Lytro's New Camera - Shoot First, Focus Later

It would seem that Lytro's first camera will be released on schedule at the end of this year.

As expected the cameras seem to be aimed at the consumer market and some commenters have suggested that the cameras may become the polaroid of the digital age; providing hassle free shooting with an apparent user friendliness. With a price tag hovering around $400 US it's also comparable to high end compacts which should make it a true competitor.

Whether or not it takes off will be interesting to see. While the ability to focus later is a huge strength it is also a potential weakness. Requiring focal points to be selected by users later may be equivalent to forcing consumers away from the user-friendly point and shoot of jpeg toward the post processing intense RAW photography work flow. Hopefully the desktop software they have written will include features such as face detection to pick popular initial focal points in order to overcome this issue.

In terms of resolution the team are a little cagey. While they do say it can record Hi-def images (1080p) in the video at the bottom of this post they also say it can be scaled up and are quick to argue that the camera debate will be moving from megapixels to consideration of lightfields. What they mean by scaling up is a little unclear. If they simply mean that the images can be enlarged then that's nothing new. However if they mean they can create higher resolution images by using information from the light field then that is something that is truly exciting and should be expanded upon. However as they didn't come straight out with such an answer it's more likely to be the first option; low resolution images that can be enlarged,

In the long run I'm not sure where this camera will end up. It is likely to gather a cult following and will undoubtedly find a worthy place in technological history. Will it be taken up by professional photographers though? While it may be beneficial for some static advertisements - to lead the eye from the cool person to the cool product perhaps - such techniques are already employed in a number of banner ads by using  multiple images. While using Lytro's cameras would reduce post processing it would reduce control over individual elements meaning that the status quo will probably hold its ground.

Check their website for full specs, prices, and additional information including example photos.

https://www.lytro.com/camera