Lytro is a new way to take and experience pictures. It is a light field camera which works in a completely different way than our traditional digital cameras do. Once you take a picture on the Lytro you can then manually change the focus on it simply by touching the area of the image you want to focus on.
The sensor inside the camera records the colour, intensity and direction of the rays of light from your subject and stores all that info into an array which is then put through a bunch of algorithms which allows us to create ‘living images’ and ‘move’ through the picture.
Once the sensor has all the data needed, it can be processed via the built in Light Field Engine which is a small processor allowing you to manipulate the image right there on the Lytro using the touch interface on the rear.
The Light Field Engine is also embedded within every picture via the means of HTML5 and Flash so when you transfer them onto your PC you can continue to manipulate every image as you wish, you can also post the images to Facebook and twitter to let your friends interact with them. Saving images in the traditional JPG format is also available but you will lose the interactivity, and all the fun!
Because of the amount of data the camera stores with every picture, it can also output the images in 3D so you can view them on any 3D compatible display with 3D glasses.
Some people are touting this as one of the most significant photography related developments of all time.
The camera is available in red, graphite or blue in 8GB/16GB, is small enough to fit in a pocket comfortably and runs on a rechargeable battery.
There is no word on a UK retail supplier yet but it currently goes for $399 (8GB)/$499 (16GB) over the pond. Check out some of the living pictures over at the Lytro gallery.
Source : Lytro
