Google has built a fascinating rotating light field VR camera rig using 16 GoPros mounted in an arc. The rig is meant to give viewers "a more realistic sense of presence” within a VR world.
Articles tagged "light-field"
It's official. Light field company Lytro has announced that it is shutting down just one week after TechCrunch reported that Google was planning to buy the company for $40M. But it seems Google is more interested in the company's employees than its light field technology...
According to unnamed sources, Google will acquire Lytro's technology and patents, with Lytro employees already having left the company.
Customer feedback has convinced the makers of the light-field camera to consider open-sourcing the pictures.lytro.com platform it discontinued last week.
As Lytro completes its pivot into the professional video market, the Lytro desktop app is now the only tool for interacting with Lytro's light field images off-camera. Bye bye social media support.
Researchers at Stanford have revealed a new '4D camera system' built for robots. The system is based on the same light field tech that allowed Lytro cameras to refocus images after they were taken.
Windshield glare has made facial recognition of border crossers in cars tricky, but Lytro-like cameras might solve the problem.
Lytro debuted its Cinema prototype, and footage shot with the system, to a packed showroom at NAB 2016. To say we're impressed would be an understatement. Cinema is massive, but the high resolution, low noise capture paired with depth-screening, simulation of F0.3 apertures, and perspective shifts in post mean that Lytro may just be poised to change the face of cinema forever. Read more
According to a recent report, Panasonic is developing a technology for refocusing an image after it's been shot, and will be commercializing the feature sometime in the next year. The technology achieves something similar to Lytro's light field cameras but instead relies on 4K video capture. Read more
Pelican Imaging has developed a light field camera that is small enough to fit into mobile devices. The company has released some interactive image samples.
Pelican Imaging has released a set of re-focusable pictures taken with its light field camera for smartphones. Instead of placing an array of microlenses between the sensor and the main lens, Pelican uses an array of main lenses - each with a sensor behind it. Pelican's offering is more suitable for smartphones, and their sample images allow for re-focusing, changing DOF, and shifting perspective. Click through for more details and links to the images.
There's a bright future for light field imaging. Even if early cameras like the Lytro Illum don't have a clear purpose, they're helping bring the possibilities into focus. Photographer Liam McCabe breaks down the technology and talks with leaders in light field technology.
A prototype for a new DSLR add-on is poised to bring plenoptic capabilities to consumer cameras. The KaleidoCamera is designed to sit between a standard DSLR's sensor and lens. A diffuser splits light passing through the lens into nine different beams, each passing through a filter before it reaches the camera's sensor. Click through to read on about this prototype's capabilities and potential applications.
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| Kilchurn Castle, Scotland by johanmieke from Ancient Castles, Forts, and Defensive Structures - EXTERIOR | Incoming by Scott Vail from Your Duck shot | Lake Louise by MIRANDA1 from blue challenge |
