texasdan78070 Loc: Texas Hill Country

Anyone ever heard of the above mentioned camera? I've gotten 2 ads for them. They claim a 3D look and low light ability. Looks more like Tupperware than a camera to me!!!

Dan

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Yeah, I've heard of it, seen videos of it, and ads. For the price, I'd rather purchase some real photographic equipment.
--Bob

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

It is a "one trick pony" camera, in a square tube design, meant to appear cutting-edge modern. Did not do well in sales.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

The Lytro uses a completely different way to record an image; the notion is that you can determine the point of focus AFTER taking the shot. On their website they show (or at least used to show) examples where by moving a slider you could change the sharply focused zone from the face in the foreground to thecae in the background. This is not a matter of changing DOF by reducing the aperture size; this is on the finished image.

The problem is in order to do that you need to view the image on a monitor so you can interact with it. If you decide to make a print it turns out the resolution of the final image is rather low. So while it's a kind of amazing concept, the reality is the novelty likely wears thin soon.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

:!: NO, it records more information than "normal" old fashion DSLR cameras. More than one trick ... indeed.

It is people like Nikonian who squelched Quadraphonic Music and the 8 Track Tape units as well as Kodak's disk camera. I hold Nikonian in high esteem but am shocked by his flippant rejection of this technology. Dose still use 78 rpm recordings in monaural? :roll:

Nikonian would go crazy trying to photograph a Humer Convention getting them in focus or taking 100 shots and image stacking. If only he were to be open he would use a Lytro then all 100 would be in focus with one shot. :thumbup: To see examples:
http://pictures.lytro.com/

IMO we should all buy one to foster the improvement of the technology, better yet, the Pentagon should divert monies now devoted to LSD, mind-reading, and remote viewing research to the improvement of the Lytro. The price is not much in today's world, less than $150.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/929425-REG/lytro_m01_100007_us_light_field_16gb_camera.html

In reality it is an interesting concept of image and electronics. "Light-field photography is far more ambitious. Instead of merely recording the sum of all the light rays falling on each photosite, a light-field camera aims to measure the intensity and direction of every incoming ray. With that information, you can generate not just one but every possible image of whatever is within the camera’s field of view at that moment. " ***
*** http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/gadgets/lightfield-photography-revolutionizes-imaging :shock: :thumbup:

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

You are referring to the original Lytro. The more recent Lytro Illum is a much more interesting camera with a much larger file size. Its applications are still geared to viewer interaction. It allows the viewer to choose a focus point. It is also good for producing stills for internet posting since it allows for changing the focal point and DOF in post prior to producing a JPG. However, its sharpness for stills is still somewhat lacking for print. But an interesting technology with a lot of promise.

Recently, when B&H had it as a daily deal, I was tempted, but only briefly. The regular price for the Illum was around $1,400 but is now down to $995.00. The 16GB tube model you are referring to is now under $100.00 on some sites. It could be a fun toy, and playing with it might prepare you for the concept when it is better developed.

denwin580 Loc: Kettering, Ohio

Thanks for opening up my eyes to this amazing technology emerging in the photographic world. Appreciate you sharing this.

texasdan78070 Loc: Texas Hill Country

Here's a link to the page if you're interested. Hope it works.

Dan


https://store.gizmag.com/sales/lytro-gen-1-camera-16gb-red?utm_source=StackSocial+Deals+Newsletter&utm_campaign=600738b724-

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

You must remove the security "s" from your URL in order for it to be active on UHH.

prayingmantis

I am a camera collector and have about 50 cameras. I purchase cameras that are historically significant and for that reason I bought Lytros first camera used on ebay for about $100. I never really tested it out but did find that its image quality on the camera display is awful. However, having said that, there is one functional aspect of that early camera that really is fantastic and if they ever coupled that functional aspect to a great image it would
revolutionize photography. What is that functional aspect
you might ask. IT SHOOTS ONLY AT F2!!! So when you want
the impossible task of having a huge depth of field in a low light situation shooting hand held you are able to arrive at that place never much worrying about the low light situation.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

Just to keep this thread in perspective (and without casting dispersion on anyone's character), the newest version of the Point-&-Shoot LYTRO ILLUM 40 Megaray Light Field Camera has a 5 Mp sensor, and the image is split up to 40 different planes of focus (called Megarays), each distributed to a specific number of pixals: http://www.dpreview.com/products/lytro/compacts/lytro_illum

You can view these forty different DoF images, one at a time on a monitor, and shift quickly from one to the next, virtually moving focus through the image. Each "view" is far less than 5 Mp resolution, and any print from any of these captured views will have ONLY the DoF of that particular low resolution view.

The only way to compile all of these different DoFs into a single image is to use a "Focus-Stacking" program, but you will still have a maximum of 5 Mp.

List price: $1,600.00 per http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2473554,00.asp

In the UK, this same model is euphemistically called the Lytro Illum V2 Professional Light Field Camera: http://www.ephotozine.com/article/lytro-illum-v2-professional-light-field-camera-review-26434
"Export as a refocused still image (this exports a 4 megapixel JPEG image, 3D red/cyan JPEG, stereo JPEG (JPS), or a TIFF file)" Price: 600 British Pounds.

texasdan78070 Loc: Texas Hill Country

Sorry. I don't post enough to have learned that. Thanks for the 411.

Dan

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Nikonian72, yes, indeed, it is an emerging technology that is improving since the first intro. Obviously I was poking you in the ribs a bit.. I always have the most respect for your skills and sharing. And NO, I do not really believe that Hummers are a hybrid of birds and bumble bees, nor that they live in hives. or do they?

Over my too many decades, approching 8, of being focused on science I have seen many innovative technologies that started at the iffy stage. Example my 1 mpix digital that ate batteries and produced PIQ... poor image quality... but an image on a very expensive 128 mp smart memory card. And my fantastic super zoom 3x 3 mp Kodak 4800... great images for their day.

Let us see what the next 5 year will bring or how much info will be leaked from the Pentagon. I have vowed to live to 100 and be cognoscente so I can see the technological wonders. D--d it, as the old cartoon lable said "Born 30 years too soon."

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

As others have mentioned, they have the ability to do post-shot focus so you end up with a "living" photo that you change the depth of focusing. They have an online gallery at:

http://pictures.lytro.com/

that will require downloading a Lytro viewer.

The original model you are referring to has been replaced with the Illum that looks more like a camera and has added capabilities. I bought the original model off Amazon earlier this summer for less than $100. It's interesting to play around with, not sure if the later model at a reduced price is worthwhile. You can rent the Illum at Borrowlenses and LensRental if you want to pursue ths.

Rich Maher Loc: Sonoma County, CA

Seems like a "Yuppie Toy" for show and tell.