Lytro Releases Revolutionary Camera

Lytro has finally unveiled its new, mysterious [https://www.lytro.com/camera|digital camera]. There has only been speculation as to the device’s specifications and features thus far.As of late, rumor and speculation have greatly increased, and now, as the camera heads into production, the company is finaly unveiling it. Recently, some publications have even spoken with various beta testers of the new device and the reviews have been nothing short of positive.

CEO Ren Ng was the chief speaker in the presentation. He began with a short overview of Lytro’s history and then reminisced on time spent working on the new camera’s technology while he was at Stanford. Finally, the moment of truth arrived and Ng went on to explain the camera’s benefits for consumers.

Device’s Features

First, and perhaps most importantly, this unique camera gives one the opportunity to take a picture now and worry about focusing it later; usually, the reverse is true, photographers must have a good focus before they can even snap the picture. Secondly, viewers have the unique ability to interact with the camera. You can focus and refocus the camera as much as you like. Ng then went on to talk about how the camera’s images boast “immersive 3D”, a feature that was already known to some because of interviews with beta testers.

Ng calls their latest device Camera 3.0- a new step in digital photography. The camera is being called the Lytro, and listed below are some more details on the camera’s specifications.

List of Specs

• The camera boasts an 8x optical zoom and f2.0 aperture
• It’s what’s known as an 11 “megaray” device, meaning that, in total, it can capture around 11 million rays of light.
• Since the camera doesn’t need time to focus itself, startup to the image capture option is almost instantaneous.
• Images can be viewed via software that comes with the camera. The camera itself makes use of a micro USB.
• The Lytro comes in both 8GB, which can capture around 350 light-field images, and 16GB versions.

The camera has a rectangular, tube-like sort of design. It’s very much unlike any other kind of camera that you’ve seen. It’s pretty small and made of metal, with one end holding the camera’s lens, and the other serves as a touchscreen display.

The Software behind the Technology

Details of the software are still a bit sketchy, but we know that it’s the reason that you can amazingly focus your pictures after you’ve already shot them. The software also enables you to post your pictures directly to Facebook if you so choose. Heck, your friends can even zoom in on and refocus the images for you.

The Lytro will ship out in early 2012, with the 8GB costing $399 and the 16GB costing $499.There has been speculation about the camera and its technology since the beginning of this year. Lytro was founded by Dr. Ren Ng, a Stanford graduate who, in his 2006 dissertation, explained the technology surrounding the camera.

Digital Trends Photo by : LYTRO