The month of June saw word about the Lytro light field camera doing the rounds and it has now been revealed for those users who like to go clickety-click at every opportunity they get. Every photographer experiences moments where they have shot a good picture but realized that the focus wasn’t set right. The technology brought in by Lytro allows users to refocus an image even after it has been clicked.
The Lytro Light Field camera has 8x optical zoom and a lens that features a constant f/2 aperture. It is actually a sleek little camera that weighs less than 8 ounces and sports an aluminum body featuring only two buttons. The kaleidoscope-like design is fitted with a lens on one end, while the other side incorporates an intuitive glass touchscreen. Photographers can view images from here and even refocus directly on the device.
“Light field photography was once only possible with 100 cameras tethered to a supercomputer in a lab,” shares Lytro CEO and Founder Dr. Ren Ng. “Today it’s accessible to everyone in a camera that’s small and powerful, but incredibly easy to use. Our goal is to forever change the way people take and experience pictures, and today marks our first major step.”
The camera claims to click ‘living pictures’ owing to its light field sensor that is said to capture 11 million light rays of data. The results that would be put online or shared across mobiles, tablets and other gadgets would allow viewers to interact and play around with the images, thus making them come alive. Its fast shutter speed with an f/2 lens would take care of capturing images in low light conditions.
The Lytro light field camera is bundled with a desktop application to aid users in transferring images from the camera to the PC. The app is currently available only for Mac OS X, but a Windows version can be expected in 2012. The gadget is available in 8GB and 16GB variants allowing users to store 350 and 750 images, respectively. The former comes dipped in graphite or an electric blue shade, while latter would be obtained in a ‘red hot’ hue.
The Lytro light field camera is available for order on the company’s official website and is expected to begin shipping in early 2012. The 8GB one is tacked at $399 (approx. Rs. 20,000), while the 16GB variant has a price label of $499 (approx. Rs. 25,000).
