A little beyond concept now, it appears

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

http://oh-so-coco.tumblr.com/tagged/Lytro

[Blue_In_AK]

1. That's just not right.

Why even bother learning how to take a good, sharp photograph?

[Mira]

2. I agree with you in principle. But then, it may be the only way

I'll ever have one of those perfect sharp photographs...
:)

the whole thing makes me wonder: are we now all putting quarters in jars to get one of these?
or, as my grandson said, when he was just a little older than Aiman, referring to a container on my workbench that cleverly organizes screws/nuts/bolts:
"How does it do it when it do's it?"

[Blue_In_AK]

3. I won't be getting one.

Too high-tech (and dishonest) for me. It kind of reminds me of when I was a legal secretary and they were bringing on all those machines that the boss could dictate into and then it would type what he said -- just one more example of automation to put someone out of work. In this case, photographers who take hte trouble to get it right.




In other words ... bah, humbug.

[Mira]

5. I agree with you fully, yet - we are at the mercy of progress and in many ways

absolutely unable to even distinguish between what is an "honest" photograph, and what is an equally "honest" photograph that has gone through many hoops of artificial enhancement and augmentation yet we still accept it and find it authentic.

I quietly say I'm at a loss.
I have modest and decent equipment, I have Picasa, and I have my good eye for a hopefully good shot. I may never have more. But it brings me so much joy, and makes me laugh, and makes me all but cry, and makes me in my own mind the Photo Forum's resident relatively happy amateur.
I like that as a label, and I kind of like it as a placement, because I know I can fill it.

:)

[alfredo]

4. It makes focus a post process tool.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. No, I understand htat.

It just seems like cheating to me. Kind of like when you take a picture with a cloudy sky and put a blue sky in.

I'm a purist, I guess.

[alfredo]

9. I can see those who make money as photojournalist, including

sports photographers will like that. But those who see photography as art would be more inclined to trust their eye.

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Of course, sports photography.

Especially sports photography in the dark, like I have to do with the Iditarod. I have a hard time coordinating the flash with the distance and a lot of the shots are blurred. For that, I can see the value of this.

But for landscapes and whatnot that you can set up somewhat ... I still think it's cheating. :)

[alfredo]

13. The process is as important as the product.

I looked into taking a photography course at the local university. As a senior citizen, I can get free tuition.

There's two professors. One seems into closeup and street, the other is more into photography as part of work.

[Stevenmarc]

8. In reality how many people ever turn off their autofocus now.

The horse has left the barn on that one.

[alfredo]

10. I did a manual shoot today and when using the kit lens I have

AF set to allow manual override.

[Stevenmarc]

12. I frequently shoot manually too

I like my old glass and Lensbaby is completely manual but the reality is that most people never shoot with their cameras out of auto mode these days.

[alfredo]

15. sometimes that auto focus doesn't want to focus where you

want to focus. For me it is easier to twist the focus ring than push buttons.

[Stevenmarc]

16. Absolutely agreed!

But in the context of this technology, the developer has his eye on a slightly higher end, technology loving snapshot taker not the pro photographer or even the advanced amateur who actually knows what the letters on the dial actually mean. He is trying to set a price for the camera that hovers around an advanced P&S range, personally I wish he would have licensed it instead of creating a whole new system.

[alfredo]

17. So they have their eye on an already crowded market.

Their hardware and software better be good because they are up against giants.

[Stevenmarc]

18. I wouldn't be surprised

If it has Bluetooth or wifi with an app for iPhone/iPad since this is the market they are looking for.

[alfredo]

20. We will have to wait and see.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

7. well, I don't think I will be an early adopter

since I am still using some MF lenses that I have had for 35 years

[NV Whino]

14. So, if you want foreground and background in focus,

do you hold the shift key?


I can see this as a creative tool for something like that fashion shoot. Such as the first one—the swatch of fabric in focus while the "subject" is out of focus. The client sees it and shouts. "What were you thinking!" You quickly shift focus to subject and prevent the client from having a heart attack.

[HappyCynic]

19. limitations?

Looks like the camera has a lot of interesting applications and advantages. I do wonder, though, what it does to things like bokeh or long exposure shots.