Lytro Illum Light Field camera
Introducing Lytro Illum, the first high-end camera that harnesses the power of light field – capturing the direction, color and brightness of the rays of light within the frame. That means the ability to explore your pictures from different perspectives, focal points and dimensions. A new era of photography has arrived. Now, with Lytro Illum, nothing stands in your way from telling a deeper story by truly capturing life in a different light.
Product highlights
Ground-breaking lens design, Constant f/2.0 aperture, Full touch screen, Light custom design.
Sensor
Lytro Illum’s 40 Megaray customized sensor, with Lytro’s patented microlens array technology, unlocks the ability to capture the color, intensity and direction of the light rays flowing into the camera. This allows you to create imagery on a truly experiential canvas. By capturing and harnessing the power of light field, photographers can portray not just a cross-section of reality, but an authentic, interactive window into their world.
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| Light field engine 2.0 |
Bigger pictures, faster processing
Lytro Illum’s powerful in-camera software provides real-time feedback allowing for dramatic composition of every shot. With tablet-class processing power, Lytro Illum gives you an advanced set of playback controls that allow you to preview the dimensions of every picture right on the camera.
Perfect balance of tactile controls and touch interface
With a sleek design, Lytro Illum pairs the controls of a high-end camera with a state-of-the-art 4 inches touchscreen for ultimate flexibility and control. Now, you can compose your living pictures with confidence and explore their possibilities in real time.
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| Lytro Button |
Compose your pictures in a new way with the Lytro Button
During image capture, an interactive depth feedback display shows the relative focus of all objects in the frame, allowing composition in three dimensions. A real-time, color-coded overlay of the live view lets you know which elements of the picture are within the refocusable range.
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| 8x optical zoom lens |
All you need in just one lens – Killer Macro to Fast Zoom at 250mm
The incredibly versatile 8x optical zoom 30-250mm equivalent focal length with a constant f/2.0 aperture and 1:3 macro lets you take a wide range of shots without ever having to change your lens. And, with its unrivaled lens weighing in at just half a pound, Lytro Illum gives you precise photographic control with an exceptionally light and agile design.
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| Key connectivity ports |
Connectivity
The camera has key connectivity ports for photographers to bring Lytro Illum into their workflow: WiFi, external shutter release port, hot shoe, tripod mount, removable battery and SD card slot.
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| Lytro desktop tools |
Edit, adjust and author your pictures with Lytro desktop tools
Lytro desktop tools offer features including zooming, changing the focus, depth of field and perspective after the picture has already been taken. The Lytro desktop tools also give you the ability to transform pictures into dynamic animations that can be experienced on desktop, mobile devices and in 3D.
FEATURE :
- Sensor: Capture a deeper picture. LYTRO ILLUM's 40 Mega ray customized sensor, with Lytro's patented micro lens array technology, unlocks the ability to capture the color, intensity and direction of the light rays flowing into the camera.
- Lens: All you need in just one lens. The incredibly versatile 8x optical zoom, 30-250mm equivalent focal length (35 mm equivalent) with a constant f/2 aperture and 1:3 macro lets you take a wide range of shots without ever having to change your lens.
- Lytro Button: Compose your pictures in a new way. During image capture, an interactive depth feedback display shows the relative focus of all objects in the frame, allowing composition in three dimensions.
- Light Field Engine 2.0: Bigger pictures, faster processing. LYTRO ILLUM's powerful in-camera software provides real-time feedback allowing for dramatic composition of every shot.
- Total Control: Perfect balance of tactile controls and touch interface. With a sleek design, LYTRO ILLUM pairs the controls of a high-end camera with a state-of-the-art 4" touchscreen for ultimate flexibility and control.
SOME OF THE SAMPLE CUSTOMER REVIEW FROM AMAZON :
1) Brave New World - Short Version:
This is an amazing device that opens a window into a new way to think about photographs. Due to "old dog/new tricks" issues, this window is still pretty hazy for me right now, but I can see wonderful things over on the other side.
The equipment is well built, sturdy, has a great lens system, and absolutely works as advertised.
The three bad things are:
1) The final, effective, what-you-end-up-with-in-the-end resolution of images in 2D is not anything like what I'm used to. On the other hand, for me to compare resolution from such a young technology like this to images taken with $20k worth of a equipment developed over 20 years that includes a 500 mm lens, instant autofocus, taking 12 frames a second with a 30 megapixel full frame sensor, seems a bit unfair. I'm told by Lytro that the camera has a "4MB max output resolution", which is probably about what the old exposed film images of yesteryear had. Since there are some really great images from the pre-digital age, this tells me that the problem is not the camera, but the skill of the photographer.
2) There are several small technical glitches in the camera, software, and website that are a tad annoying but don't affect the actual camera operation. When you think about the number of completely new areas this camera system had to pioneer, the number and level of problems seems small. In a twisted way for me this turns around into a plus because every time I ask a question or point out a problem, a nice young man named Adam at Lytro carefully studies what I say, reproduces the problem, speaks to some geeks in the back room, then comes back to me with the solution/resolution they have worked out and an estimate of when they will be able to implement the change. That is absolutely unprecedented in my experience in purchasing cutting edge photographic equipment over many years.
