Public Address | Cafe | Capture: Mama Don't Take My Lytro Camera Away

JacksonP

Mon, 22 Jul 2013 21:22:19 +1200

That's kind of what I was waiting for too David. Thanks for the link.

The recent update on the Lytro improved things by allowing you to 'shift focus', bringing everything withing the depth of field into focus. But then you couldn't export the image to file, only screen grab it.…

David Hood

Mon, 22 Jul 2013 16:06:59 +1200

Just noting that now that people have realised "hey we can manipulate depth of field with computers" we are seeing a range of different applications, including this "lens"

gizmodo link

Sacha

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:25:38 +1200

have a Lytro day, and get others to try it out

yes

David Hood

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:58:38 +1200

I must admit, I tend to think- that's technically very, very clever but I don't have an actual use for it

JacksonP

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:29:49 +1200

The app I spotted was focustwist (iPhone/ iPod only, basically the models that you can set the focus lock on)

Cheers. I had a go. Interesting, but again I'm failing to see the broader appeal or sense of it.

David Hood

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:35:13 +1200

The app I spotted was focustwist (iPhone/ iPod only, basically the models that you can set the focus lock on)

Lilith __

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:30:59 +1200

Clever, but again I’m lost with how to make the most of it.

I wonder if it's that thing about limitations making the challenge and the creativity?

JacksonP

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:26:31 +1200

Thanks David. To save me the seconds it would take to find it, do you know what it’s called?

I keep trying to extract shots I’d want to share out of the Lytro itself, and the new focus shift and stacking simulation shows promise, but I just can’t get inspired.…

David Hood

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:31:56 +1200

I see there is actually a focus shifting iOS app now, mimicking the Lytro. Ideally your foreground object should be three to five inches away, and you need to keep the iDevice still while it takes multiple pictures at different focuses. I can see camera manufactures add this implementation in…

Nora Leggs

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 07:58:30 +1200

spider’s micro-engineered handiwork against that of the builders of the Napier-Gisborne railway line

Great pictures……

Maybe railway could be fixed with a combination of these two……

Kumara Republic

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:35:34 +1200

Somewhat undulating on the way down, but it's a bugger getting up the other side!
This the biggest of three washouts on the Gisborne-Napier railway ...

Speaking of gradients... Meanwhile, back in town, I got to test out the camera on my new smartphone for the first time. It's a…

Steve Barnes

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 22:13:36 +1200

holy crap, that’s a gradient…

Is that Rainbows End?.

Steve Barnes

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 21:23:25 +1200

phenomenon.

Doo Doo bee doo doo....
Couldn't help it.

Joe Wylie

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:58:06 +1200

Amazing pics of an amazing phenomenon.

ChrisW

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 06:31:09 +1200

And here's the third biggest one. The line is an appreciable tourism asset, more importantly for freight in the post-peak-oil world of the rapidly approaching future. But is Government thinking approaching that future at the same pace? A decision on the line should be made this month.
Question is, which…

ChrisW

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 06:24:26 +1200

holy crap, that's a gradient...
Somewhat undulating on the way down, but it's a bugger getting up the other side!
This the biggest of three washouts on the Gisborne-Napier railway ...

JacksonP

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 23:34:15 +1200

Lytro definitely intriguing for the close-up stuff in context, but the hand-held conventional camera’s depth of field may be adequate sometimes

Or even just an iPhone.

Amazing capture Chris.

Lilith __

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 22:26:57 +1200

a spider’s micro-engineered handiwork against that of the builders of the Napier-Gisborne railway line.

Brilliant juxtaposition Chris!

Also, holy crap, that's a gradient...

ChrisW

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 22:25:09 +1200

Lytro definitely intriguing for the close-up stuff in context, but the hand-held conventional camera's depth of field may be adequate sometimes – here showing off a spider's micro-engineered handiwork against that of the builders of the Napier-Gisborne railway line.
I'm sure the spider's will be in need of some capital…

Lilith __

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:44:17 +1200

I keep looking at the TV and thinking ‘if only I could click on that and make it sharper’.

Pop Citizen Kane on the DVD, no clicking required! :-)

JacksonP

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 13:26:54 +1200

Jackson, what file format are the clickable Lytro images? They seem to use Flash in my browser…

It uses flash, but they have some proprietary stuff in there, although I'd have to look into it more to understand it.

