LYTRO Camera A PRO or A CON?

Click on the living LYTRO image above to see the technology in action.
Today LYTRO had a hands on demonstration at the Wired Store in Times Square in NYC. I was fortunate to have the trial run with Lytro's uniquely designed light field camera at a pre-demo special invite only session. Ooooooo fancy right?

Here's some pros and cons just from my brief encounter with the camera.
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The thing about the LYTRO Camera is... this is the first one. Yea obviously Spencer thanks. When the LYTRO 2 comes out the ones that got the first one will say "Awwww man I wish I waited." Although as the light field technology progresses the older LYTRO digital files will be able to use the latest LYTRO software advances. Which is smart on LYTRO's part because at some point in our past digital experiences the digital media we created just won't work on the latest computer or OS. Like my buddy Douglas who had bought the first Leaf digital back for $30,000 and at a certain point that digital back only ran on a certain Mac computer running a certain OS software. However LYTRO claims that your living images will be able to keep on living even when the newer LYTRO technology takes over from the old.

Additional blog posts about LYTRO:
LYTRO – Will It Be A Fad?
Could Lytro Squeeze into the DSLR Market?
LYTRO’s Release Date Is Missing Out.

Be a guest blogger contact Spencer right after you tweet this post.

LYTRO - Will It Be A Fad?

The Lytro's technology is going to be an enormous leap forward in the digital imaging world.

Some are questioning is this just a fad. A fad I think not..... Lytro is laying down the stepping stone towards another technological advancement, something along the lines of what we saw in Star Wars as kids. The much anticipated advancement will not only lend itself to 3D imaging it will also be the beginning of...... wait for it. Holographic imagery, that's a ways down the road for the moment. The consumer market is not fully ready for the hologram.

I for one am looking forward to the new light field technology. Bring it on! Not having to focus allows me to "focus" on what is occurring in the moment.

Be ready. The Lytro Camera release is fast approaching. As I stated in a post in July I believe the release date will be later this month.

Let There Be Light - Illuminating Photography

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Most people when they think of photography a single flash is as high tech as they may get. Dennis Calvert takes photography to a whole new level with his various lighting elements and layering techniques. His work resembles imagery as if it comes from another world.

For me from day one photography has always sparked my curiosity. From the first polaroid that developed in front of my eyes to latest digital technology. Photography is like a puzzle and there are so many tools a visual artist can use to create the imagery that one desires.

With LYTRO "light field" technology about to launch it's latest digital break through. I can appreciate Dennis's use of pure light in a simplistic yet highly creative application.

Lytro Camera - Focusing on NOT Focusing

Lytro is redefining the word Focus… the new 5 letter word.

Eliminating the 'element of focus' allows the user to focus on what is 'actually' in the picture frame. In the picture above imagine the shot taking place at night with the camera focused on the city. The shot is ruined because the nude model is out of focus. Take focusing out of the equation, the user is free to compose and capture the moment.

A big complaint, from users of point and shoot cameras, are missed shots while waiting for the camera to focus. Lytro’s camera has a no shutter lag time which means you don’t have to anticipate the shot. Lytro captures the moment when it happens, allowing the Lytro user to focus on the moment at hand.

Eric Cheng talks on Lytro's blog with Richard Koci Hernandez, a photographer who has actually used the Lytro camera. For those few that have had the chance to play with the prototype… lucky dogs!

Lytro Release Date

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The much anticipated release date for the Lytro camera is......drum roll please. Well first let me tell you what I discovered from a CNet Video interview with Ren Ng the founder of Lytro. Mr. Ng's interview was cryptic to say the least. However here are some of the key points Ren discussed.

The Lytro camera will be
- a mass consumer market camera much like a point and shoot
- selling for a few hundred dollars. Or "competitively priced" as Mr. Ng stated
- no shutter lag or having to focus
- yes you can do long exposures
- the "Living Image" file resolution will be the equivalent to that of a
Nikon or Canon consumer camera outputs.
So that will be anywhere between 10 - 20 mb's.
My Nikon P7000 puts out a 19mb file. That is more than enough.
- Lytro's image file will be it's own file format.
- the software technology will be able to be applied to video.
- currently the technology is retro capable... they had a 3 yr old Lytro image that they were able to apply the current software to in their testing.

The last thing that Ren stated in the interview is that the Lytro camera will be hologram capable and they are already developing that feature. Hologram!!! Cool.

So back to the release date, Ren stated that the Lytro camera will be available before the end of 2011

I predict that the camera will come out in October of 2011 just in time for the NY Photo Expo and of course the holiday season shoppers.

Earlier Lytro post.