Lytro in Your Hands

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Ren

Last year, we launched Lytro with plans to build an amazing new kind of camera. Since then, the Lytro team has worked hard to bring this technology to life and manufacture the world’s first light field camera for consumers. Today, we’ve proudly started shipping the Lytro camera to our first customers and are putting the future of light field photography in your hands.

I encourage you to spend some time with our new Learn Page, which has great videos, advice and picture challenges. These resources are designed to help you explore the light field, create your own living pictures, and share them online with your friends and family.

As an avid photographer, I’m delighted with how the Lytro camera has turned out. It is truly a great camera – fun, fast, easy-to-use, and remarkably versatile and powerful from a creative perspective. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do. It will let you create and share a wide range of living pictures, from light field portraits of your loved ones, to tightly zoomed shots of a flying hummingbird, or a ladybug crawling over your fingertip.

This is just the beginning. It starts today with living pictures that you can interactively refocus to explore the picture and make your own visual discoveries. In addition, later this year we’ll introduce software updates that unlock additional features, including 3D viewing, of your existing light field shots.

This is a very exciting time for our growing Lytro team. We finally get to see how you use the Lytro camera to create and share your own living pictures. We’re excited to see how you capture your most important memories, everyday moments, and create new kinds of photographic art. We can’t wait to discover where each of you chooses to take this picture revolution.

Six years ago, I wrote in my PhD dissertation: “I find that this new kind of photography makes taking pictures that much more enjoyable, and I hope you will too. I look forward to the day when I can stand in the tall grass and learn from fellow light field photographers shooting in the field.” That day has arrived – see you out there!

Experiment. Get creative. Happy shooting!

Ren Ng
Founder and CEO of Lytro.

http://www.facebook.com/BaMBaM25 Kirk Bam Newnham

Hello, I am in Australia and I am travelling over to the US next week and really interested in purchasing one. Is there anyway this can happen ?
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hope miner

when will i get my camera? we are leaving on vacation on the 11th of May and were hoping to have it. When will it ship?
Hope
- Lytro
  
  Hi Hope. Cameras are all shipping on time. We send an email notification to you that your credit card is about to be charged about 10 days before your camera ships. If you’d like more specific information about your order, you can contact Support. http://support.lytro.com/
- Lytro
  
  If you haven’t yet received notification that your credit card has been charged (check your spam), then the camera will not arrive by the 11th. All cameras are shipping on time in the ship windows we provided when cameras are purchased. You may try checking with Support http://Support.lytro.com to see if they can provide specifics on your order.
Alan M. Solinger, MD

Is there any further word on when the “Microsoft Windows” version of the software will be available for the camera?
- Lytro
  
  Hi Alan. The Windows software will be available sometime later this year. We’re working as fast as we can!
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Mauro

Where can I get one?
- Lytro
  
  Mauro, as long as you live in the US then you can order one and get it shipped. Here’s the website to start the process.
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http://www.kia-sa.com/ Eddie Cabe

Congratulations Mr. Ren…

When it will be available here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

Thanks and God Bless.
- Lytro
  
  Don’t worry, we’re working on expanding internationally. Sign up for our updates to hear more about us.
Demo

Is it possible to build in LED light to front side, for e.g. to use this device at night like spotlight or better to do pictures at totally darkest night? :]
- Lytro
  
  Currently these are the only accessories we have for the Lytro, but we’re certainly working on improving it. Sign up for our updates, this is only the beginning!
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Andrew

Congrats on a truly remarkable product! If I can be so bold as to make one criticism, it is that most of the images highlighted on your site don’t showcase the truly remarkable results that can be achieved. The fashion model series, for example, are great shots for showing the refocussing abilities of the camera, but they still basically only work as well composed images when viewed with one particular focus. By contrast you have a fantastic shot (no. 285 in your image gallery) by Steve Boxall of water droplets and astronauts in zero gravity. This image not only has objects of interest throughout the entire focus range, but those objects are all different. In my view this is how you should be encouraging people to use your technology – a way that turns images into objects that span the spectrum of exploration, not just the “trick” novelty of swapping focus between foreground and background, especially as in the fashion shoot where one of those elements was clearly never considered as a potential focal point, and so suffers from a lack of care or attention when the element becomes the focus.
http://www.culture-mix.com Mr. Jonk

a small article in french about the product (realy excelent ;-))
http://www.culture-mix.com/ecm/?q=blogs/des-photos-parfaites-pour-tous-cest-possible
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Jonathan

Could the outputed image size grow with a software update, or is it limited because of the hardware?
Ed

Just got mine, a couple of suggestions:

1: Open-source the image format. With your thesis and a format documented, linux/web support will be crowd-sourced instead of contingent on your engineering staff. It’s a very cool piece of hardware, let people play with it!