Lilith __

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 11:56:55 +1200

Jackson, what file format are the clickable Lytro images? They seem to use Flash in my browser...

JacksonP

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 11:06:36 +1200

That one would be a bit of a shock if you suffered from arachnaphobia though : )

Good point. I've added a warning. ;-)

Nora Leggs

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 09:22:51 +1200

Here’s one someone else prepared earlier.

Cool. That one would be a bit of a shock if you suffered from arachnaphobia though : )

JacksonP

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 09:02:27 +1200

This is where the Lytro could be nice.

Yep. Here’s one someone else prepared earlier. WARNING >> Arachnophobians may wish to think twice about clicking.

JacksonP

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 08:58:47 +1200

This might be a really really dumb question, Jackson, but I’m assuming that the Lytro isn’t made for the night?

No, not really. Gave it try, but not worth sharing,

ETA: Here's a lower light one of a piano using indoor lighting. You can start to see the grain.

And…

Jackie Clark

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 18:56:18 +1200

This might be a really really dumb question, Jackson, but I'm assuming that the Lytro isn't made for the night?

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:47:23 +1200

This, maybe not so.
Maybe a tripod :)

Sofie Bribiesca

Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:45:29 +1200

Thanks. The houses are all so sharp.

This is where the Lytro could be nice.

Lilith __

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:15:50 +1200

The houses are all so sharp

And if you click on the hill...no wait, that won't work. ;-)

JacksonP

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:34:57 +1200

There you go. That’s much betterer. Thanks. The houses are all so sharp.

Lilith __

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:59:03 +1200

Thank you, yes it was. I've seen lots of rainbows today, in between the rain, hail, sleet etc.! You can see a dusting of snow still on the hill behind.

Hebe

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:36:03 +1200

Beautiful Lilith. Was it taken this morning?

Lilith __

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 17:22:40 +1200

Would 960 pixels be too much? Or am I just being greedy?

Your wish, etc. :-)

Steve Barnes

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 16:30:33 +1200

When I first glanced at this I thought, you can focus on any part, infinite zoom? but alas no. Now that would be a game changer, you go and take a snapshot and then look at the finest of details. Like looking at google earth.

JacksonP

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:25:54 +1200

can I call it a snow-bow?

I understand your reasons, but I am left wanting more from such a great picture.

Would 960 pixels be too much? Or am I just being greedy?

Julie Cross

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 12:19:49 +1200

This looks cool, but I still want Deckard's thingamijiggy in Blade Runner.

Nora Leggs

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:37:10 +1200

Nice crisp bow there : )

Lilith __

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:09:47 +1200

OK I don't have a Lytro, but there's a nice light out my window...can I call it a snow-bow?

Lilith __

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:43:15 +1200

Time for a self-portrait, Jack? You out standing in your (light) field? ;-D

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:19:01 +1200

Mountain pawpaw. Do they get ripe enough to eat?

It's our first year with them Geoff. Tree grew from seedling amazingly quickly, and we are hoping for a decent crop, if the flowers and buds are anything to go by. Will let you know how they go.

Geoff Lealand

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 22:04:13 +1200

Mountain pawpaw. Do they get ripe enough to eat?

Lilith __

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:45:43 +1200

Have the Best Boy & Focus Pullers' Union
been consulted on this incursion?

They shouldn't worry. It's like this horseless carriage: it'll never catch on.

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:17:59 +1200

Have the Best Boy & Focus Pullers' Union
been consulted on this incursion?

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:09:22 +1200

I was playing with this to see if it was worth trying the focus stacking thing. But then I thought 'why bother?'

What I didn't do is take the same photo with my phone camera to see what depth of field I could get. Maybe next time.

Here's the [[https://pictures.lytro.com/CaptureNZ/pictures/214718|Lytro…

Steve Barnes

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:53:01 +1200

I suppose I have to say this before Emma does. It could be great for porn.

Lilith __

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:16:35 +1200

For anyone who wants an actual toy camera, this fits the bill.

Don't ask me why, I just don't know.

Lilith __

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:56:31 +1200

they expect to be adding this in the software at some stage, hopefully soon

OK, I would officially be desperate to get my hands on that!! :-)

I remember reading about this when it was still in development and feeling sceptical that it would actually work, but it obviously does,…

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:30:57 +1200

Just a note on the all in focus question, they expect to be adding this in the software at some stage, hopefully soon. The information is already stored, but is a bit much for the current system and display.

