Lytro Light Field Camera

A White Paper

Christine Sung

1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary…………………………….…………………………..…………………… 2

Glossary…………………………………………………………………………….………………..... 3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Technical Overview of the Lytro Light Field Camera……….. ………………...... 5

Technical Specifications…………………………………………………….............................................. 6

Key Features and Benefits…………………………………………………………………….. 7

Creative Mode…………………………………………………………………………….……………………… 7

Everyday Mode………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

Perspective Shift………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Manual Controls………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Sharing Capabilities…………………………………………………………………………………………… 8

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

References…………………………………….……………………………………………………. 11

2

Executive Summary

The purpose of this document is to introduce the Lytro Light Field Camera to prospective

specialized photography and technology retailers.

Lytro Light Field Camera is the first camera available to consumers that captures the entire light

field of a picture instead of a 2D image. Users can manipulate these pictures more easily to alter the

perspective and ultimately, they can share these pictures with the public. The Lytro Light Field

Camera is the culmination of Ph. D. research conducted by Ren Ng in light field technology [9].

Its technical specifications enhance the experience for users, particularly with its exposure controls

including ISO, shutter speed and aperture, which optimize the lighting of a picture. The sharing

capabilities allow Lytro users to become part of a community of photographers because

photographs can be easily shared on the web and through social networking websites. The

different modes are another key feature of this camera because there is a high degree of control

with the “Creative Mode.” On the other hand, time can be saved using the default settings, or the

“Everyday Mode.”

Lytro Light Field Camera is a great camera for both amateur and experienced photographers. The

modes help the varying levels because there is both a default and created setting. This technology

will help photographers tap into their creativity and craft pictures to share with the world.

3

Glossary1

Aperture: One of the three exposure controls that account for the amount of light reaching film or

image sensor. It works with the aperture and shutter speed to adjust the exposure to light of a film

or image sensor.

ISO: International Standardization Organization. One of the three exposure controls, the other two

being aperture and shutter speed selection. The function is to change the light sensitivity of an

image.

Light field: the amount of light faring in every direction through every point in space.

Microlens: a small lens, generally with a diameter less than a millimetre (mm) and often as small as

10 micrometres (µm). Generally, it has one plane surface and one spherical convex surface to

refract the light.

ND Filter: stands for Neutral Density. This filter changes all wavelengths or colours of light equally

with no alteration in hue. The purpose is to give greater control to the photographer to change the

aperture, exposure time and motion blur of a subject in any situation.

Shutter speed: the length of time a camera's shutter is open when taking a photograph. The amount

of light that reaches the film or image sensor is equal to the exposure time.

1 Adapted from www.wikipedia.org and www.completedigitialphotography.com

4

Introduction

The purpose of this white paper is to introduce the Lytro light field camera. This technology is the

first camera available to consumers that captures the entire light field of an image, instead of a 2D

picture. Lytro revolutionizes photography because pictures can be refocused after they are taken.

The Lytro light field camera also allows the user to change the perspective of a picture. The key

features of this camera will be mentioned in the “Key Features and Benefits” section of the paper.

History

Ren Ng, a Ph. D. researcher in light field photography at Stanford University, is the founder of Lytro

Inc. Lytro Inc. is a light field camera start-up company founded by Ng in 2006. The first cameras – 8

GB and 16 GB – were released for consumer use on Oct. 19, 2011 and began shipping on Feb. 29,

2012. Originally, the company was named Refocus Imaging, but was officially marketed as Lytro.

Organization

This document is written for retailers specializing in photography equipment or retailers

specializing in technology. It is for the decision-makers that purchase new technological devices to

be sold to consumers.

This paper is organized to discuss the:

technical overview of the product

technical specifications

features and benefits

Refer to the glossary on page 3 if you are not familiar with the terminology.

