Blurred photos were, are, and could’ve always been a photographer’s worst nightmare….if it weren’t for the latest breakthrough in technology, i.e. Light Field Photography.

Whether you’re a…

• Wildlife Photographer, who spends hours crouching behind a thorny bush to capture the perfect shot of a tiger attacking its prey,
• An Event Photographer, whose main duty is to capture the most important part of the event, like the fleeting moment right after a couple is declared man and wife, or when a child blows out the candles on their birthday cake.
• or, even if one is on a tour of the world and wants to ensure to capture every single moment of their trip.

…an imperfect image is bound to irk. Photography is about capturing a particular moment. Once the moment’s over, and you later discover that you have been unable to acquire that perfect shot, you can’t really turn back time in order to recreate it.

So, when Light Field Photography was introduced to the general public, photography enthusiasts all over breathed a sigh of relief.

The concept is quite ingenious…one that was first proposed back in 1908 by Gabriel Lippmann, but is only recently being made available for commercial purposes.

Light Field Cameras, or Plenoptic Cameras, are pretty similar to our conventional ones in many aspects. The camera has the more obvious features, like a lens, and a sensor that records the amount of light that streams through it. It also has the basic functions that allows one to tweak the camera settings manually, like the Aperture that allows a certain amount of light into the camera, and the Shutter that calculates the amount of time the sensor is exposed to the light.

However, its glaring, and most important, difference is the presence of microlenses, in the Light Field Camera. These lenses split up the light rays present around the object being photographed. They are placed in front of the sensor, which allows the latter to record the rays individually, in minute details.

How this helps is that the camera isn’t just recording a particular object…it’s capturing all the excruciating details, in and around it, so as to allow one to tweak the image after its been captured.

This way, one has the freedom to edit an ‘out-of-focus’ image, or a distorted one, or even tweak the depth of field, at ease.

Using this camera, one can easily acquire vivid images like never before.

Recently, many companies have been getting in on the action, by launching their very own Light Field Cameras. Companies like Adobe are still working on a much advanced prototype of the Light Field Camera, and plan to launch it at the earliest. However, two companies- Lytro and Raytrix- have already released their versions, into the market.

Raytrix is a German company that first introduced the masses to Plenoptic Cameras, with an array of them, each differing in terms of resolution.

Their main aim is to utilize this form of technology, in the field of science and technology and so don’t target the general consumer market as such.

Lytro was initiated by a researcher at Stanford University, and mainly focuses upon the public. They have already launched cameras for normal usage.

The world of photography is experiencing quite the revolution. With the advent of Light Field Cameras, and the possibilities of perfect photos being increased drastically, Photographers are rejoicing the world over.

Author Bio:

Carlene Masker is a technology enthusiast who is fond of writing helpful tips and fresh tidbits of information about the different fields in technology and innovation. She is currently working with Massbeacon where you can find the latest information on FiOS Internet.