First focus-swapping, high-end Lytro camera to arrive in Australia this August

THE first high-end camera to use light-field technology that lets users change focus after they’ve taken a photograph is now on sale.

Lytro Illum camera that uses light-field technology developed by Australian researcher Ren Ng.

THE next generation of an Australian photography breakthrough will arrive in the country in just two months after its makers opened pre-orders today.

The Lytro Illum will be the first high-end camera to use light-field technology that lets users change focus after they’ve taken a photograph.

It could, for example, let users swap focus from a fly in the foreground of a photograph to the swatter behind it.

Users can also change a photo’s perspective after it has been taken and capture 3D images for sharing on social networks.

Australian computer science researcher Dr Ren Ng developed the consumer-friendly light-field technology while studying at Stanford University in the US, even discussing the project with late Apple founder Steve Jobs before forming his own company and releasing the original Lytro camera in 2012.

“I was reluctant to start the company that would become Lytro, primarily due to my academic background,’’ Dr Ng told News Corp Australia.

“But I had several entrepreneurial-minded friends who really pushed me into it, kicking and screaming.’’

Lytro Illum camera ... uses light-field technology developed by Australian researcher Ren Ng.

The technology effectively shrunk a wall of 100 cameras that captured light from all directions down into a pocket-sized gadget.

The second Lytro camera will be the company’s first high-end model, featuring a 40-megaray image sensor — up from 11 megarays in the first model — as well as a 30-250mm zoom lens, a 1/4000 high-speed shutter for sporting photos, and a hinged touchscreen for viewing photos.

Photographs captured with the Lytro Illum, when stripped of its focus-swapping technology, will be equivalent to five megapixels in resolution.

Other companies have recently tried to mimic the light-field technology used in Lytro cameras, including the HTC One M8 smartphone that uses two cameras to change perspective, and the Google Camera app for Android phones.

The Illum will be available for pre-orders in Australia through Blonde Robot today with delivery expected in August.

The camera introductory price will be $1799, though previous Lytro buyers will receive a 20 per cent discount.