5

Technical Overview of the Lytro Light Field Camera

The Lytro light field camera is a handheld electronic device similar to a digital camera, but it

contains a light field sensor that captures the light field (an amount of light faring in every direction

through every point in space) of a picture. This device allows for the perspective to be shifted into

different directions such as left, right, up or down from the original position of the picture. Refer to

Figure 1.

The dimensions of this technology are 1.61 x 4.41 x 1.61 inches and it weighs 214 grams. It has a

1.52 inch glass touchscreen with a backlit LCD display. The camera has an aluminum casing for

protection and has a silicone grip for easy maneuvering. The device also has a slider in order for

users to zoom in on their subjects and contains an 8x optical zoom. Refer to Table 1.

Figure 1 Internal View of the Lytro Light Field Camera

Lens Assembly Light Field Sensor

Battery

Zoom Control Sensor

LCD Display

USB Power Board Main Processor

Board Display & Wireless

Board

6

The Lytro light field camera stores images that can be transmitted through a USB port to other

locations such as a computer device to be used readily. The camera has two modes: “Everyday

Mode” and “Creative Mode.” The first mode is a normal view of the subject whereas the latter

allows users to blur the image with just one tap. It also has manual controls that give users the

option to change the shutter speed and ISO of an image through the tap on a touch screen. One of

the distinguishing features of this technology is that friends of users can modify the pictures once

they are shared on the Lytro web. Friends of these users are able to click or tap it to refocus the

pictures.

Table 1 Technical Specifications and Details of the Lytro Light Field Camera

Technical Specification Details

Capacity Internal Flash Drive of 8 GB (350 living pictures) or 16 GB (750 living pictures)

Prices $399 - 8 GB $499 - 16 GB

Colour 16 GB o Red Hot o Cobalt Blue

8 GB o Graphite o Sea Glass o Electric Blue o Moxie Pink o Limited Edition Champagne

Light Field Sensor Sensor size: 4.6 x 4.6mm Pixels per microlens: 100 Megarays: 11 (the number of light rays

captured by the light field sensor) Light Field Engine: v2.0

Output

Aspect ratio: 1:1 Resolution: 1080 x 1080 pixels File type: .lfp (Light field picture file)

Lens Constant f/2 aperture 8x optical zoom 43–344mm (35mm equivalent) 8 elements in 5 groups

7

Exposure Control Full Auto Full Manual Shutter Priority (1/250–8 seconds) ISO-Priority (80–3200) Exposure Lock 4-stop ND Filter

Battery Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery Charging via Micro-USB to computer

system or Lytro fast charger

Wireless 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Protected Access® (WPA2)

Software Needed Mac Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or

higher o 2GB RAM o Intel Core 2 Duo or newer

Windows Requirements

o 64-bit Windows 7 or 64-bit Windows 8

o 2GB RAM o DirectX 10.0 o Dual-processor CPU

Key Features and Benefits

The features that will mainly be touched on in this section are the ones that are unique to the Lytro

light field camera. The following features will be described: 1) Creative Mode; (2) Everyday Mode;

(3) Perspective Shift; (4) Manual Controls; and (5) Sharing Capability

Creative Mode

According to Lytro Inc., Creative Mode is “an advanced light field mode that gives photographers

more control over the refocus range in the scene.” [6] The benefit of this feature is that it allows

photographers to manipulate the photograph to their preference and can blur the image to the

degree that is desired. This setting can be used for more advanced users.

8

Everyday Mode

According to Lytro Inc., Everyday Mode is “the refocus range, or the distance between objects in the

foreground and background that can be re-focused, is set for the photographer.” [6] This default

setting allows for the photographer if they are at a beginner level to get comfortable with the

camera first. It also saves time and the effort of the photographer to adjust the camera setting.

