先拍攝,后對焦:Lytro相機顛覆傳統攝影
????新創企業Lytro的發明對全世界學藝不精的攝影師來說就宛如上帝的恩賜一般。位于山景城的Lytro近日發布了一系列“光場”照相機,相比于傳統相機,前者在每張照片里能捕捉到更多色彩、光強和光線。Lytro早在今年初就揭曉了這款相機,并在之前6月份的科技頭腦風暴大會(Brainstorm Tech)上做了演示。這種相機不僅能拍攝出更加栩栩如生的照片,而且更為重要的是,它允許用戶在拍攝結束后對照片焦距進行調整。 ????Lytro計劃在明年初發布三款光場相機,起步價為399美元。其中兩款顏色分別為“電子藍”和“石墨黑”、內置8GB存儲器,能存儲350張照片;另一款顏色為“火熱紅”,擁有16GB存儲空間,能存儲750張照片,售價為499美元。Lytro公司的網站現在已經開始接受預訂。 ????光場相機看起來與普通傻瓜相機差別極大。它是一個狹長的矩形,長度為4.4英寸,底面積是1.6平方英寸。矩形一邊是一組鏡頭,另一邊則是一個液晶觸摸屏。沿著外殼,分布著電源鍵、拍攝鍵、USB接口,以及一組極其靈敏的滑動裝置,能夠移動F2鏡頭和實現8倍變焦。重量僅為7.5盎司,非常輕盈,和Nook Touch電子書的重量差不多。 ????用戶能在Mac上使用專用軟件編輯照片(明年晚些時候Lytro會發布PC版的軟件),還能在Facebook上分享這些照片,用戶的好友可以放縮、及對照片進行重新定焦。如果Lytro真能一舉成功,它可能將徹底改變專業乃至業余攝像師的生活。公司創始人吳仁(音譯——譯注)稱:“人們可以先拍照后思考。以后就可以用全新的方式拍攝和編輯照片?!?/p> ????換句話說,用戶不必再操心如何對相片進行恰到好處的對焦,只需盡情拍攝,然后在后續編輯過程中進行定焦即可。吳仁表示,光場相機極為強大:用戶能在幾天、幾個月、甚至幾年后重新回看和定焦照片。對于大眾用戶,這意味著他們不用再煩惱如何拍攝“完美的照片”。對于專業人員,則可在后續工作中重新回看照片,對焦距進行細微調整。 ????實際使用效果究竟如何?筆者親手體驗了一下Lytro的光場相機,結果當場就震驚了。光從外型看,這個圓筒型的家伙就和其它相機大為不同。鋁合金和硅膠樹脂打造的外殼手感非常舒服,物理按鍵和觸摸屏非常友好,極其容易使用。吳仁極大地改進了相機的瞬間快門能力,實際使用中,拍照后幾乎沒有延時。就照片本身而言,重新定焦非常容易,至少在Lytro光場相機的觸摸屏上的表現是如此。 ????過去一年,Lytro公司引起了極大關注。現在,一款革命性的新設備似乎終于要面世了,看來大家對Lytro的關注確實有道理。 ????更新:回答一位讀者的疑問,Lytro光場相機也能拍攝3D照片。吳仁稱,明年初相機正式開始銷售之后,Lytro將會在軟件更新中實現3D拍照功能。 ????譯者:項航 |
????It could be a godsend for awful photographers around the world. Mountain View-based startup Lytro, which launched earlier this year and demoed at Brainstorm Tech last July, just unveiled a line of "light field" cameras that capture more color, intensity and light per shot than traditional cameras. That makes for more vibrant photos, but most importantly, it allows users to change the focus within an image after it's been taken. ????The Lytro will ship early next year in three models starting at $399. The electric blue and graphite models will include 8 gigabytes of integrated storage and hold up to 350 images; the $499 "red hot" version will offer 16 gigabytes and hold up to 750 images. They're available for preorder now on the company's web site. ????The device looks nothing like a traditional point-and-shoot. Instead, its elongated, rectangular shape is 4.4 inches long and 1.6 inches square. The lens sits at one end while, and at the other, there is an LCD touch-screen display. Power and shutter buttons, a USB port, and a touch-sensitive strip to move the F2 lens through its 8X zoom range are arranged along the sides. And at 7.5 ounces, it's also pretty light, roughly the same weight as a Nook Touch. ????Users can edit photos via proprietary software on a Mac (a PC version will come later next year) and can share them on Facebook, where friends can interact with them by zooming in and refocusing. If the Lytro takes off, it could change the way professional photographers and even casual photo users take pictures. "It lets people shoot first and think later," says company founder Ren Ng. "Now you can take a picture and compose it in a new way." ????In other words, instead of worrying about getting the focus on a subject just right, users can snap away and focus on the image during the editing process. According to Ng, that makes the device extremely powerful: people can revisit and refocus an image, days, months, even years later. For mainstream users, that means not having to worry as much about taking "the perfect shot." Professionals, meanwhile, can revisit photos and tweak the focus during the course of the work. ????So what's it actually like to use? I came away mostly impressed from our hands-on with Lytro's camera. That cylinder-like shape certainly makes a statement and differentiates it from many other point and shooters already out there. The combination of cool aluminum and silicone is pleasant to hold, and navigating around the combination of physical buttons and touchscreen is pretty easy. Ng was also quick to push the instant shutter ability, and indeed, there was little lag between shots. As for the photos of themselves, refocusing, at least through the Lytro's touchscreen, was a breeze. ????Lytro has been the subject of intense speculation over the past year. Today, with a seemingly revolutionary new device, it showed that attention was not unwarranted. ????Update: To answer one reader's question: yes, the Lytro camera takes 3-D images. According to Ng, that feature will come via software update soon after the camera ships early next year. |