

My first photowalk with the Lytro lightfield camera - geekfactor
https://plus.google.com/u/0/111091089527727420853/posts/Q94B8k9xZXN

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jrockway
This is always a good thing to have in your review:

 _Unfortunately Eric didn't let me share the actual images online, since this
is still a pre-production unit and doesn't have the final software or viewer
yet_

This is a sad trend in the hardware industry; millions of dollars spent
developing cool hardware, all to be ruined by not paying competent software
developers. This has plagued Sony for ages and it's just kind of sad. (The
justification is always, "our intellectual property is too valuable". Well
guess what, it's not very valuable if the product you build with it is
unusable.)

I'm also reacting to the fact that I will never be able to buy one of these,
since there will never be Linux-based tools. Why is it so hard to spend a day
setting an Ubuntu VM and a quick Makefile? I don't use Windows but can target
software for it. Why is returning the favor so difficult?

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VeXocide
In the video they state that the software is currently OS X only, there isn't
even a Windows version.

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bane
I keep thinking these are a gimmick, and then I go through the recent photos
I've taken and find lots of sets of shots where I'm trying to capture a close
and far subject at different focus settings -- one in focus, the other out,
then switch...hoping I find the one I like better later...so there's definite
appeal here.

I'm not totally sold on this as 1st gen tech, but it's definitely something to
watch as the technology matures.

Downside: I'm not as interested in the print aspects of the photos I take, I
haven't looked at a physical photo in about 5 years, but I am interested in
the longevity of the shots. Having to rely on a special format and viewer
makes me want to stay away till it becomes at least a defacto standard if not
a proper open standard available as a default in every OS I'd reasonably want
to use -- just like jpg, gif, png, bmp are today.

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justincormack
Oh you just found out how to emulate the Lytro, take one shot focussed close
and one at infinity. Because of the wide depth of field it has, those two
shots should be enough if you take them at f11 or so. Possibly the most
pointless photographic invention ever.

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bane
It's a little different, but not so much that I entirely disagree with you. If
I have two subjects, one close and one far, I'll take two shots, with the
focal plane on one, then the other. It's a different effect than shooting at
infinity. It appears the Lytro essentially just lets you move the focal plane
backwards and forwards, but you still essentially end up with one composition.
It saves you from taking the two shots, but you can still only look at one
plane at a time, and you need a proprietary format and viewer to do so.

~~~
justincormack
But "far" for most small frame cameras or at any smallesh aperture is infinity
as far as focus is concerned, or just use the hyperfocal distance. It is only
close shots where you need to focus, and even then it is not as much as people
think.

I have an old 1930s folding medium format camera that has two focus settings,
people and landscape (and two apertures, sunny and cloudy) and it works
fine...

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bradleyland
> Well, if you just want the ultimately sharpest photo, this isn't a camera
> for you (it won't do 22 megapixel photos like my Canon 5D MKII will, and the
> images are generally good enough for on-screen use but if you want to blow
> them up to wall sized images, this isn't a camera for you).

> If you like having a huge choice of lenses, this isn't a camera for you.

> If you want to shoot action sports, this isn't a camera for you.

> If you want to see through the viewfinder to choose your own focus point,
> this isn't a camera for you.

> If you want the best low-light performance, then this isn't a camera for
> you.

Sounds like a great camera for actual photographers.

1) Megapixels != sharp photos. In terms of visual perception, contrast ==
sharpness. Soft edges means lack of sharpness. What's the leading cause of
soft edges, you ask? Poor focus. Yes, some sensors and lenses produce sharper
images than others, but in the vast majority of the cases, the photographer
blaming the camera for soft images is actually to blame for poor focus or
aperture selection. Choosing a large aperture causes tight DoF. I've shot with
plenty of beginner photographers who went out and spent a fortune on fast
glass with large apertures (f2.8 or lower), but fail to understand just how
tight the focal plane will be when shooting at that large of an f-stop. The
Lytro will be great for the type of photographer that wants to capture a scene
or subject without worrying about focus. This will result in a lot sharper
photos than rushed, out of focus shots.

2) Lenses are a means to an end. Want to shoot photos of birds? You need a
very long lens. Want to shoot sports from the sidelines? You need a fast,
moderately long lens. For the types of photos that most of us take, you don't
need a lot of lenses. You just don't. Many of the greatest photographers ever
to snap a shutter used tiny range finder cameras with a single, prime lens.
The equipment is not the photo.

3) If you want to shoot action sports, get out your pocket book. It's that
simple.

4) Not having used a Lytro, I'm not sure what he means here. As I understand
it, you look at a Lytro like you would a telescope. A small screen on the back
shows your composition. Since you can change focus later, I'm not sure why
you'd need to choose a focal point.

5) Same rules apply here as they do for action sports. Having said that,
advances in noise reduction algorithms have produced some pretty amazing
results in the last few years, as have advances in sensor technology. I have
no doubt that the first gen Lytro won't be a strong performer in low-light
performance. This is a consequence of it's sensor design. Everything in life
is a trade-off though. If your goal is to produce great photos, you won't mind
a little noise. If your goal is to produce some kind of pixel-circle-jerk, 22
MP, xerographic copy of the scene, then by all means, go buy a Canon 5D
($2,500), an EF 50 f/1.4 prime ($350) [don't waste your money on the f/1.2],
and a decent Manfrotto tripod ($150). For about $3,000, you'll have equipment
that can capture photos as sharp as you could ever wish for.

I find the Lytro intriguing because it allows a photographer to snap the photo
before all the decisions are made. This is a good thing. Great photos only
present themselves for a moment. Focus is probably the hardest part of
capturing these moments.

With today's software, a photo that is under/over exposed can be pushed about
a full-stop in either direction without ruining the photo. When it comes to
focus, there's absolutely nothing that can be done (until Lytro came along).
The Lytro is a tool unlike any other, and I believe it will allow an average
photographer to salvage photos that they might otherwise have to trash. By the
numbers, this will produce more good photographs.

