Lytro camera is unveiled, originally uploaded by benaston.
After talking about themselves a lot for the last 6 months, today Lytro finally unveiled their radical new camera; the errm, Lytro. And I’ve got one.*
The camera’s been billed as a big deal because it gives you the ability to focus a picture after it’s taken, on the camera, on your computer or online using a special viewer by using a technology called light-field photography. Basically, it makes it impossible to take pictures that are out of focus. And lets you play around with the focus after you’ve taken the picture.
The design is a bit industrial and distinctly Apple iSight flavoured. The pocket-sized camera with its anodized aluminum body has just two buttons; power and shutter. There’s a touch sensitive zoom slider and rear display that lets you view and refocus your pictures directly on the camera. It comes in three colours and two models. The blue and graphite models have 8GB of storage and will cost $399, the red model is 16 GB and costs $499.
But I’m not really convinced. I’d want it if I could it have it as a lens for my DSLR. But in its current format, isn’t it just an expensive point and shoot for people who find it hard to take pictures in focus? And for the point and shoot type of pictures you flick through on facebook, I’m not entirely sure the pictures are really worth ‘exploring’ are they?
So if anyone wants my camera, let me know.
*Kind of. It’s reserved.