Camera technology never stops evolving. The latest devices can do away with the lens, combine several blurry photos to make one sharp image, or manipulate light. So far, one thing has stayed the same: each snapshot is frozen in time.
Lytro cameras capture an entirely new kind of image. "You have still, you have video – and now you have living pictures," says Lytro's CEO Jason Rosenthal.
The cameras use what's known as light-field technology to capture these living pictures. Behind a single main lens is a sensor with an array of up to 250,000 micro lenses, each of which captures light at a slightly different angle. "You can think of each of those micro lenses as an itty bitty camera," says CTO Kurt Akeley. Software then combines all that information into an image that uses the entire light field of a scene. This result appears magical: you can change the depth of field, the focus and perspective after the photo has been taken. Photos become interactive. "In the same way digital replaced film, light-field imaging will ultimately replace digital," says Rosenthal.
Lytro is now looking into lightfield microscopes that would be able to create a 3D model of a subject without having to take images from multiple angles. NASA has also snapped up the tech for use on its space probes. "This just becomes a better way of doing imaging," says Rosenthal
Now it's your turn to get in on the action. For a chance to win an Illum - Lytro's flagship camera worth £1000 – just answer the following question: Who took the world's first photo?
Fill in our entry form with your answer. Be sure to put "Lytro Illum competition" in your message.
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