lytro

Happy new year!

This week, we've got a few rumors that are sure to turn heads. Apple is supposedly working on an accessory that could make Karyne's dream of being a secret agent finally come true: a smart watch! What features should it have? Leave us a comment!

Also this week, the next iteration of BlackBerry Messenger is rumored to come with a feature that other phones have had for quite a while; Toshiba is possibly working on a new technology that could be a game changer; and a Russian news site has a very unlikely video of … Read more

Toshiba is in the process of upping its smartphone camera game. The device-maker is creating Lytro-like camera technology for mobile devices that should be released before the end of 2013, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun (h/t Engadget).

Much like Lytro's light-field camera, Toshiba's technology reportedly lets users choose what part of a photo they'd like to focus on well after they've taken the shot. It will also allow users to put the entire picture into focus. For the most part, this type of technology has only been seen in Lytro cameras and has … Read more

How many times have you taken a picture that would've been great if only it weren't out of focus? Well, Lytro's first-of-its-kind light-field camera solves that problem by letting you shoot first and focus later. The camera and software lets users create living pictures that can be focused again and again and again. And again.

Unfortunately, when it was initially released in March, the Lytro came across as unfinished with lots of promises for what was possible and what was to come, which included support for Windows.

To its credit, Lytro has made good on those promises … Read more

Photos taken with Lytro's light field camera (aka living pictures) were already more interactive than a regular snapshot, letting you endlessly refocus the images by clicking on different parts of them. An upcoming software update takes the interactivity up a notch, letting you change the perspective of your shots, too.

The free Lytro Desktop software update, which rolls out December 4, adds this Perspective Shift feature, enabling Lytro users to slightly change the point of view of a living picture by clicking and dragging it in any direction.

For example, click and hold on the picture at the top … Read more

Last month Amazon.com's CEO Jeff Besos, unveiled the new Kindle line, complete with new updates to the current Kindles and an 8.9" Fire. Naturally, Molly bought all of the new kindles, including the "revolutionary" Paperwhite!

We unboxed the 7" Kindle Fire a few episodes back, and now it was time to enter it into our torture chamber. That Kindle Fire really took a beating from us, and we were all shocked to see it survive. I personally would be using it right now, but agree with Molly. It's just too WIDE to … Read more

From the time Lytro launched its first consumer Light Field Camera in March, the company has been clear that the Lytro you buy today will be able to do much more in the future.

For example, as of today, current Lytro owners can get a firmware update via the desktop software (available for Mac and Windows) to add some more control over the camera, including shutter speed and ISO.

Without control over shutter speed or ISO, most low-light shots I've taken end up looking like the above -- grainy with poor color. That's because the camera ramps up … Read more

If you've longed for a Lytro Light Field camera, but couldn't bring yourself to buy one directly from the manufacturer's site, you're in luck.

Starting October 9, you'll be able to pick up a Lytro camera online at Target.com, BestBuy.com, and Amazon.com in the U.S., while Canadians can stop by Future Shop to pick one up.

However, if you're more curious about putting your hands on one before you pony up $400 or $500, you'll have the chance to do so at new CityTarget stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, … Read more

If you've been holding off on buying the Lytro light-field camera because you're a Windows user, you can now get out your credit card. The revolutionary little camera that lets you shoot first and focus later can now be used with both Mac and Windows computers.

When the camera started shipping in March, the desktop software required to offload and process the camera's "living pictures" required Mac OS 10.6.6 or higher. A Windows 7 64-bit version of the same desktop software is now available for download.… Read more

If the camera industry doesn't change quickly, it will die.

Sound like an overstatement? Maybe. But canaries are gasping from deep in this coal mine: operations like Kodak, with a history deep in the print-processing business, were the first to go.

Smart camera manufacturers like Canon and Nikon will continue to sell--and delight photographers with--high-end dSLR cameras, especially as full-frame digital cameras become more and more accessible to those of us (like me) who fancy ourselves decent photographers but have no formal photo training.

As anyone with a high-end smartphone knows, however, the point-and-shoot can't compete for long with the likes of the iPhone 4S camera, especially considering the creative outlet apps extend to the smartphone camera.

Thanks to fantastic post-production software (Instagram, Tilt Shift Gen) and built-in social outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Path), smartphone camera dominance is a no-brainer. (Want some super-dry reading? Canon's Q4 2011 earnings call explains that the company hit its dLSR earnings targets, but not for point-and-shoots.)… Read more