As . . . → Read More: Lytro Begins Shipping Their One Megapixel Camera]]> Check out the great video below.
Lytro chose Leap Day to announce that they were finally beginning to ship their cameras to customers who had pre-ordered months ago. Since then there have been a hand full of reviews popping up around the web from folks who had already had their hands on one.

As I speculated here on Camera Campus last year, we are now starting to hear confirmation that this Lytro model will be providing you with an image containing a little less than 1.17 mega pixels. These may be able to be stretched to 5×7 prints under the best of circumstances but are probably better suited with 4×6 prints. Here’s the thing though, as I also mentioned in that same post, 95% of our images are viewed online anyway, and for those that are printed, 95% of those are 4x6s. So having a camera that’s best suited for making images that are meant for sharing online is perfectly fine. Lytro has been trying to avoid the megapixel question for a while because it’s not their strong suit.

Let’s look at what Lytro is touting as there major feature, the one thing they are hoping will get you to overlook their shortcomings. The “Living Picture” Lytro has coined this phrase to label the interactive digital version of the images produced by their light field cameras. For the best Lytro experience, you take a picture and compose specifically for the idea of of refocusing after the fact on elements within at different depths. But what if you want to take a close up picture of a ladybug and there’s nothing interesting in the background? Well then you ask your buddy to toss his hand in the background. Now you have a fairly cool close up picture of a ladybug, and you can tap to “sort of” refocus on the fingerprint closest to the camera, thought it’s sort of soft. Or you can tap and attempt to refocus on the hand in the background (though I don’t understand why you’d want to) and end up with everything in the picture being blurry!
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Let’s say I take a picture of my kid in the kitchen, I have the option of focusing on my kid, the chair that’s off to the side but closer to the camera, or the trash can that’s behind him tough decision right. Lets say I chose to focus on my son, now that’s it, why do I need or want this to be a “Living Picture”?
This is really where I see the appeal falls apart leaving consumers with a rather expensive novelty. A feature that would be an occasionally used bell or whistle built into another camera with a price point of $500 is now a $400 or $500 stand alone gadget with little else of value to offer.

This video is one of the more honest reviews I’ve seen that doesn’t glaze over the faults of the camera while acting giddy about the one trick pony.
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In my original post last year I called out the form factor as looking awkward and prone to being unstable. Well many reviews have mentioned this and come around to acknowledging that it’s something you can get used to. First off, I like the look of the camera, my concern with the form factor is exclusively toward the useability. Secondly, it has since occurred to me that I am a huge iPhoneography fan and the form factor and ergonomics of the iPhone are far from ideal for the purposes of photography. It’s a little better now that you can use the volume button as a shutter release, but still not ideal. So my point is that I’m sure after using it people will be able to adapt to its less than photo ready design.
In closing I just don’t see the value in this first gen model, especially at the advertised price points. My honest opinion is that even as a feature of a more robust camera the tech only has moderate value. Meaning if you offered two cameras identical in every way, other than one would have the added option of refocusing a digital version of the image after capture, and the ability to post “Living Pictures” to the web. I just don’t think I would pay too much if any extra for that feature.
I’d be interested to hear what you think.

Check out Rob and other things we talked about at these links from this episode:

Check out Rob and other things we talked about at these links from this episode:

Check out Ben . . . → Read More: Ben Slavin Returns!]]> Ben Slavin joins the show again after another adventure in South America, this time with the mission of creating a documentary about adventure motorcycling in Colombia. In this episode Ben fills us in on some of the gear he brought along and some insights on the process of creating the new documentary.

Check out Ben and other things we talked about at these links from this episode:

• Ben’s site, A Few More Miles
• The New World Ride
• MOTOLOMBIA
• GoPro HD
• Camtrol Prime

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Sample pictures from the Super Spy Digicam from Four Corner Store are at the bottom of this review.

Let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much with this toy, but for $65 I was expecting much more than I got. The Super Spy Digicam is available and . . . → Read More: Super Spy Digicam Review and Sample Pictures.]]>

Photo from Four Corner Store website

Sample pictures from the Super Spy Digicam from Four Corner Store are at the bottom of this review.

