Remember Lytro? A camera that lets you capture an image first and bother about the focus later. A camera that uses light field technology allowing the photographer to capture the image instantly and adjust its focus long after the photo is taken.

Few months back we'd featured this amazing technology and also interviewed Ren Ng, the CEO of Lytro who promised that Lytro will revolutionize the world of photography. It's exciting to see that Lytro has finally unveiled its camera and has started taking pre-orders through its website. Although you will be able to get your hands on it by early 2012, but you can always place your order in advance.


Here's what Lytro has to offer:

• Firstly, I would like to mention its incredibly easy to use virtue. It has just two buttons (a power button and a shutter button) and a slider for zooming. For a camera, the shape may seem odd, but simplicity is the essence of this camera and you can't help and notice its red hot, electric blue and graphite colors.

• Initially experts assumed that a camera with such innovative technology may cost thousands of dollars, but it is interesting to see that the starting price for Lytro is $399.

• The 'Red Hot' model that can take upto 750 pictures with 16GB memory costs $499. The 'Graphite' model that can take upto 350 pictures with 8GB memory costs $399 and the same model comes in 'Electric Blue' as well. 

According to Mashable, its selling point is its battery that allows the photographer to fill up the entire camera with pictures on a single charge. “You should be able to throw it into your bag and go on vacation without worrying about power – which is exactly what Lytro employees have been doing” reports Mashable.

Plug your Lytro through USB and you can share all your images with your friends and family instantly. You can share your captures through Facebook, Twitter, email or your blog. When you share these images, your friends will be able to see an embedded image with all focus information, “And best of all, friends and family can explore your living pictures – having fun interacting with them like you did – on nearly any device, like your mobile phone, your web browser or your tablet.” shares the website.


Want to know the story behind the idea of Lytro? Let's hear it from the creator himself:

“When using my DSLR to take photos of a friend's five-year old daughter, I quickly became acutely aware of the pain points of today's cameras – a shutter that's too slow to capture a moment, a lens that focuses on the wrong point in a scene, etc. I decided to apply what I knew about the light field to attempt to miniaturize light field photography technology into something that would no longer require 100 computers in a room tethered to a supercomputer but rather a camera that could fit into your pocket and was fast, simple and magical to use.”

Ren Ng holds a Ph.D. in computer science and a B.S. in mathematical and conputational science from Stanford University where he has deeply studied the potential of light field technology. Learn more about Ren Ng through our exclusive interview with him that we took couple of months ago.


Here's how the images look when taken from a Lytro camera:










































































































Lytro.com