2: Make the lytro image viewer into a google widget and/or add clear instructions on how to do this for yourself. I’d love to add some lytro pictures to my startup’s webpage, for example, but I have no idea how to do this (don’t assume everyone’s into using your service or facebook).
- Lytro
  
  Hi Ed. You do have the ability to embed Lytro photo in your website. More here: http://lyt.ro/zQ70Lm
  - http://www.facebook.com/danwilday Dan Wilday
    
    I agree with Ed.
    I really want to buy this camera but until the image format is something we can hack to do cool things it’s really just a toy.
    
    Given that you guys were at the maker faire I’m surprised your format and api are closed. :(
    - Lytro
      
      Our formats aren’t closed at all – they just aren’t documented yet. For inspiration, check out what Moonshot and eclecticc have done. We’re a small team focused on shipping our first camera right now, but if you’re interested, you can sign up to get updates specifically for developers.
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Heather Pierce

I’m going to be travelling with a small windows computer. With this camera, can I download the daily photos to this computer? Also, if a camera is ordered now, when could it be expected to arrive?
- Lytro
  
  You should be able to view your ship window if you’ve ordered already, but if you order now your camera should be delivered at the latest in May. As for using Windows, we’re working on that software for 2012!
http://www.wildlandsecurity.org Steve Gulick

Is it possible to generate a depth map from the image? I assume it would be, but is software available? I would like be be able to detect objects only if they are at a certain distance from the camera
- Lytro
  
  Hopefully this answers your question.
http://blog.lytor.com Tess

ok, I’ve seen the tricks. Focus in front. Focus in back. What I haven’t seen is everything in focus, which you can achieve with the right camera settings. I’d be interested if your camera can do this. Also, don’t know if it’s the particular pix you selected, but I’d be more interested if the picture quality was better.
- Lytro
  
  Hopefully you’ve see all the images in our gallery. And make sure to check out the specs on the camera when you get a chance.
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Leon Chen

Congratulations! When I was doing my Master degree of Advanced Computing in Imperial College, I dealt a lot of imaging stuff. My dissertation was convert 2D photos into 3D via Eigenvectors, which was a quite complicated topic and the result was not as expected.

When I saw Lytro and your article, IMMEDIATELY I realize that this is a start, to take photography into a whole new era! ‘Refocusing after shot’ is just a demonstration! Since the captured information is completely different as traditional one, we can do bloody a lot with it! It would change EVERYTHING!

Now lytro is quite young, there are a lot to improve, but I believe, this is not only a toy for fun (I don’t care facebook, or low resolution, or refocusing afterwards-useful although), it is the revolution, it is the future! Given the light field data, anything can happen!

And this is JUST a picture camera, image video camera, imagine light field PLUS timeline, 3D is on the way and 4D is within touch. Holography? 3D printer? A real 3D movie experience?

Keep on the great job! Good luck and let’s see what is going to happen!
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http://www.youtube.com/joehusker Joe

I make slideshows set carefully to music, making my photos go with the words to the songs…a camera like this would make it possible to take lots more photos and have what I need in focus! But, how can I try one of these? Ill be at the world’s largest ham radio convention in May (over 22,500 attend from all over the world!!!)…would love to try one and see how it does. My YouTube page has examples of these slide shows I make for the convention. Right now I shoot with a DSLR
- Lytro
  
  Hey Joe, you can sign up for updates here.
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http://khurtwilliams.com/ Khürt L. Williams

My question is related to image format. Given that existing software — iPhone, Picasa, Aperture, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photosthop etc — don’t support the format, how will a user edit the photos?

I don’t use Adobe Flash on my computer due to the security concerns — 3 security issues so far this year, and almost 20 in 2011 — so how will I share photos with friends and family?

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/#flashplayer

Some devices are not capable of using Adobe Flash — millions of iPad, iPhones and most Android OS devices —, how will you address that?
- Lytro
  
  You can share your pictures through FB, twitter and the like.
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Raviraj

Great work. Am eagerly awaiting to get my hands on one.

I had a quick question.
Whats the resolution of the pictures? I know the website mentions 11 mega rays, but could you let us know about how much that would convert to in terms of MP.

