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Lytro Light Field Camera (photos)

The Lytro Light Field Camera represents a totally different approach to photography.

Joshua Goldman
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Joshua Goldman
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Right at home in the Apple Store

This wouldn't look out of place next to a stack of MacBook Airs or iPhones.
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Unboxed

I admit it: I'm a sucker for a good out-of-the-box presentation. Continuing the Apple motif, this reminds me of the early iPod packaging.
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Not large, but an unusual design

The packaging is so Apple-like, I brought in an iPhone for size comparison.
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Square wonder

A smooth metal, two-tone box--4.4 inches long and 1.6 inches square--the Lytro Camera strays far away from what you expect a camera to look like. The squared metal tube houses its lens with a constant f/2.0 aperture throughout its 8x optical zoom.
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Click to shoot

That's the shutter control--besides power, the only button you'll find on the Lytro. There's also a tiny touch-sensitive strip to control the zoom.
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Say cheese

Instead of the traditional sensor designs in other digital imaging devices and cameras, Lytro's camera uses a technology called light-field photography. Without getting too bogged down in the science of it, the technology allows the camera to shoot instantly without the need to focus first. It does this by collecting light from multiple directions, which the camera and processing software translate into what's basically a 3D map of whatever was photographed.
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Multiple shooting modes

If you want to go beyond simple snapshots, the camera has a creative mode, giving users access to the entire 8x optical zoom; the default mode only uses a 3x zoom and is limited to Lytro's default settings. The Creative mode lets you focus up close to objects for macro shots, shoot portraits with background blur, and set the focal point and zoom in and out of the picture while maintaining the focal point to compose your photo.
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'Living pictures'

What you get after you shoot, though, is not a standard photo. Instead, you get what Lytro calls "living pictures" that allow you to refocus the image over and over again using Lytro's software. Just click on any area of the photo and that portion will come into focus. It gives photos a level of interactivity that can't be matched.
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Offload and process

Software plays a major role in shooting, processing, and using the Lytro camera's images. Unlike a regular digital camera that produces JPEG or raw files that can be used with any number of image-editing programs, the Lytro camera creates LFP files--essentially its equivalent to raw files. These files require Lytro's software to offload images from the camera and process them for sharing.
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The only way out

The Lytro is limited to its built-in storage (8GB or 16GB), so offloading photos to a PC via the Micro-USB connector is the only way to download your photos. (The power button is also visible here.)
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So, where are the photos?

The resulting photos are cool, but they need to be embedded into Web pages like YouTube videos. Check them out--and get more info on the Lytro.

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