Mountain View, Calif. – (April 22, 2014) – Lytro, Inc. revealed today its powerful vision for the future of photography with the unveiling of LYTRO ILLUM, a light field camera and software platform designed to redefine the way we portray the world around us. Built to harness the full power of the light field, the professional-grade LYTRO ILLUM will give photographers a new medium capable of capturing visual experiences in their purest form — not as a static cross-section of reality but an authentic, interactive window into their world.
The camera paves the way for an immersive brand of storytelling in which images can be brought to life in multiple dimensions through Light Field Photography — a transformative new category that empowers artistic creation and expression beyond what is possible in the 2D world of digital and film. In capturing the color, intensity and direction of every light ray flowing into the camera, LYTRO ILLUM provides a massive amount of visual information that allows photographers to recreate sights and scenes on a truly experiential canvas.
"With LYTRO ILLUM, creative pioneers — ranging from artistic amateurs to experienced professionals — will tap into a new wave of graphical storytelling. Now artist and audience alike can share an equally intimate connection with the imagery, and, in a sense, jointly participate in the magic of its creation," said Lytro CEO Jason Rosenthal. "By combining a novel hardware array with tremendous computational horsepower, this camera opens up unprecedented possibilities to push the boundaries of creativity beyond the limits inherent in digital or film photography."
To enable such rich, layered compositions, LYTRO ILLUM delivers unparalleled optical versatility by merging custom-built hardware with a powerful software platform. The camera offers a 40-megaray light field sensor, 8x optical zoom range, constant f/2.0 aperture and a high-speed shutter capable of freezing motion under a wide variety of conditions. After image capture, the innovative software platform empowers photographers to adjust aspects of images that were previously fixed, such as focus, tilt, perspective shift and depth of field, which allows the photographer to create images that will resonate for the viewer not just in one dimension, but in every dimension.
"My photography style pushes me to look for ways to tell a more compelling story with every image. LYTRO ILLUM gave me that ability by incorporating an interactive element that captures different visual touch points at every depth," said Kyle Thompson, a Chicago-based photographer known for his surreal conceptual style and one of the early users of the camera. "With LYTRO ILLUM, I've been able to make a multi-dimensional image with more perspectives to explore."
LYTRO ILLUM's totally unique photographic experience reflects the technological revolution around virtual reality and 3D graphics as powerful new storytelling formats in the Digital Age. In the hands of creative pioneers, the camera is a catalyst for a transformational shift in which the world will increasingly look for opportunities to craft a more immersive artistic experience.
"Light Field Photography is following the classic pattern for a transformational concept," said Lytro founder Dr. Ren Ng. "The original Lytro camera, which launched in 2012, introduced an entirely new era in photography. LYTRO ILLUM will advance this movement to a new level. We are very excited by the potential of this camera to ignite a photography revolution on the magnitude of the transformation from film to digital."
In addition to enabling post-capture image adjustments, LYTRO ILLUM's proprietary software platform enables users to view images in 3D, build custom animations, export images into common formats like JPEG and share to the Web or mobile devices. LYTRO ILLUM's workflow is also compatible with existing photo-editing suites like Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom software and Apple's Aperture software, allowing creative pioneers to use the tools they already know and love.
LYTRO ILLUM Availability
The LYTRO ILLUM camera will ship starting July 2014 for a retail price of $1,599.
As part of the launch, Lytro is offering a variety of exclusive opportunities to those who pre-order the camera before July 15. In addition to receiving a specially- engraved LYTRO ILLUM for a special introductory price of $1,499 and an extended two-year warranty, they'll be eligible to join an inner circle of Lytro users with insider access to product development insight and support. Even after the product ships, this nucleus of early adopters will continue to receive ground-floor insight and training from the Lytro team, with opportunities to contribute to exclusive developmental projects.
As part of their status as early adopters, individuals who pre-order will have the opportunity to submit their own photo series to earn a spot in the Ultimate Lytro Photo Experience — a once-in-a-lifetime trip to shoot alongside a prominent photographer on an all-expense paid photo shoot. The Lytro team and this pro photographer partner will be on hand to provide high-caliber, hands-on training and practice for getting the most out of LYTRO ILLUM. As the larger photography community gets acquainted with this new style of digital art, these early adopters will have an inside edge on techniques for producing cutting-edge Light Field Photography.
For more information about LYTRO ILLUM, please visit http://Lytro.com/camera. For a demonstration of interactive living pictures, visit the Lytro Picture Gallery here.
