Lytro's 4D Camera

In a radical change the way photographs are taken, Lytro has unveiled what is calls a “4D” camera. The device allows users to take a photograph and then decide on the focal point later.

No more missing the moment because the action was too fast for focal adjustments, or because the camera took a second too long to adjust the shutter. Wherever you point it, this camera captures all the light there is — literally all of it — instantly, and allows you to decide later which part of the image should be in sharpest focus.

This is such a radical departure from the way we’ve always understood photography it’s difficult to explain, however according to the Lytro website, “Unlike a conventional camera that captures a single plane of light, the Lytro camera captures the entire light field, which is all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.”

The best way to understand it is to visit the Lytro website and click around on the images in their gallery. Follow the link above and prepare to be amazed.