415
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #49,741 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Cool technology, the software just isn't ready
I really wanted to rate the Lytro camera highly based on how neat and innovative the idea behind it is, but in the end I just can't figure out how this camera is something other than a novelty. This camera is essentially a cute 3D-Instagram-camera, and it can post nifty 3D photos to Facebook, and that's about it. However, the product is still in development so it at least looks promising that future software updates could do a lot to improve the experience. It is clear that the camera captures much more information in the 3D-lightfield than the current software setup is capable of processing or making use of.
The Lytro camera captures 3D light information, and this 3D-image is processed by using computationally intensive software (it takes several minutes per photo), generating a "living picture" in which you can refocus the image at will on your computer. The final image is only 1080x1080 pixels. Your images also must be viewed in either a web-browser or in the included software through a smallish 500x500 pixel window. The desktop software currently has no image editing capabilities other than rotate 90°, and does not have the ability to adjust white balance, contrast or brightness.
The software does include the ability to export a refocused image to JPG format, but the JPG compression leads to some blurring. The software currently lacks the ability to output to any other file format options. It is possible the developers will have future updates addressing this issue.
Another limitation that is noteworthy is that the fastest shutter speed is 1/250sec, which means that it can be difficult to get sharp photos by hand-holding the device.
In the end, I sent the camera back. I think it's a really innovative idea, but the software really isn't ready for the masses and the product doesn't yet have the right features that would make it worth the expensive price tag. I really wanted to like this product, and I tried to like it, but it's clearly not for me. Maybe I'll try again if they come out with a pro version.
