Jun 18

Light Field Smartphone: Pelican showcases Full-HD 3D Video

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Light Field Smartphone: Pelican showcases 3D Video (picture: Pelican Imaging)
Pelican Imaging is working hard on releasing “a smart camera for your Smartphone”. Their first generation 4×4 camera array is reportedly 50 % thinner than current smartphone camera modules. It captures the Light Field not by use of a microlens array, but using – in this case – 16 individual fixed focus cameras.

But hardware is only one part of the technology. It’s strengh lies in the power of post-processing and sophisticated computation.
In a new demo released today, Pelican Imaging demonstrates 3D video recording at 1080p and 30 fps, as well as two application examples: distance measurement within the picture, and 3D printing of recorded scenes. Continue reading →

Jun 17

Lytro goes to Germany. Press Conference at Beginning of July 2013

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Lytro goes to Germany. Press Conference at Beginning of July 2013 (Picture: Lytro-Presseteam, harvard.de)

“Our goal is to forever change the way people take and experience pictures“ (Ren Ng)

This – translated to German – is the headline for Lytro’s press conference invitation, which we just received a few minutes ago. In short, the Lytro Light Field Camera finally comes to Europe, and the German-speaking area.

Continue reading →

Jun 11

Olympus Patent: Light Field Adapter for Micro-Four-Thirds Cameras

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Olympus Patent: Light Field Adapter for Micro-Four-Thirds Cameras Light field technology is still in its infancy, but its set to change the world of photography. We see the rapidly rising number of companies that are researching in this field as a good indication for its potential power. So far, however, there are only a few companies that produce light field cameras commercially, and only one (Lytro) that is in a price range suitable for end users.
A recently published patent application by Olympus may soon change this situation, and help grow more diversity in the field of commercial plenoptics.

Japanese blog Egami has found the application for a Light Field Adapter for Micro-Four-Thirds cameras (mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, MILCs), which dates back to November 2011 and was published on May 30 of this year. The adapter is fitted between the camera body and lens, and turns any MFT compatible system camera into a light field camera. Continue reading →

Jun 06

Bell Labs Creates Compressive Sensing Camera: No Lens, Always in Focus

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Bell Labs Creates Compressive Sensing Camera: No Lens, Always in Focus (picture: Technology Review) Traditionally, all cameras contain an optical lens and some sort of imaging sensor (analog or digital). With the help of sophisticated computing, these basics may soon be reduced to just a sensor.

According to a new report on Technology Review, Bell Labs (a research organization within Alcatel-Lucent) has developed a new type of camera which makes lenses unnecessary. Instead, the new camera prototype sees the world through a “series of transparent openings” (aperture assembly). The camera compares the individual images coming through each aperture (think “coded mask“), and uses the differences between them to reconstruct the final image.

Continue reading →

Jun 04

DIY Next Generation: Custom 3D-printed 49 mm Lytro Filter Adapter

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DIY Next Generation: Custom 3D-printed 49 mm Lytro Filter Adapter (photo: Perry-Myworld) We’ve seen quite a few filter adapters for the Lytro LightField Camera before, but Perry’s solution takes the “Do it Yourself” spirit one step further:
Perry used a high resolution 3D printer (Objet24, 28 µm layer thickness) to print a custom filter holder for his Lytro camera:

My goal here is to create a filter holder for my 49mm filters. After printing today and testing, it holds my +2 and +4 close-up filters very well. No slippage, no hint that anything would fall off. (The macro filters provide little benefit except being able to close focus and the Lytro’s longest focal length, down to 5 1/2″ at 51.4mm.)

More pictures after the break: Continue reading →