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lytro plenoptic camera? — Parallax Forums

lytro plenoptic camera?

prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
edited 2012-03-20 15:57 in General Discussion
Anybody know about this new-fangled plenoptic camera?

'Because so much light is captured in a single image, you don’t need to worry about focusing when you shoot your picture — you can focus an image after the fact. Lytro calls this resulting interactive photograph a “living picture.” '

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/12/lytro-camera-zero-g/all/1

Is this for-real new-tech, or just a gimmick?

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-03-20 08:03
    It's for real. Think of it as something like a hologram in that it captures more information about the direction of the incoming photons, not just the intensity (and color). The "image" has more information about the incoming light than a conventional focused image. As a result, the camera or image viewer can do more processing on the collected information and derive a conventional image that appears as if it were focused at some specified point.
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-03-20 08:18
    It looks like it's for real, not just hocus-focus. If you can somehow capture not just the amount of light arriving at each pixel, but also its direction of arrival from the focusing lens, you can infer the distance from the camera from which the light emanates. You can read all about the gory details in their CEO's doctoral dissertation from Stanford here:

    -Phil
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2012-03-20 08:25
    Mike Green wrote: »
    It's for real. .

    This is kind of cool.

    So does "micro-lens array specially adhered to a standard sensor" mean the "raw" image is kind of a "fly eye" view, like a zillion little pictures of the same image? Would each micro lens have the same focus, and just the offset (optical parallax) changes from lens to lens; or each lens have a different focus?

    "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." sounds like processing software is built into image.

    from http://www.lytro.com/science_inside#

    Is this something we can reproduce with "micro lens array" and a prop (or array of props); or is this more in the realm of a DSP chip?

    I'm thinking of some kind of robot vision sensor application.

    edit - thanks for the link to the dissertation. Some light reading while the kids play at the park today!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2012-03-20 08:32
    Is this something we can reproduce with "micro lens array" and a prop (or array of props); or is this more in the realm of a DSP chip?
    I appears that the Lytro processing engine is a custom chip derived from the "supercomputer" used in the lab to process the images. It's probably not something that a Propeller could do in a reasonable amount of time.

    What would be neat is if the chip could derive a stereo pair from the image although, given the lens size, it would only be useful for macro 3D images.

    -Phil
  • TubularTubular Posts: 4,712
    edited 2012-03-20 15:57
    I tried to order one of these the other week, but there isn't a windows version just yet. You can sign up to an email list for when the windows software gets released. In the mean time good news if you have a Mac though!
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