Lytro makes headlines with its light field photography camera

I love a good opportunity to brag about Arena customers, and so I’d like to thank Lytro for giving me something to talk about.

Last week, Lytro launched an ultra-compact light field photography camera that allows users to take pictures without having to focus the lens. (Or as TechCrunch reported, Lytro launched “a new type of camera that dramatically changes photography for the first time since the 1800s.”)

What is a light field camera, and why is it so cool?

The innovation in the Lytro camera comes from its ability to capture the light field—or the amount of light traveling in every direction through every point in space.

Capturing the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light requires a totally new type of sensor, and it’s something conventional cameras have not been able to do.

Once you capture the light field, you can do a lot of post-production work that was impossible before. You can focus anywhere in the image, and refocus your pictures at anytime after the fact.

The new technology in the Lytro camera may also lead to better overall camera performance. For example, because an auto-focus motor is no longer needed, shutter delay becomes a thing of the past.

The Lytro cameras create the first “living pictures” as they can be refocused over and over again by different users. The technology is still very new, but we see a lot of exciting potential for them as they fine-tune their product, get user feedback, and continue to develop. (Check out the Lytro picture gallery to see it in action.)

It’s companies like Lytro that make me proud of my work at Arena, so I’d like to say “congratulations” again to the Lytro team—I am excited to see what they come up with next.

For more information, check out the Lytro blog. But first, check out this video!