Lytro Worth It?

May 19, 2012 at 1:50 pm | No Comments »

Recently my pal Keoshi inquired whether the new-ish Lytro light field camera is “worth the money.” Good question. I’ve been pondering it myself as I play with the device and the resulting images.

First, it’s not just another digital camera. Certainly not a replacement for a pocketable point and shoot. The Lytro creates images that are more dynamic than still photos. The company has dubbed them Living Pictures. Not sure I like that name because the images captured are static even though the light field capture method allows the viewer to refocus or zoom into an image. You can play with any of them here, too. Click or tap once—the Lytro viewer is iOS compatible—to refocus. Twice to zoom.

There is something very cool about light field capture. Theoretically you don’t have to be very concerned about focus as you’re capturing the image since you can alter it after the fact in software. Imagine the implication if your cell phone camera allowed that. You could just snap, snap, snap knowing that you’ll refine the shots later. Only problem is that the current Lytro camera doesn’t quite fulfill that promise.

Don’t get me wrong, the Lytro camera comes off as a quality device. There’s a solidness that’s reassuring. With the exception of the very low-resolution display, the hardware looks and feels flawless. The problem I’m having is with the images themselves. Most of the initial two dozen or so that I’ve captured remind me too much of the shots I got from the first digital camera purchased in the mid 90’s. Small, overly-sharpened and contrasty. Something about them just feels artificial. As with any type of photography, the best images result from careful composition and thought about the subject.

My gut reaction is that’s antithetical to the promise of light field capture.

All that said, I don’t regret buying the initial Lytro camera. The company has already delivered one firmware update that improved the device’s functionality. I’m hopeful they will continue to refine it.

So is the Lytro worth $400? For me, yes. I find the technology fascinating. And I’m enjoying trying to figure out what I can do with it.

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