A photographic revolution just arrived –
and it’s all wrapped in a shiny aluminum oblong. Engage the shutter on the
world’s first consumer ‘Light Field Camera’ and you don’t capture just one shot
– instead an 11 ‘megaray’ sensor scoops up every possible bit of data through
the 8x zoom, f/2 lens. Cunning processing allows you to focus on any part of
your photo after taking the shot, and (in theory) generate 3D images without
needing a second lens. Despite all that, it’ll small enough to slot into your
hand as you peer through it – and into the future.
Screen
– Creatively speaking
Shoots to thrill?
Using the Lytro is as simple as it innards
are complex. A one-handed zoom and lightning-fast shutter reduce shooting to
bare essentials, though the tiny touchscreen is rather squinty. On-screen
gestures let you navigate, favorite and delete shots in seconds, and refocus
them on the fly. But bold new tech doesn’t come cheap – it takes a lot to
capture all that light field info, and outputted JPEGs end up a measly 1.2MP in
size. Then there’s the lack of a flash or video, which feels more stream era
than space age. Still, the real magic happens when you upload your Pics to your
Mac (PC software is imminent). Here, images can be refocused with more finesse,
or uploaded to Lytro’s website to be shared as interactive ‘living pictures’,
so everyone can play with your multi-focus images. 3D capture and even video
might be on the way. In short, it’s impressive stuff – but most camphones capture
more useful photos.
Stuff says 3/5
More a toy than a real tool – but the photo
revolution starts here.
Screen
The silky touch-sensitive zoom slider is
great; not to the small, pixelly LCD. It washes out in sunlight, smears in the
dark, and ironically it’s almost impossible to tell what’s sharp.
Creatively speaking
Swipe up to enter Creative Mode. This
unlocks the full 8x zoom and lets you shoot Ultra close ups, right up to the
lens. Use with care telephoto Pics reduce the multi-focus effect.
Computer says snap
Smart shots
The Lytro’s smarts are all about
computational photography, which uses cutting-edge algorithms to banish
out-of-focus snaps, improve exposure, correct distortion or even create 3D
movies from the smallest lenses. Cool.
Light fantastic
Inside the Lytro, an array of microlenses
siits between the standard lens and the sensor. The lenses project thousands of
tiny images on to the CCD, allowing the camera to capture a 4D ‘light field’ of
every ray of light.
Near and far
All that light field data allows the Lytro
to work out how a pic would look at any focal setting – from macro to infinity.
Loading an image on to the screen takes a few seconds, but refocusing is almost
instantaneous.
Smart
shots – Light fantastic
Near
and far
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Tech specs
Lytro
Price: US $400 (8GB)
Lens: 43 – 340mm equivalent, F/2
Sensor: 11 Megaray Light Field
Output resolution: 1.2MP
Screen: 1.52in touchscreen
Storage: 8GB (16GB available)
Connectivity: Micro USB
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