The Lytro Illum: A Revolutionary Camera
Hey guys, this is Austin, and I'm here with the Lytro Illum, one of the coolest pieces of tech to come out in quite a while. Released a couple years ago, it cost a whopping $1,500, but now you can pick it up for about $200 or $300.
What makes Lytro special is that it's a completely different way of taking a photo. Instead of traditional cameras that capture a flat 2D image, Lytro actually captures the light rays. This allows users to change the focus, depth of field, and even perspective after taking the shot.
I'm holding the camera itself, which is bigger than I thought. There's almost nothing on it - just a big touchscreen around back, a couple of buttons, and that's pretty much it. It feels like some concept of a camera versus an actual normal DSLR.
To get this thing up and running, we need to see what we actually need. We've got a cleaning cloth, which looks like a lens hood as well. I'm not getting over the fact that this just doesn't look like any other camera. It's vaguely sort of mirrorless-like, but with that huge screen around back and essentially no buttons - it's a super unique look.
So, if I want to focus on the camera, can I do that? Okay, so we took a quick test shot and at first glance, it looks nice. But if I want, I can switch focus to Ken, or switch over to Kirby. That's actually really cool. The refocusing thing is definitely nothing new - many smartphones have been able to do a sort of rudimentary version of this by either using multiple cameras or taking a lot of still shots and merging them together.
With Lytro, you're getting full control over what it looks like. And at first glance, it's not bad. What's interesting about this is that inside, it's actually kind of like a smartphone. Powering this guy is actually a Snapdragon 801 processor - mind you, in 2014, that was a little bit more impressive than it is today, but that's still a lot of power for a camera.
When I started shooting, one of the things I noticed is that while it's nice to have a big four-inch display, the viewing angles are not great. Especially since it's articulating, when I kinda lower it, I can't see anything unless I get right in the sweet spot. It's nice, although there looks like some weird artifacting.
Even though this doesn't focus like a traditional camera, you still can use the autofocus button on the back as well as tapping to get that initial focus. Even though this gives you a lot more flexibility than a traditional camera, you do at least have to get it in the rough ballpark, as far as focus goes.
I feel like when I'm shooting from lower angles, everything looks a little bit more impressive - there's a lot more kind of depth to work with. Handling-wise, it's not bad - although it might not be the most ergonomic camera in the world. The weight is not bad, but it feels almost like you're trying to walk backward with a camera or something.
The dynamic range is awful, though - like that's, the sky's blown out and your face is completely gone. I get that this is more of a pro camera, and that's cool. It's nice to be able to have some of the features where you can actually refocus and stuff. But image quality doesn't really seem to be on par with something like what you could get out of a DSLR.
The more I play with this, the more I feel like this would be a lot better suited for video. This is actually not totally crazy - Lytro does have a video camera that they're working on, but it's gonna be a lot more high-end than something like this.
However, the idea of being able to shoot video and be able to refocus after the shot is really interesting. Once you're done shooting, you need to take your photos into the Lytro app for Windows or Mac - unlike a traditional camera that shoots normal JPEGs, here all of your photos have to be processed first.
