Gift Guide: Hands-On With Lytro’s Latest Features, Perspective Shift And Living Filters

Jordan Crook

Jordan Crook studied English Literature at New York University before entering the tech space. Prior to joining TechCrunch, Crook dabbled in mobile marketing and mobile apps as well as doing device reviews for MobileMarketer and MobileBurn. Crook is fascinated with alternative energy production and greentech. She is now a writer for CrunchGear. Hello → Learn More

Tuesday, December 4th, 2012

Short Version

Lytro promised that its unique camera was only the beginning. The system allows the user to change focus of the picture after it’s taken, and the data contained in a single digital image taken with a camera is completely new and different from the data we’re used to seeing with more traditional technology. It’s uncharted territory and the company is still experimenting. Now, using the camera, you can shift perspective after the picture’s been taken.

To add a little Instagram-like fun into the mix, Lytro has also added Living Filters (which alter the color balance of the shot or add cool effects) to photos before they are shared on the web, via email, or on Facebook.

Long Version

Features:

  • Light field sensor
  • 1.52-inch LCD display
  • Constant f/2 lens
  • 8x optical zoom

Info:

  • 5 colors
  • 8GB or 16GB
  • MSRP: $399 for 8GB, $499 for 16GB
  • Product Page

The Lytro Camera is…

… a brand new type of technology that takes photos by capturing an entire plane of light rather than capturing a single moment from a point of light. The new design and the light field sensor allow the user to change photos after they’ve already been taken, allowing you to change focus from the foreground to the background with a single click. Lytro recently added Living Filters and Perspective shift to the mix, too.

Buy the Lytro Camera for…

… anyone who enjoys pictures. This camera is a treat to almost any demographic that enjoys taking and sharing pictures, from professional photographers to camera enthusiasts to Instagram addicts. The brilliance is that the technology is high-tech enough to get the experts excited and simple enough to get the novice creating and sharing dynamic photos online. It’s a pricey gift but it’s well worth it for the photo buff on your list.

Because…

… Lytro recently released accessories, broadened distribution, and added manual controls to the camera. This keeps photographers experimental and creative with their shots. On the other side, nifty tidbits like Perspective Shift and Living Filters make sharing on the web even more fun for Instagram-addicted teenagers, etc.

Check out the photos below:


Company: Lytro
Website: lytro.com
Launch Date: 2011
Funding: $50M

In short, Lytro is developing a new type of camera that dramatically changes photography for the first time since the 1800s. Rather than just capturing one plane of light, it captures the entire light field around a picture, all in one shot taken on a single device. A light field includes every beam of light in every direction at every point in time. Experimentation in this field started in the mid-1990s at Stanford with 100 cameras in one room....

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