Let me start by saying I wasn’t expecting much with this toy, but for $65 I was expecting much more than I got. The Super Spy Digicam is available and I bought it from Four Corner Store. Prior to purchasing the camera I went to the Four Corner Store Facebook page and requested sample pictures from the camera. Their Facebook page was where I first learned about the camera and where I saw their announcement that the camera was available. I had seen other fans comments and questions addressed and answered in a timely manner by the admin so I figured that would be a legitimate place to request the samples. Well 3 days went by without a reply and rather than persist I let the 8 year old in me control the situation and pulled out the credit card and ordered the camera.

The camera arrived sooner than I thought it would about 4 days after I ordered it so that’s nice. It came so quick in fact that I hadn’t had time to get to Amazon and order a micro SD card which is required by the camera so I ran right up to Staples and paid too much for one rather than wait.

So back to my expectations, I read the specs on the camera, 2 mega pixels and pinhole lens are the only ones that really matter. So my thought was that I would be using this as a fun Lomo type of camera, with no visual feed back for composition, no bells and whistles for exposure. I was excited to take the little guy out into the world and play with some low tech creativity.

The first thing I ran into was the difficulty in actually operating the camera. The design is an attempt to replicate the looks of an SLR with no thought to the actual functionality the camera. I quickly came up with a few different ways to hold and operate the camera in different scenarios but none were optimal.

I went about taking pictures for an hour or so, starting to get creative and really looking forward to seeing the results. I decided that since I had no idea what the field of view was or what kind of system was in place to handle exposure I’d get to the computer and check the results to this point.

Plugging the micro USB into the camera and my Mac I had to mess with the camera power and reconnect a few times to get the camera/Micro SD recognized by my Mac. I went ahead and loaded them right into Lightroom. As the thumbnails loaded the first thing I noticed was the white balance was all over the place but no biggie, the thumbnails seemed soft but that’s what I expected from the pinhole lens.

As I started to open the images to view at full size I quickly became more and more disappointed. Rather that the typical softness and haze that comes with pinhole and plastic optics I was confronted with choppy pixels, artifacts a real digital mess. It’s like the sensor is really only .5 megapixels and some half baked program is up-rezzing it so they can call it a 2 megapixel camera.

Here’s the bottom line, if this camera was $9.99 and I had seen sample pictures, I probably wouldn’t have bought it. For $65 I am thoroughly disappointed, mostly in myself for not being smarter about the purchase  and waiting for someone else to write this review.

I’m going to be giving this camera away to one of my Facebook fans once Camera Campus reaches 200 “LIKES” so take a look at the sample pictures below then head over and “LIKE” Camera Campus on Facebook.

Click for full size

Click for full size

Click for full size

Click for full size

UPDATE on resolution Below!

How many megapixels is the Lytro?

“…I’m being generous, because if I had to bet I’d say it’s closer to 1mp.”

Well, let me tell you Lytro is being tricky with this  by stating that they are measuring the quality in ‘Megarays’ . . . → Read More: Lytro Opens the Curtain, What’s That Square Thing?]]> UPDATE: New post with Lytro opinion and video review.

UPDATE on resolution Below!

How many megapixels is the Lytro?

“…I’m being generous, because if I had to bet I’d say it’s closer to 1mp.”

Well, let me tell you Lytro is being tricky with this  by stating that they are measuring the quality in ‘Megarays’ and that the Lytro is sporting 11 Megarays. Well that’s nice, but nobody knows what a megaray is. When I started reading up on the Lytro in preparation for an appearance on The Lens Wipe I came across some info that leads me to believe that the actual image’s pixel dimension is going to be relatively small. The gist of what I found in that dissertation regarding the resolution of the sensor was that in their prototype they needed to use a very large image sensor to provide a finished image size comparable to current traditional digital cameras.  So how big is the final picture? Well, we have yet to see any samples bigger than around 700 pixels from the camera, Lytro has stated that the images are HD quality, which really doesn’t tell us anything. But here is the big thing to keep in mind, they also have yet to discuss any kind of  ‘flattening’ of the Lytro image into a traditional .jpg or other, nothing leading us to the thought of traditional paper prints. They are binding you into an overall product that includes unlimited picture storage on their site with the purchase of every camera. The only other viewing opportunity discussed is the embedability of the image into Facebook. The end resulting image being pitched as a digital interactive experience for the creator and viewer.  So take those few things into account, and we come to the natural conclusion that the final image will be in the range of  1.5 megapixels or less. That’s just speculation, and I’m being generous, because if I had to bet I’d say it’s closer to 1mp.

