Pictures become memory-shots
Thank you all for the thousands of comments you’ve shared here on the Lytro Blog, on our Facebook andTwitter pages, and via email. You inspire us!
We wanted to share Barrie’s comment on Ren’s initial blog post as one that stood out for our team. We especially appreciate the poetry of the term “memory-shot” that Barrie has introduced:
“I have lived in a world of both photography, landscape painting and computers – for more than 72 years. What I’ve just read – skimming through your dissertation, for the past hour or so – has made me think of a way of describing where you are taking us. Some of my friends in the camera club I belong to will need such an explanation !
I appears to me that what you have given us is essentially a means to capture, not just a photograph, as we have come to know one, but through some brilliant software – a means to modify that photograph – to allow us to ‘re-produce’ the photograph and re-present it (at will); allowing it to be re-viewed by others at will.
In short … the ‘photograph’ is no longer a simple one-dimensional snap-shot – locking in a moment in physical space and time – it is a ‘memory-shot, recording all that the camera ‘saw’ when the shutter was pressed. Whilst the software with which to view it can be likened to a ‘memory-brush’ that allows us to repaint the view as it suits us.
I can’t wait to find what I can do with my ‘real’ brushes and paints and a camera full of ‘memory shots’ after a field trip.
And the concept of a new, software, ‘painting program’ that follows the finger tips on a touch screen is simply AMAZING !!
Thank you for adding another dimension to my ‘will to live’ …”
New Living Pictures
We had a great time celebrating at our launch party on Wednesday night. This living picture features our own Tom Hanley, who spent much of the evening with a Lytro cocktail in one hand, while using the other to monitor our server capacity from his iPhone. (You might also recognize him from our video.)
We’ve loved the overwhelming response. Thank you! We know you are curious and have lots of questions. We’ve answered many in our FAQs. If you register to reserve a camera, you’ll get insider access to more details as we prepare to sell the first Lytro light field camera later this year.
For now, we invite you to play with and share new living pictures that were taken at the party.
Lytro Light Field Science
Shoot now, focus later. That’s just the start of what you can do with a Lytro camera, the camera that captures the entire light field. A Lytro can also help you remember more of what happened at that party last weekend. And, it may also clue you in on the identity of that dude offering free jailhouse-style tattoos.
This is the start of the picture revolution. Visit our Picture Gallery to experience living pictures for yourself.
Starting the Light Field Revolution
The Journey
Today, I am proud to announce the launch of Lytro and share our plans to bring an amazing new kind of camera to the consumer market.
Today, I am proud to announce the launch of Lytro and share our plans to bring an amazing new kind of camera to the consumer market.
This journey started for me eight years ago when I was in the PhD program at Stanford University. I loved photography then as I do now, but I was frustrated and puzzled by the apparent limitations of cameras. For example, I remember trying to take photos of Mei-An, the five-year-old daughter of a close friend, but because she was so full of life, it was nearly impossible to capture the fleeting moments of her smile or perfectly focus the light in her eyes.
That experience inspired me to start the research that became my dissertation on light field photography, which had capabilities beyond what I could have ever hoped for. The journey soon accelerated with a full-body plunge into the world of entrepreneurship, with a dream to share this new technology with the world.
Today
I am thrilled to finally draw back the curtain and introduce our new light field camera company, one that will forever change how everyone takes and experiences pictures. Lytro’s company launch is truly the start of a picture revolution.
I am thrilled to finally draw back the curtain and introduce our new light field camera company, one that will forever change how everyone takes and experiences pictures. Lytro’s company launch is truly the start of a picture revolution.
What began in a lab at Stanford University has transformed into a world-class company, forty-four people strong, sparkling with talent, energy and inspiration. It has taken a lot of hard work, late nights and tireless dedication to get Lytro to this point. I want to thank the entire team for their remarkable contributions, spirit, and camaraderie. I want to especially thank the very first believers: Colvin, Tim and Alex, the original magic engine of the company, and Manu, Charles and Allen for personally doing so much to help build this company. Besides the Lytro team, I want to thank my family, and my fiancé Yi (pictured above) for their continued support, confidence, and love.
We have something special here. Our mission is to change photography forever, making conventional cameras a thing of the past. Humans have always had a fundamental need to share our stories visually, and from cave paintings to digital cameras we have been on a long search for ways to make a better picture. Light field cameras are the next big step in that picture revolution.