Read on the support threads here.

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:22:47 +1200

Here's the two intro videos to give a better run down on the basic, and more 'advanced' features.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3UGP0cNNfE&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6r7UdTIfM4&feature=relmfu

Tom Ackroyd

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:02:31 +1200

I can't get my head around how the web embedding might work. When clicking on the image, are you able to select a near-infinite number of focal distances? Or are these just 20 or so stacked images, enough to select a decent image for wherever you might click?

Lilith __

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:54:21 +1200

Thanks Jackson, the “click-to-focus” is jawdropping, had me swearing with admiration!!

And I’d love to have one to play with and keep, obviously. :-D

But I think Alex is right – in its current form it’s a gimmick. What we really want is everything in focus at once.*

I have…

Joe Wylie

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:37:34 +1200

Thanks for the opportunity to play with the examples Jackson. The initial impression is a bit like Quicktime VR – once you're over the novelty, only the likelihood of some special interest is sufficient to click into an environment with its own rather arcane rules of navigation.

Like most of…

Ray Gilbert

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:25:22 +1200

Can you stack focal depths and export them out as one image? Or would that be limited to 3rd party software (e.g. ImageJ's focus stacker)?

Can the images be exported in a format Image J or one of it's plugins could handle?

One thing I've seen with some of the…

Alex Efimoff

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:35:19 +1200

Have a look https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.dslrcontroller
all you need to do is to connect your Android based phone to a DSLR camera via USB after that you will be a full control over your camera via your phone. functions including bracketing, serial firing with automatic and gradual refocusing etc.

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:17:37 +1200

Could you not achieve something similar on a DSLR by automatically firing a sequence of shots while adjusting the focus? (Are there any cameras with that sort of programmability? The first DSLR that has 3G+WiFi and runs Android gets my cash – as in, a camera with phone bits, not…

Lyndon Hood

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:15:41 +1200

Presumably, once you're reprocessing, could also do post-processing lens-tilt effects.Or an apeture-control equivalent (is there one currently?).

Nora Leggs

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:14:38 +1200

I don't mean to make light of clever technology, but how does it handle the shake-and-shoot technique?

Alex Efimoff

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:13:21 +1200

Nice toy :) Kids would be happy to play with it.

Hebe

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:13:13 +1200

Don't you think this Lytro should be in the perfect drug thread? I want one.

Ian Dalziel

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:04:21 +1200

Gimme a hard copy right there...
Nice, at last a light level plane field,
but let me know when it can do this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkcU0gwZUdg

...or get that View-Master©/parallax 3D thing going on
(not that this link does its stereoscopic wonder justice either...)
I think I have that Star Trek© View-Master©…

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:57:32 +1200

Can you stack focal depths and export them out as one image? Or would that be limited to 3rd party software (e.g. ImageJ's focus stacker)?

From what I can gather so far (I haven't really focused on this aspect much yet) you can only export one focal depth at a…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:31:27 +1200

For some of the work we do, taking photos of branching plants, this would be a really useful tool.

Fooman

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:24:15 +1200

Very interesting.

Saw the initial reviews of this a few months ago. The form factor is indeed "interesting" – reminds me of the Ziess Axiocam microscope camera I used a few years ago – fantastically good, but was essentially a box with a hole in it.

Can you stack focal…

Greg Bodnar

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:20:39 +1200

I'm assuming that if you can selectively focus from near to far, exporting along the way, you could merge the images for some focus-stacking. Infinite depth of field?

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:19:07 +1200

I’m curious too – is there a function for making everything in the picture clear and focussed?

At this stage, not that I can find. It would seem a logical progression, but would require some pretty powerful blending software I imagine.

Nora Leggs

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:36:30 +1200

you can also choose from different points of focus before you export

Moving it from fun gadget to practical : ) Nice if it could be retrospectively fitted for all those pictures where the autofocus has made 'strange' focussing decisions.

I'm curious too – is there a function for making…

JacksonP

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:27:28 +1200

One thing not covered in the post is the fact you can export the images to jpeg through the software. This in itself isn’t a big deal, but you can also choose from different points of focus before you export, as shown above.

Which is kind of cool.

Public Address

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:24:28 +1200

Discussion from blog post.