Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#163060 - 03/01/12 01:54 AM Lytro? An early review
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
The goofy and potentially loveable Lytro camera gets a look at DP Review. Hard to know what to make of its potential, but the technology is dazzling.

Lytro review

And it's small.

Cheers,
_________________________
--Rick

Top
#163063 - 03/01/12 03:24 AM Re: Lytro? An early review [Re: Rick_D]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
You can't really say it's the Sputnik (c.1955 from Russia) of the digital age:



But more the Instamatik 10 (c.1971 from Kodak) of the digital age:



One day the technology could be available to the point-and-shoot consumer in a decent-megapixel camera with a decent-sized viewing screen as a way to not have to focus. Or maybe you would just hold it up and shoot and then crop and focus sharpen later and not even have a screen to compose on (or viewfinder to look thru.) Now that's a true P&S!

But can you see any application now, Rick, with this odd-shaped thing for a lightweight hiker? Any idea what it will cost?

Perhaps it will be the new "digital" Holga (c.1981, from China), intended to provide an inexpensive mass-market camera for the working-class in order to record family portraits and events. We could make them in the US by the millions for the new Chinese burgeoning bourgeoisie.

The least we can do is take notice since Ren Ng, the CEO of Lytro, developed the technology at Stanford fairly recently and already has this first product ready for market. I wouldn't necessarily want to buy one -- but certainly would love to invest in some stock . . . ?
_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


Top
#163080 - 03/01/12 02:30 PM Re: Lytro? An early review [Re: kevonionia]
Rick_D Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/02
Posts: 2939
Loc: NorCal
Hi Kevon,

All excellent points. I'm taking this one from the "we report, you decide" standpoint, but confess I'm hooked on clicking the sample images to shift focus. I'm simple that way.

$400/$500 for the 8gb/16gb versions. A lot like buying an ipod. And with that shameless segue, I'll add the rumors floating about that they're in talks with Apple. Stuff the tech in the iphone and you instantly have 50 million users.

If the technology were transitionable to "real" cameras, I could imagine some interesting results using fast primes and a decent size imager. That would make the effect far more dramatic and ease the focusing task considerably (I have lenses with DOFs best measured in millimeters). The needed computing power and file size would be enormous.

It could be the next thing for the public to become bored with, after they give up on 3-D.

Cheers,
_________________________
--Rick

Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 257 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum