Hasta La Gadget!

Earlier today we reported that Toshiba had a 20MP image sensor planned for point-and-shoot cameras, and it looks like Toshiba’s foray into the photography industry isn’t stopping there. According to Asahi Shimbun, it seems that Toshiba is currently working on a camera sensor designed for smartphones that will allow smartphone cameras to perform the same function as the Lytro light field camera. For those who are unfamiliar with the Lytro camera, it is a camera introduced back in 2011 that allowed photographers to shoot the image first and focus on the subject later. This allowed photographers to capture in-the-moment photos and worry about the focus points during the editing process.

Unlike the Lytro, Toshiba’s camera module measures about 1cm on each side meaning that it should fit into a smartphone. It features a dense array of 500,000 lenses, each about 0.03mm in diameter which sits in front of a sensor that measures 5mm by 7mm. Each of the 500,000 lenses will capture a slightly different image from the others and will ultimately combine them to form one image from which users can choose which areas they want to focus on based on the previous images taken. Toshiba is planning to commercialize the module by the end of fiscal 2013 and are looking for smartphone manufacturers to adopt its technology. Sounds like an interesting idea – would you like to see such a feature incorporated into your smartphone?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Snappgrip for iPhone adds a camera grip to your smartphone, The Trygger camera clip adds a polarizing filter to your iPhone,

The Lytro is a very cool piece of tech that can produce images with easy-to-manipulate depth-of-field, but it also means buying a new, $400 piece of photography gear that takes admittedly low resolution pictures, for a very specific use. Now, The Chaos Collective has built a workaround to allow users to create images with similar, stunning effects using the kit they already have – so long as that includes a camera with manual focus and video shooting capabilities.

It works best with DSLR cameras and lenses with very wide apertures, like the Canon 6D and EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens I used to create the image above, but it could also work with any pocket camera with manual focus and a fast fixed lens like the Sony RX100. The steps are simple: shoot a quick, 2 to 3 second video, starting by focusing at one extreme (close or far) and then adjusting the focus to the other. You then upload the resulting file using the Chaos Collective’s tool, preferably in .m4v format, and it spits out a magic focus, Lytro-style image that you can either upload to The Chaos Collective’s website and share via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest or via an embed code. You can also embed it yourself along with the uploaded, full source video if you’d host it on your own website.

Results turn out best if you’re using a tripod, and if you happen to have one of the variety of tools available to filmmakers for doing smooth focus while shooting video without producing camera shake, you’re golden. But even with my cheap $20 tripod and hand-adjusted focus, you can see above that the results are very impressive for about 15 minutes of work, including transferring the movie to my computer and cutting the clip length a bit in QuickTime.

Chaos Collective member Adam Kumpf explained in an email interview that the project was mostly just a lark, the result of a one-day hack meant to see if it was possible, but he says that if the community seems to embrace it, they’ll put more resources into the project, but otherwise, it’s on to the next idea.

Here’s another example from The Chaos Collective itself, and you can check out more via the official project site.

Short Version

Lytro promised that its unique camera was only the beginning. The system allows the user to change focus of the picture after it’s taken, and the data contained in a single digital image taken with a camera is completely new and different from the data we’re used to seeing with more traditional technology. It’s uncharted territory and the company is still experimenting. Now, using the camera, you can shift perspective after the picture’s been taken.

To add a little Instagram-like fun into the mix, Lytro has also added Living Filters (which alter the color balance of the shot or add cool effects) to photos before they are shared on the web, via email, or on Facebook.

Long Version

Features:

• Light field sensor
• 1.52-inch LCD display
• Constant f/2 lens
• 8x optical zoom

Info:

• 5 colors
• 8GB or 16GB
• MSRP: $399 for 8GB, $499 for 16GB
• Product Page

The Lytro Camera is…

… a brand new type of technology that takes photos by capturing an entire plane of light rather than capturing a single moment from a point of light. The new design and the light field sensor allow the user to change photos after they’ve already been taken, allowing you to change focus from the foreground to the background with a single click. Lytro recently added Living Filters and Perspective shift to the mix, too.

