Lytro Light Field Camera

Modes Overview

Two modes were available on our pre-production model: auto, and an “advanced light field” mode. The modes are subject to change before the final version of the Light Field Camera hits the market, but Lytro made it sound like these same two modes will make it into the production model.

Auto Mode

Auto mode is the default setting, and it’s literally as simple as pointing-and-shooting. Auto exposure can be adjusted by tapping on an area of the screen.

Movie Mode

There will not be a movie mode on the production version of the Light Field Camera. Lytro founder Ren Ng said in a recent interview that theoretically light field imaging could be integrated into video, but it won’t be available in this first-gen product.

Drive/Burst Mode

There were no burst or continuous drive modes available on the pre-production model we saw, and Lytro made no indication that there would be on the production model.

Custom Image Presets

No custom presets were included in the beta interface, and there are no plans for any in the final product.

Playback Mode

Again, we only tested a pre-production version of Lytro’s firmware, but it’s a good start. It’s a touch-based interface, and the light field engine refocusing software lets the user preview the shots with different focus points within the camera.

Picture Quality & Size Options

The Light Field Camera produces light field picture files (.lfp). It’ll ship with proprietary software to process the files. Team Lytro told us that the raw image files are about 16 megabytes out of the camera, but usually get compressed down to about 200 kilobytes and 1 megapixel of resolution after processing. We haven’t seen this software, so we aren’t sure how the software works or how user friendly it will be. It’s a big question mark for us.

Other Modes

Advanced light field mode is the only option aside from auto. It took a few minutes for us to wrap out heads around this one, but we’ll do our best to explain (and feel free to comment if you can think of a better way to explain this, or if we got any details a bit wrong).

In auto mode, the camera measures the light field all the way out to infinity, so there’s a sharp contrast between obvious foreground and background objects, but it’s hard to separate objects that are slightly closer or further from each other.

In advanced light field mode, the user can select the center of the light field. It’ll be easier to create contrast between objects that are closely grouped, though the light field engine loses the ability to sharpen the background. It’s tough to explain, but fairly easy to pick up in practice.