Sams World: Lytro introduces world's first light field camera: f/2 lens, $399, ships early 2012

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Lytro introduces world's first light field camera: f/2 lens, $399, ships early 2012

Ready for the world's first consumer light field camera -- you know, the spiffy kind that can infinitely focus? After demoing the tech earlier this year, Lytro's unveiled the world's first shipping product -- a little something it calls the Lytro camera. Within the anodized aluminum frame, the consumer-friendly camera totes an f/2, 8x zoom lens which utilizes an 11-mega-ray light-field to power all that infinite focus magic. It's instant-on and the rubber back-end wields only two physical buttons: one for shutter and the other for power. The company's added the ability to change the focus on-camera, a task accomplished via its touchscreen glass display.

It'll ship in two versions: the $399 8GB flavor can hold 350 pictures, and comes in graphite or blue, followed by a $499 16GB model, which sports an electric-red finish and stores up to 750 images. Pre-orders go live at Lytro's website today, and will ship in early 2012 on a first-come first-serve basis. Our hands-on impressions are here, with PR and sample images after the break.

Gallery: Lytro keynote