New Lytro Illum light-field camera looks more like a pro-DSLR

Lytro is back but has left the square-tubed looks of its original outing behind with a new light-field camera, called the Illum.

The Lytro Illum is aimed at both the hobbyist and professional photographer alike and these users should warm to the new snapper thanks to it looking more like a full-frame digital SLR with a wide, protruding lens and chunky body.

The more familiar looks is pretty much where the mundane ends.

The Illum boasts a custom 40-megaray light-field sensor, with an 8x optical zoom lens that can shoot at up 1/4000 of a second and an f/2.0 aperture.

The unique sensor captures numerous characteristics of light rays, including their colour, intensity and direction.

The result is an image that feels 3D – viewers can subtly shift their perspective and also manually set the focal point and depth using the Illum’s 4-inch touchscreen.

When ‘taking a photo’ and pressing the Lytro Button an interactive depth feedback display shows the relative focus of all objects in the frame, allowing composition in three dimensions. A real-time color-coded overlay of the live view lets you know which elements of the picture are within the re-focusable range.

While a number of smartphones have attempted to mimic this effect with software, none have come close to the images produced by a Lyto camera.

Lytro says this workflow will also be compatible with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Apple’s Aperture software, so photographers can easily use the camera with their favorite apps and preferences.

The Illum will launch in July for $1,599 and come with a proprietary software platform where photographers can review their images, create custom animations and export files in common formats.

You can lay down a $250 deposit via the pre-order page in order to reserve yours.