come to the light (field) side

Speaking of changing how you see the world… I had heard of this technology a little while ago, but I am surprised at how quickly it made it to the market (though "quickly" is a relative term – apparently it has been in the works for 15 years).

I will not even try to behave like I understand the science of that thing’s inner workings, but here is what it turns into when the engineers took over: constant 2/f aperture across an 8x zoom range, no shutter, no autofocus, half-a-pound weight, instant-on, and, the best part, you can focus and refocus the pictures after you take them.

No, really, go check it out.

There are some downsides, though. Right now, the cameras are only Mac-compatible, though supposedly there is Windows software in the works. The file format is, of course, new and probably proprietary, and those files can only be viewed through the included desktop application or any web-capable machine (and, in the latter case, only if they are hosted by Lytro). The image quality is not exactly what I would consider "outstanding", especially for background objects. The lack of flash may be troubling (even my 1.4/f DSLR lens is unable to gather enough light in some settings). And the price tag definitely puts this Mark 1 Mod 0 version well outside the "toy" range.

But most of those problems can be overcome with time.

And wow. Focusing pictures after you take them? For someone who enjoys paper-thin depths of field and frequently screws up where his camera is focusing (namely: me), that would be about the awesomest thing ever. And just because Lytro wants you to use their software to be able to interact with the pictures does not mean you cannot export it as a JPG, or at least get a screenshot of the interface…

Things like this have a tendency of being able to change the world, especially since it can only improve from here…

(Courtesy of Uncrate.)