Lytro Light Field Camera – Lytro Support Articles

The text and screenshots herein are copies of Lytro’s official support articles, provided here purely to help remaining first-generation camera users experiencing problems. We have only included the most relevant support articles for this purpose.

 

What are the specs on the First Generation Lytro Light Field Camera?

Lens
Focal Length: 43mm-344mm
Zoom: 8x optical
Aperture: Constant f/2.0

Image Sensor
Sensor Type: CMOS
Light Field Resolution: 11 Megaray (the number of light rays captured by the light field sensor)
Active Area: 4.6mm x 4.6mm

Image
Format: Light Field Picture (.lfp)
Aspect Ratio: 1:1
2D Export Resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels (approx. 1MP peak output)
File/Picture Storage: 750 – 16GB Model, 350 – 8GB Model (on-camera), additional free storage on Lytro Web.

Exposure
Modes: Full Auto, Full Manual, Shutter Priority or ISO Priority
Shutter Priority: 1/250 – 8 seconds
ISO Priority: 80-3200
Exposure Lock: Yes
ND Filter: 4-Stop
Control Interface: Tap on touchscreen

Screen
Touchscreen: Yes
Size: 1.52” (diagonal)
Screen Type: Back-lit LCD
Live View: Yes

Playback
In-camera Picture Review: Yes

Power
Battery: Built-in, rechargeable long-life lithium-ion
Battery Charging: Via Micro-USB to computer or LYTRO Fast Charger

External
Controls: Power Button, Shutter Button, Zoom Slider, Touchscreen
USB: Micro-USB
Tripod Socket: Available via Lytro custom accessory mount, sold separately

Miscellaneous
Software: Includes LYTRO Desktop for importing, organizing, processing, and interacting with living pictures. See more on the LYTRO Desktop Fact Sheet
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA2)
E-Waste: RoHS Certified

Materials
Lightweight anodized aluminum with silicone grip Camera Kit Includes: LYTRO Magnetic Lens Cap, Lens cleaning cloth, wrist strap, USB cable for data transfer and charging and Quick Start guide

Dimensions/Weight (Camera)
41mm x 41mm x 112mm (1.6” x 1.6” x 4.4”)
214 g (7.6 oz)

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What does “a constant f/2 aperture across the entire zoom range” mean, and why is that good?

This optical characteristic of the first generation Lytro camera allows it to capture maximum light across its entire zoom range.

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What are the specs on the battery in the first generation Lytro camera?

The first generation Lytro Camera has a Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery with the following characteristics: 3.7 Volt, 2100 mAh, 7.77 Watt-hours.
The first generation Lytro camera battery is not replaceable. With a reasonable frequency of usage, the battery will provide years of service.
A single battery charge will allow you to take hundreds of pictures.
This applies to the first generation Lytro camera ONLY.

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What is the focal length of the first generation Lytro camera?

Focal Length of the first generation Lytro camera:
6.45mm – 51.4mm (43mm – 341mm as 35mm-equivalent)

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Entrance Pupil Specs – first generation Lytro camera

The entrance pupil is the image of the aperture as viewed from in front of the camera.
The first generation Lytro camera’s entrance pupil ranges in diameter from about 3mm (1x zoom) through 24mm (8x zoom), as a linear function of zoom.

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What color spectrum does the first generation Lytro camera support?

The first generation Lytro camera only captures the human-visible spectrum of colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet (ROYGBIV) and intermediate colors.

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How many living pictures will the first generation Lytro camera hold?

The 8GB models of the first generation Lytro camera can hold 350 living pictures at once in internal memory. The 16GB model can hold 750 living pictures at once.

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What manual settings does the first generation Lytro camera support?

By default, the first generation Lytro camera supports exposure adjustment via the touchscreen interface, which allows you to adjust the relative darkness or brightness of the picture you are about to take.

Exposure adjustment only affects the next picture you take.

When using Manual Controls, we support manual adjustments to:
Shutter Speed
ISO Equivalent
ND Filter
Auto-exposure Lock

Manual Controls affect all future pictures until you change these settings.

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Updating First Generation Camera Firmware

The latest (and last) First Generation Lytro camera firmware is v1.2.2.

You can check for firmware via the Info button in Lytro Desktop. Here’s how:

Connect camera to Lytro Desktop
Click on the Library icon
When your camera appears, click on it once so it’s highlighted; then click on the “i” Info icon:

This will load camera info. If there is an update available, you will see an update button here; if not, you will not see any button (in the screenshot below, no updates are available):


 

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Microscopy – Will the Lytro camera work with a microscope?

At this time, no; we are focused on shipping the Lytro camera for the consumer market.

