????Lytro新推出的專業級“光場”相機Illum優化了第一代相機的功能，拍攝的圖片更清晰，而且還能調整景深。此外，它的造型也更接近人們更熟悉的傳統單反相機。Lytro公司創始人吳仁說：“這是我一直想打造的相機。”

????三年前，吳仁（音譯——譯注）推出創新性相機Lytro，希望借此革新攝影術。當時，他在某些方面太過超前，有些方面又做得還不夠。

????Lytro帶給消費者全新的攝影類型——光場攝影，這種方式捕捉的光線數據比傳統相機多得多。Lytro的不足之處在于，它的選取框功能——能在拍攝某影像后重新聚焦的功能——雖然很炫，卻頗為有限，而且顯得有些華而不實。事實上，在Lytro發布相機兩年后，智能手機攝像頭已經能夠模仿這種效果。

????Lytro做得有些過頭的是，試圖顛覆相機設計。不同于傳統的傻瓜相機，Lytro的外型呈長方塊狀——《紐約時報》（ the New York Times）把它比作黃油棒——相機一端帶有一塊極小的觸摸屏，另一端是鏡頭。

????因此，上市時標價399美元起、后來降價的Lytro相機一直是叫好不叫座。Lytro公司不愿公布銷售數字，顯然，它并沒有沖出所謂的“創新先驅”買家組成的利基市場。

????而此次推出新品Illum，Lytro似乎有意彌補上一款產品的上述兩個失誤。

????首先，Illum看著就像相機——更確切地說，它的外形與它試圖挑戰的專業級數碼單反相機相似。其次，Illum的軟件平臺大大提升了光場技術。當然，Illum能拍攝可重新聚焦的圖片，但用戶也可重新調整角度和傾斜度，同時改變景深。

????Illum的目標用戶是專業人士或攝影發燒友。這款產品將于今年七月面市，售價1599美元。這個價格不便宜，但Illum能媲美許多數碼單反相機，而且它還相當于配備了一個30mm - 250mm的長焦鏡頭。

????Lytro公司創始人吳仁說：“這是我一直想打造的相機。這是我們一直看好的技術走向。”

????吳表示，Illum的光場傳感器比一代Lytro相機的功能要強大三倍，恒定f/2.0光圈，高速機械快門，拍攝的圖片比大多數專業相機更清晰，尤其擅長近距離對焦微距拍攝。

????Illum的變焦鏡頭不能更換，比同檔次傳統鏡片要輕得多，因此相機總重量僅約兩磅（約合0.9千克）。大多數控制是在一個傾斜度可調節的大觸摸屏中進行。Illum相機機身從側面看呈梯形，因此觸摸屏不是垂直的，而是默認傾斜的，從而更容易使用。觸摸屏帶有轉軸，因此能轉到不同的位置。Illum還帶有支持閃光燈的插座。

????要想知道Illum能否兌現其承諾，只有等到試用過該相機才知道。不過，吳和Lytro公司的投資者堅信Illum這款先鋒產品已經成熟，必將大賣。

????Lytro公司擁有約85名員工，去年年底從一群著名投資者手中募得了4000萬美元，其中包括早期支持者安德森?霍洛維茨（Andreessen Horowitz）以及Greylock Partners。2013年早些時候，安德森?霍洛維茨指派了公司頗受信任的高管杰森?羅森塔爾擔任Lytro公司首席執行官。羅森塔爾曾在網景（Netscape）、Opsware以及Ning等公司與馬克?安德森以及本?霍洛維茨二人共事多年。

????羅森塔爾在談到光場攝影時說：“這是一個全新的攝影類別?！绷_森塔爾稱，專業相機市場每年市值約200億美元?！凹幢阄覀冎徽紦恍〔糠质袌龇蓊~，我們也能做成大買賣?！?/p>

????羅森塔爾認為一代Lytro相機并不是一款失敗的產品。他表示，一代Lytro相機的銷售額事實上甚至還“稍稍”超出預期，而且哪款產品向消費者引入了光場攝影這一概念，同時催生了一批愿意為Lytro制造零部件的供應商。

????羅森塔爾稱Illum較之一代Lytro“進了一大步”，同時也在提升和普及光場技術方面前進了一大步。他說：“我們將繼續不斷進取。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航

????The pioneering company introduces the Illum, a professional-grade "light field" camera that promises sharper pictures and an adjustable depth of field.