Buy the Lytro Camera for…

… anyone who enjoys pictures. This camera is a treat to almost any demographic that enjoys taking and sharing pictures, from professional photographers to camera enthusiasts to Instagram addicts. The brilliance is that the technology is high-tech enough to get the experts excited and simple enough to get the novice creating and sharing dynamic photos online. It’s a pricey gift but it’s well worth it for the photo buff on your list.

Because…

… Lytro recently released accessories, broadened distribution, and added manual controls to the camera. This keeps photographers experimental and creative with their shots. On the other side, nifty tidbits like Perspective Shift and Living Filters make sharing on the web even more fun for Instagram-addicted teenagers, etc.

Check out the photos below:

Lytro is on a roll. After launching manual controls just last month, the company today release a real treat. The Lytro desktop software just received an update that brings two new features into the mix: perspective shift, which slightly adjusts the perspective of the camera after the picture’s been taken, and living filters. Best of all, these new features work with previously taken Lytro photos.

And just when you had finally wrapped your head around a picture changing focus after it’s been taken…

In case you’re late to the game, Lytro launched a brand new type of camera which captures an entire light field, rather than one plane of light, allowing for interactive images which can change focus with a single click.

This was magical enough in itself, but the company promised that with this disruptive technology would come even more creative benefits: changing focus was just the beginning.

Today, the company delivers on that promise with not one, but two, new features.

The first is shifting perspective, and it’s certainly the most important. One of the main reasons our eyes sense a third dimension besides length and width is the fact that we’re always moving slightly. These slight movements communicate with our brain to mark that the computer is closer than the coffee table is closer than the tv is closer than the wall.

It’s basic stuff, to the point where it’s so obvious you’d never think about it on your own, but Lytro has found a way to integrate it into its software. This means users can not only change focus of the photo, but swivel it around to check out the perspective.

All you do is hold click and move around within the frame. On the iPad, the experience is even better, as Lytro has used the gyrometer to control the perspective shift based on which way you tilt the device. It’s only a slight shift in perspective, the same shifts you make standing, walking, or looking around a room, but it’s a fundamental part of establishing distance and depth.

This is possible on exsiting photos thanks to the sheer amount of data embedded in each photo taken by a Lytro. There’s enough data for the company to keep building features for a long while on the software side, and they prove with this update.

The second new feature is called Living Filters, and it’s essentially adding photo filters but on steroids.

For example, Black and White is actually called “Film Noir” and it leaves just the slightest bit of color in a photograph. It’s with this color that you know the girl on the left is a red head and the girl on the right is a brunette.

Other filters like Carnival (think fun house mirror) and Line Art (which is like a cartoon drawing) are more on the fun side, while Crayon (for example) brings a professional grade quality to photos by letting you choose which parts of the photo are in color and which fade to black and white.

What’s important is that no matter the filter, all the images maintain the same interactivity.

To meet demand, Lytro amped up distribution in a huge way. The company’s previous backlog of orders has been fulfilled entirely, so if you order a Lytro today on Amazon, it would arrive tomorrow — something the company couldn’t previously state.

The update is available for all Lytro users in the desktop software, but once you’ve enabled the update and opted in to perspective shift for your library (which is undoable), all photos you’ve taken (even existing photos you took months away) will be enabled for perspective shift whether you’re in the software, on the web, or in a Facebook newsfeed.

Lytro has just announced a software update that expands upon the multidimensional elements of the little light-field point-and-shoot. The Lytro Desktop software will get two new features, dubbed Perspective Shift and Living Filters, both of which expand upon the device’s focus-shifting capabilities. Perspective Shift lets you change the photo’s center of perspective, while Living Filters are interactive image effects that range from cool to kooky. We had a chance to get an early look at these features, so join us after the break for our impressions and video of them in action.

Continue reading Lytro to get Perspective Shift and Living Filters for more focus-shifting fun (video)

Filed under: Cameras

Lytro to get Perspective Shift and Living Filters for more focus-shifting fun (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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