The Lytro Camera

[Update: Since this post was originally written, Lytro has shuttered. I’m leaving this here for posterity’s sake. And maybe one of these days I’ll figure out how to access and embed the old photos taken with the Lytro…]

Let’s talk about the Lytro.

Way back at Christmas, Mary Lou wrapped up a picture of this camera and said I would receive it as soon as it began shipping. I was excited, to say the least — the Lytro takes a photograph using the full spectrum of light.

Basically, this means you can focus after you’ve taken a photo.

This is a huge deal.

I can tell you right now — many times, I’ve taken a photo where certain portions are soft (or, out of focus), leading me to kick myself for not adjusting the focus ring just a little bit more.

Enter the Lytro.

This is one of the first images I took with the Lytro. Click around a bit — you can change the focus of the image. After you’ve taken it. Seriously. Just click around a little — on the bell, the newspapers, the frames. Whatever. Just click there.

Frankly, this is amazing. It could change the entire way photography works.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure how this works. I just know that it does, in fact, work.

It’s great fun to play with, even when you see your hands in the reflection.

While the plane-of-focus change is absolutely amazing, the camera itself is a little lacking in its macro lens capabilities (though, granted, it is not marketed as a camera with hardcore macro capabilities).

UPDATE: This is only when you are not in creative mode, which I was not when shooting these images (see comments — and an awesome eye picture).

Again. This camera is not marketed as one that is ready for super-macro shots, and it performs really well in a normal environment.

For the most part, it’s really receptive when taking images of objects less than a few inches away from the lens.

Like, it’s pretty damn impressive.

Case in point: Click on the key closest to you. Not so much — but a few (and then a lot of) keys away, and you’re ready to rock and roll.

Seriously impressive.

This is the kind of thing that could revolutionize photography as we know it. Without a doubt. Right now, it’s a super fun toy — but in a few years, it could (and, likely, will) become an industry standard. I can say this: I’ll be using it from this point on forward. So, go team Lytro!

Look. To be honest, the camera got less-than-stellar reviews elsewhere (I’ll let you google yourself). But that being said, what it’s doing is unlike anything before. Need I remind you? You can change what you have focused on — AFTER THE FACT.

That is freaking huge. Whether the technology is quite there or not is an after-the-fact discussion: the Lytro is doing things no other camera has. It’s that simple: the Lytro is a ground-breaker, plain and simple.