Toshiba is working on a camera sensor for mobile devices for post-shot image focusing, potentially allowing viewers to change the focus of a photograph while it is being viewed. . The camera module can apparently take images similar to the Lytro light field camera, but shrinks down the process from Lytro's 4-inch camera to a sensor a cubic centimeter in size.
Time Magazine has awarded the iPhone 5 the title of "Gadget of the Year" for 2012. In his piece on the phone, writer Harry McCracken calls the device "one of the most artfully polished gadgets anyone's ever built," and claims it outperforms other "nifty" smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III, which isn't included in his top-ten list despite the presence of the Galaxy Note II in eighth place. "When it comes to melding hardware, software and services so tightly that the seams fade away, Apple still has no peer," McCracken argues.
Lytro today announced two new features for its eponymous light field camera. A software update in the coming weeks will give Lytro photographers the ability to alter the point of view in a picture after it has been taken with the new Perspective Shift feature. Also, Lytro owners will be able to use interactive filters to edit Lytro photographs, thanks to the forthcoming update.
Lytro has added manual controls to its light-field camera. The ability to change the camera's settings, allowing for more control over shot parameters such as shutter speed and ISO, comes on the same day the Lytro hits retail stores across the US. The update is also accompanied by two new colors: "Seaglass" and "Moxie Pink."
Lytro has signed distribution deals with a number of US-based retailers, and is expanding to other markets. The light field camera will soon be made available internationally, including in Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, while the US will see it appearing in more mainstream online stores, such as Amazon, as well as retail stores.
Lytro kicked off spring early on Wednesday by shipping its promised light field camera. The genuinely unique camera costs $399 in its 8GB blue and gray variants and $499 for the 16GB red edition. Using one currently requires a Mac to process the final shots; Lytro has so far only developed an OS X version of the editing app used to pick the focus point and process final shots.
Lytro's infinite focus camera has been torn down by the FCC, revealing its internal components. Behind the 1.5-inch display hides a Marvell Avastar 88W8787 system-on-chip that contains both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios. This is interesting, as it indicates the camera has the hardware required to be controlled over a wireless link or share its photos online.
Lytro is reportedly willing to collaborate directly with smartphone makers to bring its light-field photography technology into future handsets. In an interview with PCWorld, Lytro chairman Charles Chi noted that the company is currently set up to build and market products under its own branding, however the smartphone ecosystem is "very complex" and "very different."
Apple's Steve Jobs may have discussed long-term plans to use Lytro's light field cameras in future iPhones and other devices. An advance excerpt from 9to5 of the book Inside Apple claims that Jobs reached out to Lytro founder Ren Ng during 2011 to talk design and cameras. After meeting in Jobs' neighborhood of Palo Alto, Ng was asked for three points of collaboration between Lytro and Apple.
Lytro at an event showed and detailed the first camera using its post-shot focusing technology. The self-titled camera breaks from tradition and is just a long box shape; it doesn't need many controls given that it can be focused after the shot is taken, the startup said. Combined with an f2.8 lens, it doesn't need a flash and has just two buttons for control.
Newcomer Lytro has unveiled a new camera technology that promised to revolutionize how cameras capture shots. Its new sensor captures light fields independent of the direction of the camera and avoids the need to focus the shot at the time it's taken. Instead, photographers would just have to pick the focal point in software, either on the camera or on another device.
