Do you remember that ultra-cool technology demo from earlier this year that showcased a camera that allows you to take a photo and then focus later? Well, that product has just launched, it's the Lytro Light Field Camera.
Essentially it works by capturing the "light field" of what you're photographing, all of the light to define the scene, rather than just a cross-sectional snapshot like a traditional camera. This means that it "knows" a lot more information about what was pictured, allowing software to interact with it at a deeper level after it has been taken.
This means you can literally point and shoot, and then worry about focus and depth-of-field later - important for those shots where you really don't have the time to be fiddling with your camera's settings.
It's wrapped up in a great looking design, with an iPod Nano-esque viewfinder on one end, the sophisticated lens on the other and a rectangular form-factor in the middle.
The company says they'll ship in early 2012 in the US for $499 with 16GB storage (in Red Hot colour) and $399 with 8GB of storage (in Graphite or Blue colours), and at launch it will be Mac-compatible only, with Windows support on the horizon.
[Lytro]
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