3) If you purchase this camera you may very well come to understand as I have that what you think you know about photography has been a drop in the bucket as to what can be done. I learned that for the DSLR equipment I am used to, there was an amount of money I could spend to make me a passable photographer. I need to pick up my game significantly in terms of composition and color to be able to use this camera instead of relying on fancy equipment to make my images look good.
Full disclosure : This review replaces one I submitted last week that gave the camera 2 stars and whined about the resolution because my hobby is high resolution wildlife photography. I have since come to understand that this camera is not designed to compete in that arena.
Since my initial review I have taken some amazing images that would not make any sense with normal 2D equipment. I set up a shower pointing towards the camera, flowing in the bright sunlight with the stream falling just in front of the lens. The images allow you to change the focus back and forth through the stream to see individual drops at different distances from the camera. Taking an image like that using a normal 2D camera would be silly because whatever focus point you chose when you released the shutter would be clear, but everything else would be a blur. If you set the F-Stop for the depth of field to include the entire range of the stream, you would lose the concept of volume.
I also took some pictures of our dog swimming at the beach where you can change the F-Stop after the picture is taken change the depth of field to either include or blur out the waves behind him. In the past, I would have to take a picture, change the F-Stop to estimate a depth of field I might like later, then take another picture. The fact that I have never done that tells me that I've been too lazy to take the time to make those kinds of adjustments, then learn from the results later on. What I found with the Illum is that I like several different depth of field solutions for a single image, each for a different reason.
I'm changing my rating all the way up to 4 stars because this camera is exactly what it claims to be. I can see that this is a brave new world I'm anxious to learn, and in my mind this camera is the start of a new direction for photography.
By Hank Arnold on August 31, 2014
2) I use the Lytro Illum for shooting NFL games. - Before you read this review or decide to get the camera you should download the free iOS LYTRO app. That's by far the best way to view the photos are really give a glimpse to the potential of this photography. Now most of us don't take pictures for only ourselves to see, so think about who's going to be viewing your pics. Also the interactive refocusing and perspective shift of this camera is the real draw.
For myself I'm a Producer at a TV station and have a background in documentaries. Over the past few months I've been posting the photos(mostly NFL games) to the site of my television station and my blog on Huffington Post. In general the response has been very positive. People can see the pics on our website and it's content that we can give our viewers that's completely different from the competition.
I started shooting on film when I was in the seventh grade. Back then photography was chemical baths and dark rooms and not too many other students were in the class, well stuck with it for so long by high school it was just me three other students and a volunteer parent. It was quiet and the there were not too many of us. Now everyone w/ a cell phone is a photographer and most people have an DSLR. Which is great! I love all the photographs being shot now. They are absolutely beautiful. The problem I've been facing is when everyone is shooting on the same EOS camera, how can you make yourself unique as a photographer? That's why I really love this camera. It's completely unique and allows me to take photos that no one else can take. Also the camera is very stable. The flexible screen is really nice especially when getting low angle shots.
There is a Robert Capa quote "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough" and that's certainly true for this camera for portraits. Getting close to objects can really help your photos. The lens is pretty crazy, you can almost put something up to the lens and it can still be in the refocus area. Also getting close to an object allows you to get some more depth in your shot. This camera has a refocus range, so if you make the right adjustments you'll be able to refocus across an area. The more depth you frame in your shots, the better. When I frame shots, I really strive to tell a story. So when someone is looking around the photo they see something new that the might not expect. Composition is everything, it really takes the skill back to the photographer. For sports, I usually keep it fully zoomed in at 250mm.
The Lytro Illum hasn't replaced my Canon, C300, GoPro, iPhone and whatever other camera I might use for work. This camera works best when shooting people or really cute animals(moderately cute animals or children might also be acciptable). I find that people in costumes like Comic Con work great. I've used it to shoot sports and the results are amazing, but the timing can be a little tricky. Landscape photography and photos that might not have a lot of depth don't really utilize the cameras strengths. Also framing is incredibly important for this camera. With most DSLR's you can slam out the depth of field and the pic still looks good. With the Illum, people are able to refocus on that background object. So if you have an ugly sign in the background, the person will be able to refocus on it.
Now if you are only looking at this camera because you read a headline that said something like "never take a picture out of focus again" or something like that and your intention is just to flatten the images to a TIFF. This camera might not be for you. Most pros don't take pics out of focus anyway, we're pros for gosh darn goodness sakes! Nikon, Sony and Cannons auto-focus systems are so fast and advanced now, you'd be better going with one of them. I've seen some 11x15's printed out with the camera and they look pretty good, it is possible to print out the images you shoot. But like the auto-focus, if your only goal is to make prints, you'd be better suited with another camera.
One thing I've found is you really need a fast SD card, the pics just have a ton of info at 50mbs. Make sure you get at minimum a 95mbs card. Also the screen will go black for a split second after taking a shot. This gets really tricky when following action. I've found that using the continuous shot feature helps.
