The singularity? Light L16 52mp 4k Computational Camera

My thoughts: this is the third thread started here about this camera - so no need for another one. Just look at a few entries below and you'll find it.
 
I posted this in one of the other threads on this - there's a new company that has created an electric, rather than the mechanical, lens based on the LCD technology. The design is similar in concept to the electronic/LCD ND filter built into Sony FS5. Now, if a smartphone combines these LCD lenses with the "interpolation by software" from multiple angles and apertures, one should see a major jump in the smartphone photo/video performance but we should get a better handle on how this is working out from the next twin-lens iPhone.

PS. Resolution - both in stills and video - is but a small portion of this multi-lens design.
 
I agree with Stu. Every place that I see professional commenting about the L16, I see mocking and disdain.
But that is the future. A camera that would be able to push more decisions to the post, saving production time.

Not only that but, with the 3D depth information, will be a new era for colorists: virtual relighting, object removals and lot more to come!

How not to be excited about all these changes?
 
rperez3 said:
How not to be excited about all these changes?
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Because they take control of the image out of the hands of those of us who make them. Such technology has huge implications for the concept of authorship with an image, and consequently Intellectual Property and Copyright when used in a professional context.

Frankly, the current state of post production and how significantly it can alter a person's images, is stressful enough! Taking things to the extent of this is frankly a little terrifying for anyone who makes their living crafting images through the control of lighting, framing and selective focus.

That said, I still desperately want one of these to play with, it looks amazing!
 
FWIW, in audio reproduction, there's a been a lot of work done recently on the multi-channel speaker systems. Some are panels, some have a multitude of conventional drivers. The idea is to have a true three dimensional sound (over and beyond to what one might see in a movie theater). I can imagine something similar, albeit on the acquisition end, with this concept. The cameras would have to be larger for all the pro electronics but the choice of lenses not much different. And what might be a 3-4 camera production would turn into a 30-60 camera shoot. Ah, one would need a top DIT for that. Or a full team, really.
 
Grug said:
... the control of lighting, framing and selective focus.
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Interesting point of view. I highlighted this bit because I think it identifies exactly what will be pushed which way: some people will go on doing the lighting and framing, on set, and others will tweak that framing and do the focus, in a workstation. The same thing already happened with color: it used to be a decision taken mostly on set, now it is mostly done in post. How this affects you personally is a very personal thing: it depends on what you're specialized in today and what you'll be specialized in tomorrow.
 
Had a chance to see this camera in person today at the Photo Plus show in NYC. The CTO and VP of Marketing were kind enough to answer my questions for about 20 minutes. Most of the technical details are already well covered in Stu Maschwitz's blog, so I'll just refer you there for that:

http://prolost.com/blog/lightvisit

They had a working prototype there, but it was broken by the time I got to the booth. They did show sample pictures (with blow-ups of details) on a 5k iMac, and they looked comparable to a good DSLR. The camera felt like a big thick phone, but it did fit in my pocket. I'm not going to sell my DSLR's, but it might be good for trips where you want to travel light.

I asked them if they have plans to implement video, and they said the camera already shoots 4k video, but only on 1 sensor at a time. It can shoot about 20 fps now using 10 sensors, but the write buffer fills up very quickly because the pictures are 52 Mpixels each. They also said that it would have heat problems, but the next generation sensors would only use half the power. So there's a possibility for the future, but first things first.

They're also offering a show discount if you're interested in reserving one (for delivery Fall 2016). Regular price is $1699, launch month discount $400, PhotoPlus discount $200 with code PPE15, so your final price is $1199. Offer expires November 6th and requires $199 deposit. Order on their website light.co.
 
Grug said:
Because they take control of the image out of the hands of those of us who make them. Such technology has huge implications for the concept of authorship with an image, and consequently Intellectual Property and Copyright when used in a professional context.

Frankly, the current state of post production and how significantly it can alter a person's images, is stressful enough! Taking things to the extent of this is frankly a little terrifying for anyone who makes their living crafting images through the control of lighting, framing and selective focus.

That said, I still desperately want one of these to play with, it looks amazing!
Click to expand...


Most pundits agree that the new Google automated driving system will eventually replace all the current truck drivers and cab drivers on the road now.
Similarly for lots of video situations this gear would be set up by relAtively unskilled labor and then the footage sent by wifi to a post production facility any where in the world.
Won't be anytime soon and not good enough for narrative Hollywood poductions but it's coming.
 
Sumfun said:
They had a working prototype there, but it was broken by the time I got to the booth. They did show sample pictures (with blow-ups of details) on a 5k iMac, and they looked comparable to a good DSLR. The camera felt like a big thick phone, but it did fit in my pocket. I'm not going to sell my DSLR's, but it might be good for trips where you want to travel light.
Click to expand...

That was what caught my attention; the ability to get image quality comparable to what I can get with my a7r, but in a smaller form factor that supports multiple focal lengths. I can stuff my a7r with a 35mm f/2.8 lens into a small enough pouch that I can climb with it, but the rest of the lenses tend to end up stuck in my pack once we leave base camp. It would be great to have a small enough camera to keep in a small pouch where I can get to it quickly, but still be able to capture image quality enough to print, while adding multiple focal lengths and some depth of field control. It would be quite liberating. :)
 
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