Lytro light field camera review

IMAGE QUALITY

Given its low resolution, the overall picture quality was never going to compete with a similarly priced compact or digital SLR camera. It’s about on par with the average smartphone in terms of detail and noise, with the square images it captures looking a lot like Instagram snaps – there’s even filters to play with on the accompanying iPhone app.

Although the camera lends itself to macro photography, we found that the camera’s minimum focal distance was further than we expected; and it’s very hard to tell if you were too close to a subject until you import your images to a PC.

For shots without a clear foreground and background, there’s very little difference when refocusing. Your subject needs to be close to the camera, as the small sensor can’t detect depth variations from distances of more than a few feet.

You can clearly see the switch between focusing near or far on the rail, but clicking on different parts of the building in the background makes little odds

The images are great for uploading to Facebook or Twitter, where those who haven’t yet experienced Lytro will doubtless be impressed – as we were when we first saw them. However they aren’t suitable for printing, partly due to the low resolution and partly because their interactive nature is what makes them special.

The 8GB version we tested for this review can hold up to 350 pictures, there’s no memory card slot but this is probably still more storage than anyone will need given the Lytro isn’t designed to replace your main camera. You can hook it up to your PC to offload them, though you’ll first need to install the desktop software

The camera saves images in its own LFP (light field photograph) format, which can be opened through the Lytro desktop application or uploaded to the website for sharing on social networks or embedding on websites. Twitter uploads are fully supported from the website, letting your followers see photos directly from their timeline, but for some reason you can only embed to Facebook using the desktop app – posting from the website will just add a link, not the full photo.

CONCLUSION

Light field photography is an exciting new idea, but if the Lytro is any indication, we’re still a long way from it competing with traditional digital cameras. We’re not sure to what extent the technology has dictated the shape of the Lytro, or if its creators just wanted it to stand out, but it’s somewhat awkward to use compared to a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera. The low resolution images are unsuitable for printing and the technology is seriously expensive. A larger viewfinder with better viewing angles would make composition easier, and a higher image resolution would make more of your ability to shift the focus point.

All that leaves us dreaming of a Light Field camera based around Nokia’s 41-megapixel Pureview sensor, soon available on the Nokia Lumia 1020. Such a sensor, with a suitably complex micro lens array could easily shoot 4-megapixel light field images. If it could also be switched back to standard 41-megapixel mode for conventional shooting then you’d have the best of both worlds.

For the time being though, the Lytro is simultaneously a technical marvel and a bit of a novelty item. Its light field technology is impressive but it only really works well for certain compositions. The interactive nature of the finished shot is the most engaging part of the process. It’s great to see a company trying something different, rather than simply pushing for more finely detailed images or better low-light performance, but the Lytro is at least twice the price it should be based on how much fun you’ll get out of it.