Perspective Shift

According to Lytro Inc, this feature “allows photographers to interactively change [their] point of

view in a picture after they have taken the picture.” [4] The benefit of this feature is greater

manipulation on the part of the photographer because they do not need to take the time to get the

perspective correct the initial time that they take a photograph. An added feature is that these

pictures can be streamed to the Lytro App on a iPhone or iPod device. Pictures can also be put on

any device such as a computer or tablet through Lytro Desktop. The perspective can be changed in

a convenient method for the photographer.

Manual Controls

Manual controls give users the ability to change the light exposure of a picture by setting the ISO

sensitivity, shutter speed and toggle the Neutral Density (ND) filter via the touchscreen. According

to Lytro Inc., “the ISO range is 80 (min) to 3200 (max), and the minimum shutter speed is 1/250. [6]

The benefit of this feature is greater control for the photographer to capture an image with an exact

amount of light exposure. These controls provide movement to pictures and allow them to be

focused in a certain way.

Sharing Capabilities

Through the free Lytro Mobile App and Lytro Desktop users can easily share the photographs that

they take with the camera instantly. This feature allows them to use their iPhone or iPod devices to

upload pictures to Lytro Web Gallery or Facebook. They can also be shared on Facebook or Twitter.

Lytro users can also see recent or popular images that have been uploaded by other users to

Lytro.com. Lytro Desktop allows users to put these pictures on their computer to share with

friends and family. This interactive feature is beneficial because it creates a sense of community

and these users can display to both the public and their family what they have created with Lytro

light field camera.

9

Example of Lytro Desktop App

Example of Lytro Mobile App

10

Conclusion

The Lytro light field camera has been introduced to you in this white paper. You have looked at the

technical overview of the product and shown how the different parts function as a whole. You were

also presented some of the key features of the camera that benefit the users.

The Lytro light field camera consists of a light field sensor that transforms the way that pictures are

taken and edited. By capturing the light field of an image, perspective can be altered using a

different method. The key features include Creative Mode, Everyday Mode, Perspective Shift,

Manual Controls and Sharing Capabilities. They give greater control over how a picture is captured

and allow the user to share the images easily.

This camera is an optimal tool for amateur photographers that want to see pictures change before

their eyes. Lytro light field camera has a lot to offer these photographers because it is easy to use

and introduces them to exposure control and other features of photography. It also caters to the

needs of experience photographers because of the different controls.

For more information, contact Lytro Inc. or visit their website at www.lytro.com

LYTRO, INC.

1300 Terra Bella Avenue

Mountain View, CA 94043

650-316-8888

650-227-2251 Fax

11

References

[1] Bray, J. “Lytro Review” PC Pro, July 16, 2013, [Online] Available:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/digital-cameras/383074/lytro [Accessed: Dec. 2013]

[2] Butler, R. “Lytro Light Field Camera” Digital Photography Review, Feb. 2013, [Online] Available:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/lytro [Accessed: Dec. 2013]

[3] Long, B. “Glossary” Complete Digital Photography, [Online] Available:

www.completedigitalphotography.com [Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[4] Lytro Inc. “Light Field Camera” Lytro, [Online] Available: https://www.lytro.com/camera

[Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[5] Lytro Inc. “Technical Specifications” Lytro, [Online] Available:

https://www.lytro.com/camera/specs [Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[6] Lytro Inc. “Lytro User Manual” Lytro, [Online] Available: http://lytro-s3-

production.s3.amazonaws.com/media/lytro/Official-User-Guide.pdf [Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[7] Wikipedia. “Aperture” Wikipedia, [Online] Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture

[Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[8] Wikipedia. “Light field” Wikipedia, [Online] Avalable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_field

[Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[9] Wikipedia. “Lytro” Wikipedia, [Online] Avalable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytro [Accessed:

Dec. 2013].

[10] Wikipedia. “Microlens” Wikipedia, [Online] Avalable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microlens

[Accessed: Dec. 2013].

[11] Wikipedia. “Neutral density filter” Wikipedia, [Online] Avalable:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_density_filter [Accessed: Dec. 2013].