Right now I put the photos through my Mac 8core, 16 gigs of ram. Each pic will take a few seconds to process once they are in the tower, so i usually just let them sit over night. If I'm on deadline I only select the pics I know I want to take more of a look at. It is possible to process them through Photoshop but the process takes a few extra minutes for the turn around. I'm finding doing a batch process is best. Also you can export and play with a depth map, this concept is completely new to me and I'm just learning it. The cool thing when playing with the depth map is you could add a graphic or logo at a certain depth then people can refocus on that! A larger solid object works best, but it's really cool when you see it. I took a shot of a player then I put his stats in the background where you can refocus on them. Looks cool when you see it.
So this camera won't replace any of my current cameras. However my GoPro didn't replace my Canon. Two different cameras that I use for different situations. The price is a big hurdle and you should really think about what you are using the camera for before buying one. It works well for me as a journalist for event coverage. After shooting with the Illum for a few months, I absolutely believe this is where digital photography will end up. How long it takes for everyone to adopt it the format, is difficult to answer.
As a photographer this camera allows me to capture images many other people aren't able to. Which gives me a competitive edge and it is why I find it a great tool. Thanks for reading!
For myself I'm a Producer at a TV station and have a background in documentaries. Over the past few months I've been posting the photos(mostly NFL games) to the site of my television station and my blog on Huffington Post. In general the response has been very positive. People can see the pics on our website and it's content that we can give our viewers that's completely different from the competition.
I started shooting on film when I was in the seventh grade. Back then photography was chemical baths and dark rooms and not too many other students were in the class, well stuck with it for so long by high school it was just me three other students and a volunteer parent. It was quiet and the there were not too many of us. Now everyone w/ a cell phone is a photographer and most people have an DSLR. Which is great! I love all the photographs being shot now. They are absolutely beautiful. The problem I've been facing is when everyone is shooting on the same EOS camera, how can you make yourself unique as a photographer? That's why I really love this camera. It's completely unique and allows me to take photos that no one else can take. Also the camera is very stable. The flexible screen is really nice especially when getting low angle shots.
There is a Robert Capa quote "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough" and that's certainly true for this camera for portraits. Getting close to objects can really help your photos. The lens is pretty crazy, you can almost put something up to the lens and it can still be in the refocus area. Also getting close to an object allows you to get some more depth in your shot. This camera has a refocus range, so if you make the right adjustments you'll be able to refocus across an area. The more depth you frame in your shots, the better. When I frame shots, I really strive to tell a story. So when someone is looking around the photo they see something new that the might not expect. Composition is everything, it really takes the skill back to the photographer. For sports, I usually keep it fully zoomed in at 250mm.
The Lytro Illum hasn't replaced my Canon, C300, GoPro, iPhone and whatever other camera I might use for work. This camera works best when shooting people or really cute animals(moderately cute animals or children might also be acciptable). I find that people in costumes like Comic Con work great. I've used it to shoot sports and the results are amazing, but the timing can be a little tricky. Landscape photography and photos that might not have a lot of depth don't really utilize the cameras strengths. Also framing is incredibly important for this camera. With most DSLR's you can slam out the depth of field and the pic still looks good. With the Illum, people are able to refocus on that background object. So if you have an ugly sign in the background, the person will be able to refocus on it.
Now if you are only looking at this camera because you read a headline that said something like "never take a picture out of focus again" or something like that and your intention is just to flatten the images to a TIFF. This camera might not be for you. Most pros don't take pics out of focus anyway, we're pros for gosh darn goodness sakes! Nikon, Sony and Cannons auto-focus systems are so fast and advanced now, you'd be better going with one of them. I've seen some 11x15's printed out with the camera and they look pretty good, it is possible to print out the images you shoot. But like the auto-focus, if your only goal is to make prints, you'd be better suited with another camera.
One thing I've found is you really need a fast SD card, the pics just have a ton of info at 50mbs. Make sure you get at minimum a 95mbs card. Also the screen will go black for a split second after taking a shot. This gets really tricky when following action. I've found that using the continuous shot feature helps.
Right now I put the photos through my Mac 8core, 16 gigs of ram. Each pic will take a few seconds to process once they are in the tower, so i usually just let them sit over night. If I'm on deadline I only select the pics I know I want to take more of a look at. It is possible to process them through Photoshop but the process takes a few extra minutes for the turn around. I'm finding doing a batch process is best. Also you can export and play with a depth map, this concept is completely new to me and I'm just learning it. The cool thing when playing with the depth map is you could add a graphic or logo at a certain depth then people can refocus on that! A larger solid object works best, but it's really cool when you see it. I took a shot of a player then I put his stats in the background where you can refocus on them. Looks cool when you see it.
So this camera won't replace any of my current cameras. However my GoPro didn't replace my Canon. Two different cameras that I use for different situations. The price is a big hurdle and you should really think about what you are using the camera for before buying one. It works well for me as a journalist for event coverage. After shooting with the Illum for a few months, I absolutely believe this is where digital photography will end up. How long it takes for everyone to adopt it the format, is difficult to answer.
As a photographer this camera allows me to capture images many other people aren't able to. Which gives me a competitive edge and it is why I find it a great tool. Thanks for reading!
By Michael E. Sternoff on October 3, 2014
