So Lytro did finally realize that light field photography is no more than a party gimmick for ordinary consumers? Good for them.

And while they were proud to have been in development of their "third generation" of light field cameras, Raytrix sold 8 different light field cameras into the market - focused on industrial use cases, where this technology is way more useful.

Heck, imagine a light field video camera where you can set depth of field and focus point in post for perfect focus pulls every time. I'd love that.

And they are already selling the leftovers for cheap (Stack Social).

So are they idiots? Looks very interesting if they have a real product.

PR

Lytro Brings Revolutionary Light Field Technology to Film and TV Production with Lytro Cinema

• World’s First Light Field Solution for Cinema Allows Breakthrough Creative Capabilities and Unparalleled Flexibility on Set and in Post-Production
• First Short Produced with Academy Award Winners Robert Stromberg, DGA and David Stump, ASC in Association with The Virtual Reality Company (VRC) Will Premiere at NAB on April 19

Lytro unlocks a new level of creative freedom and flexibility for filmmakers with the introduction of Lytro Cinema, the world’s first Light Field solution for film and television. The breakthrough capture system enables the complete virtualization of the live action camera -- transforming creative camera controls from fixed on set decisions to computational post-production processes -- and allows for historically impossible shots.

“We are in the early innings of a generational shift from a legacy 2D video world to a 3D volumetric Light Field world,” said Jason Rosenthal, CEO of Lytro. “Lytro Cinema represents an important step in that evolution. We are excited to help usher in a new era of cinema technology that allows for a broader creative palette than has ever existed before.”

Designed for cutting edge visual effects (VFX), Lytro Cinema represents a complete paradigm shift in the integration of live action footage and computer generated (CG) visual effects. The rich dataset captured by the system produces a Light Field master that can be rendered in any format in post-production and enables a whole range of creative possibilities that have never before existed.

“Lytro Cinema defies traditional physics of on-set capture allowing filmmakers to capture shots that have been impossible up until now,” said Jon Karafin, Head of Light Field Video at Lytro. “Because of the rich data set and depth information, we’re able to virtualize creative camera controls, meaning that decisions that have traditionally been made on set, like focus position and depth of field, can now be made computationally. We’re on the cutting edge of what’s possible in film production.”

With Lytro Cinema, every frame of a live action scene becomes a 3D model: every pixel has color and directional and depth properties bringing the control and creative flexibility of computer generated VFX to real world capture. The system opens up new creative avenues for the integration of live action footage and visual effects with capabilities like Light Field Camera Tracking and Lytro Depth Screen -- the ability to accurately key green screens for every object and space in the scene without the need for a green screen.

“Lytro has always been a company thinking about what the future of imaging will be,” said Ted Schilowitz, Futurist at FOX Studios. “There are a lot of companies that have been applying new technologies and finding better ways to create cinematic content, and they are all looking for better ways and better tools to achieve live action highly immersive content. Lytro is focusing on getting a much bigger, better and more sophisticated cinematography-level dataset that can then flow through the VFX pipeline and modernize that world.”

Lytro Cinema represents a step function increase in terms of raw data capture and optical performance:

• The highest resolution video sensor ever designed, 755 RAW megapixels at up to 300 FPS
• Up to 16 stops of dynamic range and wide color gamut
• Integrated high resolution active scanning

By capturing the entire high resolution Light Field, Lytro Cinema is the first system able to produce a Light Field Master. The richest dataset in the history of the medium, the Light Field Master enables creators to render content in multiple formats -- including IMAX®, RealD® and traditional cinema and broadcast at variable frame rates and shutter angles.

Lytro Cinema comprises a camera, server array for storage and processing, which can also be done in the cloud, and software to edit Light Field data. The entire system integrates into existing production and post-production workflows, working in tandem with popular industry standard tools. Watch a video about Lytro Cinema at www.lytro.com/cinema#video.

“Life” the first short produced with Lytro Cinema in association with The Virtual Reality Company (VRC) will premiere at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference on Tuesday, April 19 at 4 p.m. PT at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Room S222. “Life” was directed by Academy Award winner Robert Stromberg, Chief Creative Officer at VRC and shot by David Stump, Chief Imaging Scientist at VRC.

Learn more about Lytro Cinema activities during the 2016 NAB Show and get a behind-the-scenes look on the set of “Life” at www.lytro.com/nab2016.

Lytro Cinema will be available for production in Q3 2016 to exclusive partners on a subscription basis. For more information on Lytro Cinema, visit www.lytro.com/cinema.

"Server array for storage and processing" seems about right for 755 megapixels at 300 fps. Also, I'd assume it would require an SSD array for writing out data as the camera captures it...

Hardware is always cheaper than people. I also think that some effective compression is possible.

It is not megapixels, but megarays, I think compression will be like 20:1 without much issue and with normal fps. With 300fps interframe compression becomes astonishingly effective also being in the range of 50:1 to 100:1 .

The Ilium is advertised as having 40 megarays and the processed images are about 4 megapixels. The original Lytro field camera was 11 megarays and processed images were about 1.2 megapixels so assuming that the scaling holds constant, 755 megarays should be about 75 megapixels after processing.

Probably. I was only extrapolating from 11 = ~1.2 and 40 = ~4. Pretty close to 10:1 in both cases.

When I grow up I want to be a Futurist!

Ouch, 20 minutes of marketing talk without a showing an actual camera.

So Lytro says that distance-information assisted green-screening is so valuable that directors will trade in the great image quality of existing digital cameras for the questionable Lytro image quality? I doubt that.

And changing shutter-angle ex-post is pretty well doable on conventional videos, too.

I'm still convinced the whole Lytro operation is about skimming money from gullible investors rather than building actually useful cameras.

And it is the end

At Lytro, we believe that Light Field will continue to shape the course of Virtual and Augmented Reality, and we’re incredibly proud of the role we’ve been able to play in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. We’ve uncovered challenges we never dreamed of and made breakthroughs at a seemingly impossible pace. We’ve had some spectacular successes, and built entire systems that no one thought possible. More importantly, we built a team that was singularly unified in its focus and unrivaled in its dedication. It has been an honor and a pleasure to contribute to the cinema and Virtual Reality communities, but starting today we will not be taking on new productions or providing professional services as we prepare to wind down the company. We’re excited to see what new opportunities the future brings for the Lytro team as we go our separate ways. We would like to thank the various communities that have supported us and hope that our paths will cross in the future.