With their newest Youtube-Upload, German LightField specialist Raytrix demos the LightField features of their R29 camera.
The HD video includes original footage recorded with the high-end camera (resized from 3288 x 2192 = 7.2 megapixels; and 100 % crops), and demonstrates the reconstruction of 3D information – even at a subject-to-lens distance of 400 meters – as well as software refocus and extended depth of field.
Video frame rate for full-resolution imaging is 5 frames per second.
The iPhone World has recently gained a cool new category of apps that bring refocus capabilities to your smartphone: tap2focus and FocusTwist, both released within a small timeframe, use the iPhone’s standard camera to take several pictures at different focus levels, and combine the individual frames into an interactive touch-to-refocus picture à la Lytro.
Now, Windows Phone 8 is the second platform to gain software refocus picture taking: The app, simply named Refocus (0.99 $) uses the same “image series” technique to record the necessary data, but unlike FocusTwist it’s not limited to square pictures Continue reading
Last week, we presented the tap2focus iPhone App that offers Lytro-like refocus capabilities by way of manually recording several photos and combining them into an interactive picture.
Shortly after (but unrelated), Arqball announced the launch of their newest app FocusTwist which also promises this LightField-like feature.
FocusTwist ($1.99) There are a few differences between the two apps:
Manufacturers are racing towards creating the first light field enabled smartphone, and the first ones are expected to be released early next year.
If you have an iPhone, you don’t have to wait until then to create pictures with interactive refocus: App developer Caal Studio took the same technological short-cut that MEMS technology uses for image refocus, and merges several images focused at different depths to create a Lytro-like effect.
Their new iOS App tap2focus allows you to take multiple pictures at different focal lengths by tapping on the live camera preview, while holding the iPhone or iPod Touch as stationary as possible.
The app then combines these images into an interactive image, which can be viewed and refocused on the device itself and shared to facebook, twitter or via email.
tap2focus ($0.99) 
Ever since their first appearance in the News, Lytro’s most prominent LightField feature was software refocus. The ability to take a picture, and set and change focus after the fact has inspired many of us.
While Toshiba is working hard on commercializing that same LightField technology for use in smartphones, California-based company DigitalOptics is taking a shortcut with similar results:
Instead of taking a single photo through a microlens array, DigitalOptics’ Mems|Cam takes a series of pictures at different focus distances. After stitching the photo sequence together, the resulting pictures can be refocused just like Lytro’s LightField pictures. Continue reading