The Future
Today is a big day for Lytro, but I believe it is just the beginning of a bright and exciting future. Photographers and casual shooters alike will be able to create and share new living pictures. I believe that as people begin to use light field cameras, we will see an explosion in new kinds of photographic art. It will be another wonderful journey to see how people use light field cameras, see where these new living pictures travel, and discover how each person chooses to take this revolution.
Today is a big day for Lytro, but I believe it is just the beginning of a bright and exciting future. Photographers and casual shooters alike will be able to create and share new living pictures. I believe that as people begin to use light field cameras, we will see an explosion in new kinds of photographic art. It will be another wonderful journey to see how people use light field cameras, see where these new living pictures travel, and discover how each person chooses to take this revolution.
Welcome to Lytro! I hope you’ll follow us on the Lytro Blog, so we can keep you updated about the introduction of our first Lytro camera.
Founder and CEO of Lytro
The very first light fields were captured at Stanford University over 15 years ago. The most advanced light field research required a roomful of cameras tethered to a supercomputer. Today, Lytro completes the job of taking light fields out of the research lab and making them available for everyone, in the form of the world’s first Lytro Light Field Camera.
Lens
The Lytro Light Field Camera starts with an 8X optical zoom, f/2 aperture lens. The aperture is constant across the zoom range allowing for unheard of light capture.
The Lytro Light Field Camera starts with an 8X optical zoom, f/2 aperture lens. The aperture is constant across the zoom range allowing for unheard of light capture.
Light Field Engine 1.0
The Light Field Engine replaces the supercomputer from the lab and processes the light ray data captured by the sensor.
The Light Field Engine travels with every living picture as it is shared, letting you refocus pictures right on the camera, on your desktop and online.
The Light Field Engine replaces the supercomputer from the lab and processes the light ray data captured by the sensor.
The Light Field Engine travels with every living picture as it is shared, letting you refocus pictures right on the camera, on your desktop and online.
Light Field Sensor
From a roomful of cameras to a micro-lens array specially adhered to a standard sensor, the Lytro's Light Field Sensor captures 11 million light rays.
From a roomful of cameras to a micro-lens array specially adhered to a standard sensor, the Lytro's Light Field Sensor captures 11 million light rays.
The Light Field
Defining the Light FieldThe light field is a core concept in imaging science, representing fundamentally more powerful data than in regular photographs. The light field fully defines how a scene appears. It is the amount of light traveling in every direction through every point in space. Conventional cameras cannot record the light field.
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. This directional information is completely lost with traditional camera sensors, which simply add up all the light rays and record them as a single amount of light.
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. This directional information is completely lost with traditional camera sensors, which simply add up all the light rays and record them as a single amount of light.
Processing the Light Field
How do light field cameras make use of the additional information? By substituting powerful software for many of the internal parts of regular cameras, light field processing introduces new capabilities that were never before possible. Sophisticated algorithms use the full light field to unleash new ways to make and view pictures.
Relying on software rather than components can improve performance, from increased speed of picture taking to the potential for capturing better pictures in low light. It also creates new opportunities to innovate on camera lenses, controls and design.
About Living Pictures
The way we communicate visually is evolving rapidly, and people's expectations are changing in lockstep. Light field cameras offer astonishing capabilities. They allow both the picture taker and the viewer to focus pictures after they're snapped, shift their perspective of the scene, and even switch seamlessly between 2D and 3D views. With these amazing capabilities, pictures become immersive, interactive visual stories that were never before possible – they become living pictures.
Take a Deeper Dive
Want to learn more? Check out the Lytro Blog. Want to learn a lot more?Read our CEO's dissertation
How do light field cameras make use of the additional information? By substituting powerful software for many of the internal parts of regular cameras, light field processing introduces new capabilities that were never before possible. Sophisticated algorithms use the full light field to unleash new ways to make and view pictures.
Relying on software rather than components can improve performance, from increased speed of picture taking to the potential for capturing better pictures in low light. It also creates new opportunities to innovate on camera lenses, controls and design.
About Living Pictures
The way we communicate visually is evolving rapidly, and people's expectations are changing in lockstep. Light field cameras offer astonishing capabilities. They allow both the picture taker and the viewer to focus pictures after they're snapped, shift their perspective of the scene, and even switch seamlessly between 2D and 3D views. With these amazing capabilities, pictures become immersive, interactive visual stories that were never before possible – they become living pictures.
Take a Deeper Dive
Want to learn more? Check out the Lytro Blog. Want to learn a lot more?Read our CEO's dissertation
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