Last month, Lytro announced their second generation light field camera they call Illum. The Illum system is clearly geared at serious amateur and professional photographers interested in experimenting with variable focus photography. This new mini-documentary features photographers using the Illum system, the technology behind it, and their creative process.
If you haven't already, be sure to check out our previous coverage of the Lytro Illum here.
The more I see this camera, the more I'm interested in giving it a shot (though I'd probably spring for the first generation, they're going for around $200 on Amazon).
would it be possible to do brenizer bokeh panoramas with this? Move focus closer to camera and use blurred background, move focus to background and use blurred foreground, put focus on subject and get subjetc sharp?
That's actually one of the ideas I'd been bouncing around. If I end up picking one up I'll definitely try it.
But at measly 4MP your not going to be printing anything special out with this camera.
I seriously, seriously doubt the intent was ever to print. The photos are designed to be interacted with. You can't print that.
The Canon EOS-1D Mark i would like to disagree with you, so would the hundreds of pros that shot with that camera for a long time happily printing out 4MP files.
I`m using google camera which comes with this feature .... and the results looks good or maybe better than expansive lYtro camera.
This technology does interest me, BUT, not until i can output a normal size, NORMAL IMAGE.....as in, a JPEG, that isn't interactive....just something that can be printed....not that it HAS to be printed, but it needs to be a jpeg....or tiff....or PNG....something that can be USED it some way....
The things i love about this, i think that it could be great for macro type stacking photos (rings, etc)....shoot one image, save out multiple images, and then stack in PS....i'm not sure if you can adjust the total DOF after the fact (i.e, if you were stopping down the aperture), or simply just change the position of the focus point.....if you can just simply increase the DOF with a slider, that's one thing, that's awesome....
The other thing i love, is that there apparently is no focusing needed at capture....I have a micro 4/3 body as just a mess around, family camera, and my two favorite lenses are my 15mm f/8 body cap lens, and my 7.5mm fisheye....both require so little focusing (the fisheye actually requires more focusing than the body cap lens.....), and they're just a joy to shoot with....not having to worry about focusing, and missing focus, makes things so much more fun...you can just focus on what is happening, and capture moments....
Those 2 things are the only things i care about....to me, for this point in time, photographic images ARE made to be experienced in 2D....the interactive aspect of it does NOTHING for me....
why would i want to create an image with a certain subject, and focus, and composition, and then allow someone to change it after the fact? That's not art. That's not communicating your vision to someone. That's allowing people to interpret your photo how they want, which, isn't a bad thing, but when you can change the actual focus, the POINT, the MESSAGE of a photo, that's not what photography is meant for......it's taking away the power of communication from the artist....