LYTRO ILLUM Technical specs
- Custom-designed 40-megaray light field sensor
- 8x optical zoom lens (30mm-250mm equivalent)
- Constant f/2.0 aperture across the entire zoom range
- 1/4000 of a second high-speed shutter
- Extreme close-focus macro capability
- Combination of tactile-controls and smartphone-class, articulating touchscreen
- Dimensions: 86mm x 145mm x 166mm; 940 grams
- Hot shoe supports all leading flashes
Software Platform
- Integrated workflow with leading photo software from Adobe and Apple
- Interactive depth feedback display
- Virtual camera controls in post-processing, including aperture focus and perspective adjustments and physically accurate tilt control
- Instantly displays 3D photos on 3D-capable devices
- Integrated sharing to leading social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+
- Library of drag-and-drop cinematic animations,including pan,zoom,focus, perspective shift
- Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom software and Apple's Aperture software compatible
hoping it will go sub-200 dollars before becoming deadstock.. don't want to spend much on it but it seems interesting
But you could show it to your grandchildren, will be capitalism resources waste illustration, exact match for their young communists meeting in school.
At $249 I am tempted. Except I know I would never use it. Still.....
Deal still valid, btw.
New absolute record $249
Deal is still valid.
New absolute record - $299
http://electronics.woot.com/offers/lytro-illum-light-field-digital-camera-46
Get this camera, it is really something that is different from that you have.
Lytro, Inc. is providing users with unparalleled creative control, freedom and interaction with its latest update for Lytro ILLUM. The Lytro Desktop 5.0 update features breakthrough depth editing capabilities that are not currently possible with any other camera on the market. Lytro DepthFX makes chroma keying for background replacement unnecessary and enables depth-based editorial adjustments like exposure, contrast and saturation.
“We’re excited to be able to continue to push the limits of computational imaging and Light Field technology across applications,” said Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro. “By building a powerful Light Field platform, whether for photography or virtual reality, we’re developing a system that has the ability to expand its capabilities with continued updates. These advancements allow artists the ability to create engaging content that meets the needs and advantages of new mediums and technologies.”
The Lytro Desktop 5.0 update for Lytro ILLUM is free and will be available for Windows users on Dec. 8, 2015 at http://illum.lytro.com/desktop .
About Lytro Desktop 5.0
The Lytro DepthFX tool allows for selective editorial changes to be made based on the depth information captured in each Living Picture.
Background Replacement: Easily change the background of an image by selecting a depth layer and replacing it with a new image -- essentially rendering the use of green screens unnecessary -- while keeping the interactivity and advantages of a Living Picture.
Depth-Based Adjustments: Isolate areas and make editorial changes based on the Z depth information of each Living Picture. Adjustments include: exposure, saturation, color, contrast, hue and colorization.
Region-Based Adjustments: Isolate regions using a radial selection tool to make editorial changes to the Living Picture like exposure, saturation, color, contrast, hue and colorization.
For the full list of improvements provided in Lytro Desktop 5.0, visit https://support.lytro.com.
Price is $399 for one day, grab it while you can
Lytro Power Tools Available
Lytro Power Tools are a set of command line utilities that make light field exploration directly accessible through a Lytro camera, allowing unprecedented level of creative control and flexibility for users.
The original Lytro would take photos instantly with no need to focus unless you really wanted to, whereas the new Lytro Illum does focus, giving you direct control over the area in focus. Focus speed has been improved with V2 of the Lytro Illum firmware. It's also quick to use the focus ring on the lens to manually override the focus.
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/lytro-illum-v2-professional-light-field-camera-review-26434
New update - ILLUM Camera Software 2.0
New Stuff
- New ILLUM Manual
- User Interface - Complete redesign of the user interface
- Re-Arrange menu icon - Added wrench icon to the menu bar to provide quick access to the rearrange menu (Additional Menu Features KB)
- Full Screen Mode - Hides all extraneous data on-screen for a simple composition (Additional Menu Features KB)
- Improved Autofocus - autofocus system is significantly faster
- Viltrox TTL Flash for Lytro Illum - Flash settings can now be controlled in-camera (Illum settings menu KB)
Fixed and Improved Stuff
- Improved Autofocus speed
- Navigation of the camera menu has been improved
- Info Bar UI has been improved
- Optical Offset UI has been improved
- Bracketing UI has been improved
- To improve stability and overall reliability, reduced capture buffer from 10 to 8.
Interview
Are you aware of recent announcements concerning Panasonic building their own interchangeable light-field cameras?
We are always excited when we see other people doing things and experimenting in light field technology. In the same way with digital, this revolution is going to take more than just one company, so we welcome innovation across the market.
In direct relation to Panasonic news, there wasn’t enough detail for me to understand what they are doing. But I hope that it is great, and I hope that it is significant and I hope that it advances the state of the art.
Some tech info
The secrets of Lytro live within two main packages: a microlens array and advanced calibration software. The Lytro ILLUM contains a sensor that is ‘directional sensitive’. A standard image sensor reads the amount of light that hits each pixel and determines color information, but it doesn’t know where the light came from before it entered the camera. The key behind Lytro is that their hardware and software know the origin of the light entering the camera.
It may fascinate you to learn that the sensors used by Lytro are simply ‘off the shelf’ pre-made pieces of silicon – just as you may have in your current camera. But the Lytro is unique due to what is placed on the sensor to create the ‘custom package’. The ILLUM and its predecessor contain a sophisticated and precision designed layer that sits atop the sensor called the microlens array.
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