In terms of our camera working with a microscope, the image-side f-number is highly mismatched between cameras and microscopes. Our CEO Ren and our VP of Engineering Kurt recommended the following paper for more technical detail: graphics.stanford.edu/projects/lfmicroscope/

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Camera software issues – How do I perform a “soft reset” on the first generation Lytro camera?

Why you might do this procedure:
Several pictures in a row will not focus at all (no matter where you tap).
The camera has taken a jolt, e.g. has been dropped. (The camera will reset itself automatically after the next time it fully powers itself off, but why wait?) Although impact damage is not covered by the Lytro warranty, minor impacts can be easily addressed with the following procedure.
Any normal function of the first generation Lytro camera (e.g. transferring pictures to the Lytro Desktop software) is not working properly.

Steps:

Swipe up on the touchscreen to reveal the General Control Dock.
Touch the “gear” icon in the upper right:

Choose “Reset” from the menu:

NOTE: On newer versions of the camera firmware (software), you will need to scroll down the menu (swipe up on the touchscreen) to reveal the Reset option.

IMPORTANT:

If you are still having issues, please use the blue “Open a Support Ticket” text below to contact Lytro Support. [Note: Lytro has ceased operations and it is no longer possible to get product support.]
You are also welcome to try a “hard reset” first before contacting Lytro Support.
This only applies to the first generation Lytro camera.

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Camera won’t turn on – How do I perform a “hard reset” on the first generation Lytro camera?

Why you might do this procedure:

You are having difficulty charging the camera.
Any normal function of the first generation camera is not working properly, and a “soft reset” has been unsuccessful or is not possible.

Steps:
==> Please follow these instructions exactly; the order and timing are very important! <== If you are having trouble charging the battery, you must connect the camera to USB power first, and leave it connected, before proceeding. You must be directly connected to your computer or to a wall AC adapter; do NOT use a USB hub. If you have a Lytro wall charger, use it for the following process and go to step 5. If not, try and find a micro-USB charger that does at least 2 Amps; some computer USB ports are underpowered and may fail where a good wall charger will work. Hold down the Power button, near the USB flap on the underside of the camera (NOT the Shutter button) for a full 45 seconds, using a timepiece to verify duration:

If still no results, perform an “extended hard reset” by holding down the Power button for a full 90 seconds, again using a timepiece to verify duration.

If still no results, try charging overnight (at least 6 hours)

If the issue persists after completing these steps please let us know via Live Chat, or open a support ticket at the top of this page. [Note: Lytro has ceased operations and it is no longer possible to get product support.]

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Lytro Desktop v4 – First Generation Camera Isn’t Detected (Windows)

If Lytro Desktop 4 does not automatically detect your first generation Lytro camera, please try the following steps:

Confirm you have installed the latest version of Lytro Desktop at http://www.lytro.com/desktop http://lightfield-forum.com/lytro/lytro-archive/ [Link updated since Lytro ceased operations.]
Confirm you are using a data capable micro USB cable (you can test this by connecting to another device)
If your camera is still not detected by Lytro Desktop please follow the instructions below:

Please check the Windows services to make sure the Lytro Desktop Application Service is installed and running.

Go to Start and type Services in the search box and press enter.
The Windows Services window should open.
Look for the ‘Lytro Desktop Application Service’.
The service should be set to Automatic and Started. If it is not, right click on the service and choose start.

NOTE: If ‘Lytro Desktop Application Service’ is not an option in the Windows Services list please temporarily disable any security software you have installed and reinstall the latest version of Lytro Desktop. Once the installation is complete, you can reactivate your security software.

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Lytro Desktop v4 – First Generation Camera Isn’t Detected (Mac)

If Lytro Desktop 4 does not automatically detect your first generation Lytro camera, please try the following steps:

Confirm you have installed the latest version of Lytro Desktop at http://www.lytro.com/desktop http://lightfield-forum.com/lytro/lytro-archive/ [Link updated since Lytro ceased operations.]
Confirm you are using a data capable micro USB cable (you can test this by connecting to another device)
If your camera is still not detected by Lytro Desktop please follow the instructions below:

If you have any security software installed please temporarily disable it.

Open a Terminal window and enter these commands ONE BY ONE. (Your user account password will be asked after entering the first line – this is your MAC password):

sudo rm -rf /Applications/Lytro\ Desktop.app
sudo rm -rf /Applications/Lytro.app
sudo rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.lytro.Lytro.plist
sudo rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.lytro.Lytro.LSSharedFileList.plist
sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.lytro.Lytro
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.lytro.Lytro.InstallHelper.plist
sudo rm /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.lytro.Lytro.InstallHelper
sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/LytroFirefly.kext
sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.lytro.Lytro.savedState

Empty Trash
Reboot computer
Go to www.lytro.com/downloads http://lightfield-forum.com/lytro/lytro-archive/ [Link updated since Lytro ceased operations.] and download/install the latest version of Lytro Desktop
Restart your computer

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