i was at the apple store yesterday with my sick computer. there for a couple hours, chatting with the apple guy, and we got on the subject of photography. he actually has an art degree and was pursuing photography on the side [he loves working at the apple store]. he asked me if i heard of the new camera concept, where you can select focus AFTER the fact. i hadn’t. so we talked some more. i guess before steve jobs died, he was trying to buy out this company, so he could bring the concept to apple. it’s just fascinating.
so what is it? it’s a camera, where you take a photograph, and then you or anyone you share the photograph with, can select a focal point anywhere on the image. i investigated it a bit and the technology uses 11 megarays to capture a living image via a light field picture file [.lfp]. no printing of the pictures right now, just sharing digitally. but my guess is printing [converting of these files] is around the corner.
the camera is small [1.61 in x 1.61 in x 4.41 in] and light. prices range from $399-$499, depending on how many images the camera can hold.
meet the lytro camera…
you can see the kinds of images the camera captures and what the image can do HERE. just click anywhere on the image and see the focal point change. so what do you think? i’m curious to hear what others have to say about this new technology.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
super cool!
OMG! That is so amazing! I really wish Steve had been able to work something out with that! I want one! I couldn’t stop clicking around on the pictures. I wonder what size the files are though?
wow, that is amazing! I love the look of the camera too!
…just pre-ordered one
That is crazy! Very cool.
i know i will be asking for it for my birthday ;o) it is pretty amazing.
It so funny that I read it on your blog today because i wrote a post too about it http://www.imenesaid.com/2012/01/the-future-is-here.html. We are like geek sisters ;o)
Hmmm, it feels like cheating to me; I don’t think I could bring myself to buy one. A huge part of photography IS focusing. You learn things this way, even when you get the focus off and wish, desperately, that you could go back and retake the image. I’ve missed the dot countless times when focusing, but it makes me all the more conscious afterwards.
I’m just imagining someone pointing this camera in a direction, snapping, coming home, focusing it afterwards, and then applying a photoshop action that they bought from someone else. And I think, wow, how much more are we going to rob photography of its process?