Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Lytro: Focus-Free Camera

  1. #1
    thinBasic author ErosOlmi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Milan - Italy
    Age
    57
    Posts
    8,777
    Rep Power
    10

    Lytro: Focus-Free Camera

    www.thinbasic.com | www.thinbasic.com/community/ | help.thinbasic.com
    Windows 10 Pro for Workstations 64bit - 32 GB - Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-10855M CPU @ 2.80GHz - NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Petr Schreiber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Brno - Czech Republic
    Posts
    7,128
    Rep Power
    732
    I watch news about this technology for some time, it looks very promising. Now as the device design is out, I don't understand:
    • How do I control aperture/time/iso (and if at all - the website says "The aperture is constant across the zoom range allowing for unheard of light capture. " - does it mean constant f number for zoom 1x to 8x, how? Impossible ?)
    • How do I control zoom (it has zoom, please see here: https://www.lytro.com/science_inside)
    • How do I browse/delete images

    It is strange, because I can't see any buttons, except one on the top, which is probably photoshoot button.


    Petr
    Learn 3D graphics with ThinBASIC, learn TBGL!
    Windows 10 64bit - Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.1GHz - 16 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

  3. #3
    Super Moderator Petr Schreiber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Brno - Czech Republic
    Posts
    7,128
    Rep Power
    732
    Here few more info bits:

    It answers few of my questions:
    ...in which you'll find the camera's three physical controls - the power switch, a shutter button and a slider that you stroke to zoom the lens in and out.
    All other interaction with the camera is conducted via the small, 128x128 pixel square touch screen that covers the rear face of the device.

    Petr
    Learn 3D graphics with ThinBASIC, learn TBGL!
    Windows 10 64bit - Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.1GHz - 16 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Petr Schreiber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Brno - Czech Republic
    Posts
    7,128
    Rep Power
    732
    Here you can see the device in action:
    http://nofilmschool.com/2011/10/craz...ty-lytro-sale/

    It is quite interesting to see, because it reveals few things not evident from the press release, for example:
    • When you take a photo, there is no wait for AF to focus, it is instant
    • You can view the photos on the device screen, including the postprocess refocus operations

    Petr
    Learn 3D graphics with ThinBASIC, learn TBGL!
    Windows 10 64bit - Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.1GHz - 16 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

  5. #5
    Member dcromley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Wyoming, USA
    Age
    86
    Posts
    80
    Rep Power
    23
    For me, the obvious question is "What file format does it use?" *.jpg won't be useful.
    (I am skeptical)

  6. #6
    Super Moderator Petr Schreiber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Brno - Czech Republic
    Posts
    7,128
    Rep Power
    732
    Hi,

    I think it uses their own format, because it needs to store different kind of information than just single frame pixel matrix. From the info on their website I calculated single shot is about 24 MB in size.
    I guess publishing single "cut" (with given focus) to other file formats will be possible.

    This device is evidentely not targeted yet at "serious" photographers, but I keep my fingers crossed for them - I know how hard it is to push some new concept to industry ready state, so I hope this intermediate step will help them get funds for something with more manual control/resolution/...

    I can see already great use for this device in reportage photography, where you might not have time to think where to focus. The fact you press the button and get the image is ideal for this.


    Petr
    Last edited by Petr Schreiber; 30-10-2011 at 09:15.
    Learn 3D graphics with ThinBASIC, learn TBGL!
    Windows 10 64bit - Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.1GHz - 16 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

  7. #7
    I can see already great use for this device in reportage photography, where you might not have time to think where to focus. The fact you press the button and get the image is ideal for this.
    I don't think so. Using a wide angle lens and zone focus, you never miss a shot.

  8. #8
    Super Moderator Petr Schreiber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Brno - Czech Republic
    Posts
    7,128
    Rep Power
    732
    It is true José,

    but still, I don't think it rules the Lytro out completely. I remember some situations, for example quite recently wedding of my very good friend, where I got into situation when my ability to prepare zone focusing failed. Well, for the most part it is because I am not really good at taking photos , but still...

    I also like (as lot of beginners) to work with very thin depth of field, and in such a case it is very easy to miss the target, unless you focus on the center all the time.

    I don't say the Lytro is something which will change the way we take photos, but I like the alternative approach and can imagine it to be a good helper in some situations.


    Petr
    Last edited by Petr Schreiber; 30-10-2011 at 18:14.
    Learn 3D graphics with ThinBASIC, learn TBGL!
    Windows 10 64bit - Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.1GHz - 16 GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

  9. #9
    Member dcromley's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Wyoming, USA
    Age
    86
    Posts
    80
    Rep Power
    23
    Remember the "Frazier Lens"? It featured a "massive" depth-of-field.
    A 3.5 min video:

    However, it was determined to be a hoax:
    http://forums.randi.org/archive/index.php/t-4335.html

    From https://www.lytro.com/science_inside
    > Capturing the Light Field -- Recording light fields requires an innovative,
    > entirely new kind of sensor called a light field sensor. The light field sensor
    > captures the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light.

    So am I to believe that this information from the light field sensor, including
    "vector direction", is digitized? I doubt it.

    I predict it will be a package using "Focus Stacking", a believable technology
    using a number of conventional images at various focus settings. Then these
    images can be combined in various ways.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_stacking
    http://www.heliconsoft.com/video.html ($30-$250)

    Very interesting.

  10. #10
    No doubt they will find applications to this technology, but "revolutionize photography"?

    This article shares some of my doubts: http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/22/dou...-later-camera/

    My first serious camera was a Canon F-1. I bought a second hand body in 1975 and still works as new. As I was eagle-eyed, I used a matte focusing screen, without distracting focusing aids, and never got an out of focus picture. Zone focusing was dead easy with the lenses available for these professional mechanical cameras because they had depth of field marks in the barrel. I used color slides for macro photography and landscapes, and black and white for portraits and other subjects.

    The first digital camera that has caught my attention is the Fuji X100. Looks a lot like the old Leica rangefinder cameras. See: http://www.kenrockwell.com/fuji/x100.htm
    Last edited by José Roca; 30-10-2011 at 23:39.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Questions About Focus
    By gungadout in forum thinBasic General
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 12-11-2010, 03:44
  2. Control Set Focus
    By Michael Clease in forum Fixed or cleared errors in help material
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-02-2010, 13:10

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •