Camera shoot first, focus later

Startup Lytro on Wednesday unveiled a camera that lets people adjust the focus on photos after they take them.

Work that Ren Ng started in a lab while working on a PhD at Stanford University about eight years ago has led to the creation of what is billed as the first camera that captures the entire light field in a scene.

“Our goal is to forever change the way people take and experience pictures, and today marks our first major step,” Ng said as pocket-sized, telescope-shaped Lytro cameras made their public debut in San Francisco.

“Light field photography was once only possible with 100 cameras tethered to a supercomputer in a lab,” he continued.

“Today it’s accessible to everyone in a camera that’s small and powerful, but incredibly easy to use.”

The Silicon Valley company began taking limited orders in the United States for two Lytro camera models, a $399 version capable of holding about 350 pictures and one priced at $499 offering twice the memory space. Lytro cameras with eight gigabytes of storage were being offered in blue or graphite, while the higher priced model was red. People could place orders online at Lytro.com, but cameras won’t be shipped until early next year.