My initial instinct is that this thing needs some work,
WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin,and this is the Lytro Illum.Now, it is one of thecoolest pieces of techto come out in quite a while,except for the fact thatno one actually bought it.So, when this came out a couple years ago,it cost a whopping $1,500.However, today you can pickthem up for about $200 or $300.What makes Lytro specialis that it is a completelydifferent way of taking a photo.So, instead of a traditional camerawhich captures a flat 2D image,Lytro actually captures the light rays,which sounds a little goofy.What it allows you todo is change the focus,the depth of field, andeven the perspectiveafter you take the shot.And here is the camera itself,which is actually bigger than I thought.There's almost nothing on here.There's a big touchscreen around back,a couple of buttons andthat's pretty much it.It feels like some concept of a cameraversus an actual normal DSLR.To put things in perspective,this is what the Illum looks likecompared to a more traditionalcamera, the Sony A6300.As you can see, while this is not exactlythe smallest camera in theworld, it absolutely dwarfs it,especially with this huge lens.Before we get started, let'ssee what we actually needto get this thing up and running.This is actually kind of acool unboxing experience.There's a lot here.We've got a cleaning clothand it looks like a lens hood as well.I can't get over the factthat this just doesn'tlook like any other camera.It's vaguely sort of mirrorless-like,but with that huge screen around backand essentially no buttons,it's a super unique look.So, we do have an articulating display.And since we have no buttons,thankfully it is a touchscreen.All right, so if I want,can I focus on the camera?Okay, so we took a quick test shotand at first glance it looks nice.But if I want, I can switch focus to Ken,switch over to Kirby.That's actually really cool.So, the refocusing thingis definitely nothing new.So, a lot of smartphones have been ableto do a sort ofrudimentary version of thisby either using multiple cameraor taking a lot of stillsand kinda merging them together.With this, you're actuallygetting full controlover what it looks like.And at first glance, it's not bad.What's interesting aboutthis is that inside,it's actually kind of like a smartphone.So, powering this guyis actually a Snapdragon 801 processor.Now, mind you, in 2014,that was a little bit moreimpressive than it is today,but that's still a lotof power for a camera.So, when I started shooting,one of the things I noticedis that while it's nice tohave a big four-inch display,the viewing angles are not great.So, especially since it's articulating,when I kinda lower it,I can't see anythingunless I get right in the sweet spot.It's nice.Although, there looks likesome weird artifacting.So, even though this doesn't focuslike a traditional camera,you still can use theautofocus button on the backas well as tapping toget that initial focus.So, even though this givesyou a lot more flexibilitythan a traditional camera,you do at least have to getit in the rough ballpark,as far as focus goes.I feel like when I'mshooting from lower angles,everything looks a littlebit more impressive.There's a lot more kindof depth to work with.So, handling-wise, it's not bad.It might not be the mostergonomic camera in the world.However, the weight is not,(pauses) running into plants?I see how it is.It's almost like you'retrying to walk backwardswith a camera or something.So, while it might not bethe most ergonomic camerain the world, that largegrip really does help.I'm not so sure howdurable this is gonna be.It's all very, very softtouch plastics and rubber,and there's definitely alittle bit of metal here,but it seems reasonable.Maybe not $1,500 reasonable,but definitely $200 reasonable.I gotta say, this dynamic range is awful.Like that's, the sky's blown outand your face is completely gone.I get that this is more of apro camera, and that's cool.It's nice to be able tohave some of the featureswhere you can actually refocus and stuff.But image quality doesn'treally seem to be on parwith something like whatyou could get out of a DSLR.The more I play with this,the more I feel like this would bea lot better suited for video.So, this is actually not totally crazy.Lytro does have a video camerathat they are working on,but it's gonna be a lot more high-endthan something like this.However, the idea ofbeing able to shoot videoand be able to refocus afterthe shot is really interesting.Once you're done shooting,you need to take your photosinto the Lytro app for Windows or Mac.So, unlike a traditional camerathat shoots normal JPEGs,here all of your photoshave to be processed first.My initial instinct is, "Ohgod, everything's out of focus."However, all we need todo is click on Ken's faceand it looks actually pretty decent.So, this is actually a really good exampleof how you get that little bit of depth.It's a cool effect.I don't really think it'sgonna make a huge differencein how you would actuallysave your final image,but say you get somethingvery slightly wrong,it's easy enough tojust click and adjust itto kind of pull some depth out.So, just like if you shotRAW in a normal camera,you can change thingslike the white balance,the exposure, saturation.What I wanna seeis how some of thisvirtual camera stuff works.So, as you can see here,we can almost kind ofdigitally adjust the aperture.That actually looks kind of cool,although maybe not quite so extreme.So, once you actually get these processed,you're looking at a picturethat's around five megapixels.But looking at it, it's a little soft.So, this is shot at ISO 2,500and, honestly, it's not really usable.I mean, you can see someof this cool focus effect,and it's not perfect, but itactually does look pretty cool.The thing I can't get away fromis that the image qualityjust isn't that great.Now, don't get me wrong,this is an incredible piece of technology.And for a couple hundred dollars,there is definitely a lotworse options out there.However, at the end of the day,the pictures are interesting,it does a lot of very cool stuff,but the tech just doesn'tfeel fully baked to me.So, what do you guys thinkabout Lytro and the Illum?Definitely be sure to let meknow in the comments belowand I will catch you in the next one.