????When Ren Ng set out to remake photography with his innovative Lytro camera three years ago, he went both too far and not far enough.

????Lytro introduced to consumers a whole new type of photography, called light field photography, which captures far more light data than traditional cameras. It didn't go far enough because its marquee feature -- the ability to refocus an image after it was shot -- while dazzling, seemed limited and a little gimmicky. Indeed, two years after Lytro released its camera, smartphone cameras have found ways to mimic the effect.

????Where Lytro went too far is in trying to reinvent camera design. Unlike traditional point-and-shoot cameras, Lytro's was shaped like an elongated square block -- the New York Times compared it to a stick of butter -- with a touchscreen, which was too small, at one end and lens at the other.

????As a result, the Lytro camera, which was introduced at $399 and up but later dropped in price, never lived up to the hype it received. The company won't release sales figures, a sure sign that it never got past a niche market of what it calls "creative pioneers."

????As it tries again with a new camera, Lytro seems to be addressing both of its initial missteps.

????For starters, the new camera, the Lytro Illum, looks like a camera -- more specifically, it looks like the kind of professional-grade digital single-lens reflex camera it is trying to compete with. Second, the Illum's software platform takes light field's technology several steps further than its predecessor. The Illum takes images that can be refocused, of course, but users can also shift perspective and tilt, and change the depth of field.

????The Illum is aimed at professional or serious amateur photographers and will be available in July for $1,599. That's not cheap, but it's comparable to many dSLRs, especially considering that it's equipped with the equivalent of a 30mm-250mm telephoto lens.

????"This is the camera I always wanted to build," says Ng, Lytro's founder. "This is the direction we always thought the technology would go."

????”

????Ng says the Illum, which has a light field sensor four times more powerful than the original Lytro camera, a constant f/2.0 aperture, and a high-speed mechanical shutter, will take sharper pictures than most professional cameras and will do particularly well with close-focus macro shots.

????The Illum's zoom lens, which is not interchangeable, is much lighter than traditional lenses with similar range, giving the camera a total weight of about two pounds. Most of the controls are in a large touchscreen whose tilt can be adjusted. The camera's body, when viewed from the side, is shaped like a trapezoid, so that the touchscreen, rather than being vertical, is tilted by default, making it easier to use. The touchscreen is on a hinge, so it can be moved to different positions. The Illum also has a hot shoe that supports a flash.

????It's impossible to know whether the Illum will deliver on its promise until the camera is available for testing. But Ng and Lytro's investors are betting that the photography pioneer is ripe for takeoff.

????The company, which has about 85 employees, raised $40 million late last year from a group of marquee investors, including early backers like Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners. Earlier in 2013, Andreessen Horowitz tapped one of its most trusted lieutenants, Jason Rosenthal, to be Lytro's CEO. Rosenthal had a long history of working with both Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at companies like Netscape, Opsware, and Ning.

????"This is a new category in photography," Rosenthal says about light field photography. The market for professional cameras, he says, is about $20 billion a year. "If all we did was take fractional market share, we'd be a big business."

????Rosenthal rejects the notion that the original Lytro camera was a flop. He says sales exceeded projections "slightly" and that the camera introduced consumers to the concept of light field photography. It also helped to seed a market of suppliers who are willing to build components for Lytro.

????He describes the Illum as "a huge step forward" from its predecessor, and as just one step on the path to enhancing and popularizing light field technology. "We'll do that again and again and again," he says.