Lytro: Focus-Free Camera in Your Pocket

Before the debut of pocket-sized light-field cameras like Lytro, the first light-field cameras 15 years ago required a whole room to initiate. So what's the difference between a light-field camera and a digital camera? The primary difference is focus; sure, we have cameras which can automatically or manually focus, but what we didn't have (before the Lytro camera came out) was a camera which could focus on different objects after the picture was taken.

History

The original project was initiated by Stanford University as an experimental research project. As the experiment became more successful, Stanford light-field researcher Dr. Ren Ng founded the company Lytro. Presumably, the objective of the company was to produce a hand-held version of the Lytro camera, technically combining a room full of instruments into one portable camera. Take note that the room-sized light-field camera was created over 15 years ago, so the technology was just an experiment back then.

Light-Field Cameras Versus DSLR Cameras
Some DSLR cameras allow the user to apply edits before or after saving the picture, although these edits commonly lack pure focus. Also, keep in mind that a majority of photos are saved under motionless file names, such as JPEG. On the other hand, Lytro allows its users to save their pictures under a format which allows them to simultaneously change the focus of a motionless picture.

While a DSLR image sensor will capture only an irreversible image with a selected set of light rays, a light-field sensor captures a greater amount of light rays with a higher capacity of colors and light in each pixel. The direction of the light rays is stored with vectors, so different focus points can be generated on the picture even after it is taken (without photo editing). Vectors are not present in traditional camera sensors.

The delay caused by a DSLR camera with auto-focus frequently messes up shots, regardless of the shutter-lag compensation by a camera's specific brand. For example, snapping pictures of specific people running a marathon wouldn't work well on a camera with auto-focus. A light-field camera allows you to focus on specific people later so you could focus on the specific marathon participant. Pre-order cost: $399-$499

Inside Lytro