Lytro’s revolutionary Cinema camera provides radical new post-production capabilities

Light field imaging – every pixel contains data about colour, luminance, position, speed and direction, allowing the camera to build a 3D model of every frame (Credit: Lytro)

Lytro’s light field cameras haven’t proven themselves to be huge sellers in the consumer market, but the technology might be set to revolutionize professional cinematography.

Lytro’s new Cinema camera captures every frame as a set of light field data; each pixel contains not only luminance and color information, but details on speed, location and direction. Editors can thus set focus, aperture and shutter speed any way they want afterwards during post production. They can also map the scene instantly in 3D for effects compositing, cut out certain depth layers as if everything else is a virtual green screen, and even move the camera a little if the shot’s not quite right.

The Lytro Cinema system looks like an absolute beast. Every frame can capture up to 755 RAW megapixels of data, for starters – get your head around that for a second. Then consider that it can shoot up to 300 frames per second for slow motion, and that every frame offers a staggering 16 stops of dynamic range. For reference, that’s about the same amount the RED Epic cinema camera gives you, with about three stops more information in the shadows and highlights than a Canon 5D MkIII still camera.

So it’s got the basic chops to be a genuinely kickass camera. But remember, it captures light fields, not just images. That means every pixel contains information about luminance and colour, like a regular camera, but also depth, direction and speed.

Lytro’s still images are unique and fascinating in that you can select your focus and aperture after shooting, and even virtually move the camera around to get a sense of depth in the image. It’s neat, but not neat enough to make them a hot ticket for consumers or professionals in the photography world. But when this technology is applied to the cinematic image, it’s a seriously big deal.

With the ability to focus and choose aperture after filming, there’s no need for a focus puller on set, and directors are free to let their actors improvise more with space rather than hitting the same spot every time. There will be no such thing as needing to re-shoot for focus. Aperture is irrelevant on set as you can pick any depth of field you like later.

Learn more: Lytro’s revolutionary Cinema camera provides radical new post-production capabilities