Thanks
- Lytro
  
  There really isn’t a comparison, but check it out here.
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anton selin

Disappointing that windows and linux have been left out. Playing to only 10% of the market does not seem like a great strategy for a startup.
- Lytro
  
  Windows is coming in 2012!
https://www.facebook.com/VeeDOPhotography Ev

I want to purchase one, where can I find it in Canada?
- Lytro
  
  Right now they’re only available for shipping and purchasing in the US, but don’t worry we’re working on it!
http://Lytropre-ordersstartshipping,infinitefocusingnowwithinreach|MobileGadgetsReviews Ev

Where can I purchase one?
- Lytro
  
  Right off our website! But only as long as you’re a customer in the US.
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http://lesca.me lesca

Help!
I am in China. I want one!
- Lytro
  
  Currently we are only taking orders from and shipping to the US, but we’re working on it!
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Jerome

Pre-ordered 5 minutes before you guys even officially opened pre-order and haven’t received a shipping notice…
- Lytro
  
  When your camera ships depends on *your* ship window. This email we sent on 2/14 explains what to expect in the coming weeks http://eepurl.com/jcqvP
  - Jerome
    
    OK my window is March/April … BUT
    
    doesn’t sound like you guys are doing First Come/First Serve at all then. How is it possible that I’m not getting mine in the first batch when I ordered mine as soon as the website flipped for pre-order. I placed mine before the pre-order system went down actually.
    - Lytro
      
      All reserved cameras ship first – first in first out based on order time. (Many, many people reserved cameras between our company launch in June 2011 and Oct. 19, when we started taking orders on our website.) As a benefit of reserving, all their orders got moved ahead of orders placed without a reservation.) After we ship their cameras, we will transition to shipping cameras in the order that orders were placed.
      - Jerome
        
        Completely forgot about that reservation system.
        
        Though I was in the reservation list and used the special link.
        
        I’m pretty sure I signed up as soon as possible for reservations, I’ve been following since the announcement of the company, sounds like somehow I still ended up at the end of the reservations maybe…
      - Lytro
        
        There were many, many orders. We’ll be shipping reserved cameras for a few more weeks. We are excited too – pls hang in there.
      - G
        
        So far your communication with paying customers has been abysmal.
        I ordered then upgraded to the 16 gig several months ago. It’s now April. I can’t get a response on your “live chat” page and my e-mail message is ignored. When will my camera ship???
      - Lytro
        
        Sorry to hear you are having difficulty getting a response. We’ve shared your comment with our Support team. Live chat should work properly if you use the same email address you used when purchasing the camera. Did you use the “contact us” link at the bottom of the Support page or email help@lytro.com?
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Michael Gennis

When will you make these amazing cameras available to Canadians??
- Lytro
  
  Currently we only ship to U.S. addresses. More info, including a link to receive an email notification when shipping to the UK does begin, can be found here: http://lyt.ro/uODM7T
Stephen Schwerdfeger

Congratulations. The team must be very excited and very tired.

Will those of us that pre ordered get notified of our shipment???
- Lytro
  
  Stephen, before your Lytro camera ships, we will send an email to your registered email address indicating that your credit card will be charged soon. More here: http://lyt.ro/Ar0IeU.
Ramsey

For me, personally, living/interactive pictures are a really cool novelty — but one I will tire of. For me, the more interesting use of this camera is for High Depth of Field (when you can’t do a super long exposure or don’t have a tripod). Right now, it is impossible for me to take a photo where the mountains in the background and the active people in the foreground are both in focus. With the right software and a Lytro camera, this should be possible.
- Lytro
  
  An all-in-focus feature is possible, and we plan to add it to your Lytro Camera experience in 2012. http://lyt.ro/za8SGv
- http://khurtwilliams.com/ Khürt L. Williams
  
  If you want foreground and background to be both in focus adjust your aperture. A smaller aperture, something around f/16 or f/22 will allow this.
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Lytro

Thanks for all the support! Glad you’re all as excited as we are.
Logan

Congratulations to the whole team! All the early adopters are going to be ecstatic.
Rob

Congratulations! I can’t wait to get my hands on one. Hopefully it gets shipped out soon. Kudos to you and your team.
Rob

Congratulations! I can’t wait to get my hands on a Lytro. Hopefully it gets shipped out soon. Kudos to you and your team!
Bevin

Congratulations, Mr. Ng, and thank you for sharing this with the world!