Lytro Light Field Camera

Lytro calls these 'living images' as they can be re-focused after they have been taken. You can see this effect in the composite on the left. Both images are screenshots of the same 'living image', setting the focal plane differently. If you click the image, you see a bigger version. Notice also the slight change in color between the two images! Despite having taken both screenshots shortly one after another from the same screen and having them edited equally, the white balance seems to have shifted also a bit during refocusing. Ehm?!

This might be a deal breaker for those that think more mega pixel are better! The Lytro is marketed by its inventors as a camera to share 'living images' online. They really don't cater to people that want to print out their images! Reason being that the cute 'living image' effect obviously only works when admiring the photos on a computer screen. Once saved as a jpg, they are as normal as any other image taken by any other camera. So, as these images 'work' only on screen, why bother with higher resolution, which only would have increased the price and complicated the production.

• Lytro Image Size -1080x1080px, yup, a meager just over 1MP! This resolution would result result in a tiny print of 2.5x2.5in at 300dpi. But is would be, just, enough to make a decent wallpaper and certainly enough for sharing it on Facebook and the like.
• Lytro File Size - Each image will be around 23MB. Which is not too much considering the data necessary for a truly plenoptic camera.

And anyway, before you can share your images, you need to upload them first to the Lytro website and then share them from there, so image file size (don't confuse that one with image resolution!) is not bad at all. A typical hard drive, for back-up purposes of 500GB could store a whooping 22,000+ Lytro living images. You need to shoot a lot to run out of space ;-)

Nops, so far the only way to get one is to pre-order it from their website and also then only if you have a US shipping address.

No idea if they plan to market the camera later on on Amazon, but I am sure a few people already pre-ordered theirs for the sole purpose of auctioning it off on Ebay as soon as they have it. You know, scarcity and novelty ;-)

Lytro Camera Costs

• 8GB Version, available in graphite and blue - $399
• 16GB Version, only available in red - $499

Why they don't offer more color / memory combinations is beyond me! What is wrong with 16GB Lytro in blue? Or a 8GB version in red?

Ok, here we go, the complete technical specs for the Lytro Camera, as far as released by the manufacturer as of February 2012. If something new comes to light, I will update the list, promised!

In case somebody of the Lytro team reads this, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a prototype to do a Lytro on hands review ;-) Just contact me and I give you my shipping address! I promise I'll put it through the paces and post a detailed review here!

Purple Fringing - Notice the purple 'rims' around the spaces between the leaves / branches in the background? This is called 'purple fringing' or 'chromatic aberration' and happens typically in areas where very light and very dark subjects meet, such as branches against a sunny sky. This will be always a problem with the Lytro, due to its fixed, wide open, f2 lens. So best not to try to shot high contrast scenes with it!

Focus - Whilst the inventors claim that you can re-focus your photo anywhere in the image, playing around with the living images on their website shows that not being the case. Subjects very close to the lens will not focus and subjects far away in the background neither. In the middle range the focus is reasonable, but also here, the images could be sharper.

Dynamic Range / Color - The colors seems to be close to life and saturated. So in that aspect the images taken by the Lytro are good.

Noise / Artifacts - When zooming into the images, you will notice a lot of noise and digital artifacts, not only on low-light shots, but even on 'sunny scenes'.

So, in summary I must say that for such an expensive camera the image quality delivered is really not good.

Depth of field is the amount  of the image that is in sharp focus with a gradual and smooth declining of the focus towards background and / or foreground. Without going into too much technical detail, this is achieved by varying distance to the subject and lens aperture.

Bokeh is the effect that occurs in the out of focus areas, which can be either aesthetically pleasing or just blurred. Below some images I took myself some time ago with my trusty and rusty DSLR that show this painterly effect. Compare these images with the ones the Lytro takes and see the difference for yourself. And no, these images have been only 'treated' in Photoshop for color, contrast and saturation, the bokeh effect itself was made by the lens.

I must admit, the first time I heard about this camera I looked at the date to check it wasn't April Fools Day! But no, this camera is real and some prototypes are actually in the hand of professional photographers for field testing. Just in case somebody from Lytro reads this, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one ;-) ! Oh, I said that before? Never mind, I am old enough to be excused for repeating myself ...

But I must also add that Lytro is not completely honest and forthcoming on their website as customers might wish. Some examples:

1. Theirs is not the first widely available light field technology camera, that honor has RayTrix, see links below. But it is more affordable, no doubt!

2. They are not posting all specs on their website that might be important for customers for a buying decision. For example there is no information about minimal / maximal focus distance etc, see technical specs above.

Insider gossip has it that Steve Jobs met, not long before his death, with the Lytro team to discuss a joined venture. So far it is really only gossip and rumors, but if you look at the link above, Apple actually ventured into the digital camera market long time ago. They gave then up on it and concentrated on iPhones with integrated cameras, but this doesn't mean they will never give it a try again. The Lytro has certainly an Apple-like design feel to it, so perhaps it wouldn't be a bad match at all? Which brings me to ...

A date for the IPO (Initial Public Offering) is not set, but I am sure there will be a lot of publicity around this stock market launch!

Should you buy Lytro shares when they become available?

I am no financial adviser, so please ask a professional! Depending on the price I might be tempted to buy a few, you never know, this could just be the next big thing. Or they get bought up later by Apple, which wouldn't be bad neither ...

Congratulations! You made it to the end ;-) Here my summary about the Lytro Camera and for whom it might be a good fit and for whom not:

The Lytro Camera is great ...

• As a gift for a geek that has everything, including a Mac.
• If you love street photography as it is unobtrusive and fast.
• If you don't plan to print your images ever.

The Lytro Camera is wrong for ...

• People that don't have a Mac - at least for the time being.
• People that like to print their images.
• People that can't afford to spend $399 on a gadget with limited uses.
• That are more obsessed with photographic perfection than with camera design.

Will I buy a Lytro Camera when it becomes available?

Most likely not, I do like my images a bit larger and I like to print them. If you would spend $399 or more on new photo gear it would be either for a faster lens, a new camera body or a good point and shoot (think Canon G series!). On the other hand, if somebody would give me a Lytro Camera as a gift, I wouldn't throw it out of the window ;-)