UPDATE! – From the Lytro knowledge base - The first Lytro Camera is designed for those who love to share images over the web and via email. So if you are asking, “Can you print Lytro pictures?” The above answer sounds like no printing to me which seems to put the image size below 1mp.

UPDATE! – From the Lytro knowledge base - You can export to a JPG, but of course this rips the soul from your living picture, leaving you with only a 2D photo. I have a huge issue with this post in their forum based knowledge base. They have closed comments on this thread right after someone unofficial has speculated the the resulting .jpg will be a 21mp file. That’s just ludicrous, and they should address it rather than let it sit there knowing that this is the number one question on potential buyers minds.UPDATE! – They have removed the bogus 21mp speculation post, it actually seems as though they have removed all forum replies.

What is your guess for pixel count?

Does it matter if we will only be viewing them digitally?

I understand keeping a secret, but when you are going to reveal a secret like this generally you want it there be much more of a fanfare.
Their Facebook post yesterday had me thinking that they would be pushing off any kind of event for some time.

Today around 11:45 pst Lytro revealed their new revolutionary light field camera.

I’m floored by the remarkably odd form factor of what was presented. A 4.4 x 1.6 inch rectangle sporting only 2 buttons (which is fine) and a 1.46″ touch sensitive rear screen. With such a small screen and odd form factor, I’m reminded of the now failed FLiP camera.

The Len’s Wipe’s Marc Sadowski has a theory on the tech and what Lytro’s ultimate plan is.

Lytro’s Facebook page has a link to the new camera’s product page.
Lytro plans on shipping their new camera called “The Lytro” early 2012 and is currently taking orders for the camera on their site in what they have called a first come first serve basis.

There will be two models in three colors;

• The ‘Red Hot’ will be the 16gb model going for $499 holding 750 pictures
• Graphite will be an 8gb 350 picture model for $399
• Electric Blue is also an 8gb 350 picture model at $399

What do you think about how much the Lytro is selling for?

I think the price point is inline with where it should be. This is new tech and is in the range of what other consumer point and shoot type devices are going for. I think they would have had more hysteria if both models were $100 less, but I also think that they will do fine selling at the price they are at. Will I buy one? I’m really not interested at all, regardless of the price.

Do you think the lack of removable media is an issue?

I personally don’t think that having only built in memory is a draw back. I seem to do just fine with it when I decide to leave my big cameras at home and carry only my 16gb iPhone.

Do you think there will be more than 1.5 megapixels? Does it matter if we will only be viewing them digitally? Do you think the novelty of messing with the focus after the fact will wear off?

What do you think about Lytro’s design choice?

From an aesthetics standpoint I like it, from a functionality stand point, well obviously I haven’t held it yet, but I see issues with it. It looks like you are going to have to hold the camera as if you were throwing a dart to operate it. That doesn’t seem very stable, I mean from what I can see you wont even be able to get a good grip on it. I haven’t seen a 1/4 20 mount in any of the pictures.

You can find a Live Blog of the release event here.

As a photographer, I don’t think the following statement would be one that I’d want describing my product.
FORTUNE — It could be a godsend for awful photographers around the world.

Joe is also speaking at an event . . . → Read More: Joe Brown, NPS, The Canon 1D X, and Other Stuff.]]> Joe Brown Joins the show again with some info on Nikon Professional Services (NPS) and his recent experience with them. We talk a little about the new Canon 1DX, neither of us are Canon shooters but it’s nice to have some fresh tech coming into the pro market.

Joe is also speaking at an event this Friday October 21st, 2011 located at SOPHA in Manchester, NH. Joe will be talking about his experiences as a journalist photographer during a police shooting in Woburn last month. More details on the event can be found at the link below.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Check out Joe and other things we talked about at these links from this episode:

• Joe Brown Photos
• Joe’s Woburn Police Shooting After Action Report at SOPHA
• The New Canon

Anyway, enough of me reaching for excuses, here is the next episode. Returning guest Jeff ‘Foliage’ Folger discusses some tips for . . . → Read More: Jeff Folger Back With Some Fall Foliage Photo Tips]]> So here I am again contemplating how to explain the absence of episodes over the summer, and I’ve got nothing, nothing more exciting than ‘Boy I sure have been busy!’ which is totally true.

