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.
Take a Deeper Dive
Want to learn more? Check out the Lytro Blog. Want to learn a lot more? Read the CEO’s dissertation.
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