The new Lytro “Light field camera”

  • …new technology to create photos that can have their focus changed after they have been taken.
  • …there is no need to auto-focus, resulting in virtually no shutter delay.

  • Lytro’s light field sensor captures not only the color, intensity and position of the light, but also its direction, which is lost in traditional cameras.
  • Tiny lenses divide the CMOS sensor’s pixel into multiple areas, each showing the image at a slightly different angle. Software uses this data to triangulate the image in 3-D space.
  • Clicking any point on the image brings that area into focus…
  • The camera is the size and shape of a stick of butter.
  • It weights 215 grams, a bit more than some point-and-shoot, but not so much that you would notice.
  • The camera comes with either 8 gigabytes of memory (350 pictures, costing $399) or 16 gigabytes (750 pictures costing $499)