Start up creates a 'no-focus' point and shoot camera

Start up creates a no-focus, potentially 3D, point and shoot camera

(PhysOrg.com) -- If you have ever used a "Point and Shoot" style of camera in the last few years then you know that that term is a misnomer because unless you are using a disposable camera you are going to be waiting for that camera to auto-focus and that focus can take up to 45 seconds to find its focus and allow you to take a picture. It is annoying to say the least if the action that you wanted a picture of can't be stopped like a posed photo. Since that focus can mean that you may miss a winning goal or a really cute moment it can be more than just annoying.

One start up, based in the Silicon Valley, is looking to change all of that. The company is named Lytro and it is based on the work of Dr. Ren Ng whose dissertation on light-field technology was published five years ago to accolades by his Alma Matter Stanford University.

Dr. Ng has recently received $50 million in funding in order to create his company, which is about to launch a that is free of the factor, by getting all of the information about the surroundings that is possible. "Shoot now, focus later," Dr. Ng said today in a blog post describing this .

The machine takes a photo by getting as much of the information about the field of light in the general area as possible. This will allow users to adjust the focus as many times as they want after the photo has been taken. It will also allow users to alter a level, and depending on your setup may even allow users to create images that are three-dimensional.


Lytro is having the cameras made itself and did not disclose the planned price.

More information: Picture gallery: www.lytro.com/picture_gallery#

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Citation: Start up creates a 'no-focus' point and shoot camera (2011, June 22) retrieved 19 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2011-06-no-focus-potentially-3d-camera.html
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