Anyway, enough of me reaching for excuses, here is the next episode. Returning guest Jeff ‘Foliage’ Folger discusses some tips for fall foliage in New England and also divulges some of his favorite locations. In fact he offers up his top foliage location for each of the New England states.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Check out Jeff at these links from this episode:

• Jeff “Foliage” Folger
• Yankee Foliage on Facebook
• Yankee Photography on Facebook

I know, I know, it’s been a while since the last podcast, and I know there are thousands of you that have been begging, wishing, and waiting for the show to get back on the rails. Well here it is, the latest episode of Camera Campus! I’ve made a few adjustments to the show . . . → Read More: Aaaaand We’re Back… Thank’s For Your Patience.]]>  

I know, I know, it’s been a while since the last podcast, and I know there are thousands of you that have been begging, wishing, and waiting for the show to get back on the rails. Well here it is, the latest episode of Camera Campus! I’ve made a few adjustments to the show in an effort to help me continue to get more shows out on a somewhat regular basis, but I’m not offering any set schedule just yet.

This episodes guest is Sid Ceaser, he’s a returning guest that I enjoy talking to, in this episode Sid and I talk about the changes to the podcast, a little about his workshops, and a bit of general photography discussion with no direction. Thanks to Sid and the other listeners for giving me a boost to get the fire lit under the shows proverbial butt.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Links from this episode:

• Sid Ceaser
• The Portable Portrait Workshop
• Sid’s BLOG
• Ceaser Photography on Facebook

This episode’s guest is Jeff “Foliage” Folger, a photographer out of historic Salem Massachusetts. Jeff has made a name for himself, quite literally, in the region as an authority on foliage photography. Everything from where to find it, to how to get it. After winning Yankee magazine’s first ever Fall Foliage Photo Contest back . . . → Read More: Jeff “Foliage” Folger, Online Communities, and a Moon OVer Newburyport]]>

This episode’s guest is Jeff “Foliage” Folger, a photographer out of historic Salem Massachusetts. Jeff has made a name for himself, quite literally, in the region as an authority on foliage photography. Everything from where to find it, to how to get it. After winning Yankee magazine’s first ever Fall Foliage Photo Contest back in 2004 Jeff has gone on to contribute to Yankee Magazine as a blogger and administrator for their foliage forums and Facebook pages.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Links from this episode:

• Jeff “Foliage” Folger
• Yankee Foliage on Facebook
• Yankee Photography on Facebook

This episode’s guest is Christine Glade, a portrait photographer and exclusive contributor to iStockPhoto. Christine and I go into more detail about being a full time stock photographer and touch on the new royalty structure that iStock announced last September and just rolled out this January 1st.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” . . . → Read More: Christine Glade, Stock Photography, and Home Alone]]>

This episode’s guest is Christine Glade, a portrait photographer and exclusive contributor to iStockPhoto. Christine and I go into more detail about being a full time stock photographer and touch on the new royalty structure that iStock announced last September and just rolled out this January 1st.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Links from this episode:

• Christine Glade
• Tokyo Lightbox
• iStockphoto

This episode’s guest is photographer Kris Fulk from Texas, a professional photographer who has begun giving back to the men and woman who serve our country in the armed forces by volunteering with an organization called Operation Love Reunited. Kris and I also discuss boudoir photography and how she . . . → Read More: Kris Fulk, Operation Love Reunited, and an Emotional Wedding Photograph]]>

Image courtesy of Annie Cat

This episode’s guest is photographer Kris Fulk from Texas, a professional photographer who has begun giving back to the men and woman who serve our country in the armed forces by volunteering with an organization called Operation Love Reunited. Kris and I also discuss boudoir photography and how she used networking to advance herself in an unfamiliar area of the country.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Links from this episode:

• Kris Fulk
• Operation Love Reunited
• Kris’s Op-Love Session
• Wedding Picture Discussed
• Blog Post about picture

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab . . . → Read More: Bill Jurasz, Track Photography, and a Miata in Motion]]> This episode’s guest is Bill Jurasz, an amateur motor sports photographer in Texas. I talk with Bill about the differences between regular sports photography and motor sports photography. We touch a bit on marketing for speculative sales at events and offering unique products to entice potential customers.

Please remember to click the “Guest Host” tab and become a part of the show, and SUBSCRIBE in iTunes.

Links from this episode:

• Bill Jurasz
• Special Design Graphics

Links from this episode:

Links from this episode: