Stanford scientists create "light field camera" for in-focus photos
posted November 4th 2005 6:00AM
Some Stanford computer scientists have created a camera that allows pictures taken with a wide open aperture to
still focus on every depth of field, allowing for brighter and faster, but still in-focus, photos. The "light field
camera" uses a microlens array that sits between the main lens and the CCD, and holds 90,000 miniature lenses which
separate the light before it hits the sensor. Software then manipulates this "expanded light field" to determine where
the light rays would have landed if the camera had been focused at different depths. The result is an image where each
subject has been digitally refocused. If this all sounds very confusing, it is, but the point of it all is for better
images, especially in demanding situations such as science or security surveillance, so don't worry if this little
feature doesn't start popping up in your local Best Buy's camera lineup anytime soon.
[Via RPTT]
Great picture.... realy cool dug up from I don't know where... Matches exact the subject.
- Unomi -
Yummy!
All that glass... mmmm... Can't wait to see some example pictures from this camera.
Actually this reminds me of an Australian that supposedly did the same thing (wide aperture, everything in focus), and received an award for it, only to have it revoked after it turned out it was a fraud.
Just thought you'd like to know...
Hey #2
Are you talking about Jim Frazier by chance?
How come it was a fraud? I thought Panavision bought the patent off him..
Saw this a while back, with examples:
http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/lfcamera/
View Cameras have been doing this for years with the Scheimpflug Principle.
I guess it would be too much to ask for a model that fits in your pocket. :)
No, David, that picture is of the HEAVY field camera. The camera being discussed is not THAT big. (is it?)
And I always considered narrow depth of focus to be a feature!
This sounds like it could be used to take 3D pictures of an object. That's clever - using different lenses to determine the distance of an object from the camera. Now all we need is a holographic projector! :)
Ah, correction:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/05/13/1052591785954.html
Last month, a Los Angeles judge declared that claims for the equipment were faked. Now, academy officials are studying the case to see whether there are grounds for stripping him [Jim Frazier] of the award, which is given for scientific or technical achievement and takes the form of a certificate rather than a golden statuette. This has happened only once before, when a documentary, The Young Americans, was found to have been released too early and thus ineligible for inclusion in the 1968 awards.