Lytro has officially launched its revolutionary new camera, which produces what the company calls "living pictures," according to CBS.
Called The Lytro, the camera records a full spectrum of light fields by using software inside of the device, CBS reports. By having the light information available digitally, any user can edit the perspective of a photograph after it has been taken.
While the concept has been used previously to create imagery like the "bullet time" special effects in the Matrix movies, it required a room full of cameras and the power of a supercomputer, said Ren Ng, the company's chief executive, as reported by PC Magazine. With special optics and sensors, Lytro has built the technique into a single, portable device.
"There's been a lot of response from the company launch [in June]," said Ng, as reported by PC Magazine. "We've been watching the communication out in the world... pundits have said it's going to be really expensive, thousands of dollars."
The camera retails at $399 for an 8GB model and $499 for a 16GB model, according to CBS. Data transfers are made with a micro-USB.
It's available in three colors, but currently only works for Mac OS. Lytro plans to come out with Windows-compatible versions in 2012, company executives told PC Magazine.
