Lytro Releases New Creative Capabilities for Light Field Camera

Lytro will now offer manual controls for more creative light field pictures plus two new exclusive colors, Seaglass and Moxie Pink, and two new accessories

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lytro, Inc., creator of the world’s first consumer light field camera, has announced the availability of manual controls in its camera, starting today for new cameras purchased and as a free firmware update for existing customers. With these easy-to-use and readily accessible manual controls, Lytro photographers can take even more creative living pictures in a wide variety of conditions – from low light settings to high-speed subjects.

“We introduced these features as a result of feedback from our most creative camera owners, who are capturing things like subjects in motion or experimenting with artistic styles like light painting. With manual controls, they now have more flexibility as they push the boundaries of the light field.”

“Manual controls give Lytro photographers the opportunity to take control of the exposure in a scene,” said Eric Cheng, Lytro’s director of photography. “We introduced these features as a result of feedback from our most creative camera owners, who are capturing things like subjects in motion or experimenting with artistic styles like light painting. With manual controls, they now have more flexibility as they push the boundaries of the light field.”

The new controls are:

• Shutter Speed - By manually controlling the shutter speed, Lytro photographers can keep the shutter open longer to capture living pictures in dark conditions. The maximum shutter speed is 8 seconds and the minimum is 1/250 second.
• ISO Sensitivity – Controlling ISO gives Lytro photographers more ways to take creative living pictures in a variety of lighting conditions, from low-light concerts and restaurants to brightly lit soccer fields and amusement parks. The ISO range is 80 (min) to 3200 (max).
• Neutral Density (ND) Filter – When in full manual mode, Lytro photographers can turn on the ND Filter to adjust the amount of light captured in extremely bright settings.
• Auto Exposure (AE) Lock – Lytro photographers can lock the auto exposure while changing the composition of a picture in a scene.

New Accessories and Colors

Lytro is building on its family of camera products with the addition of exclusive new colors, now available for the holiday season. In addition to the current Red Hot, Electric Blue and Graphite camera colors, Lytro now offers Seaglass and Moxie Pink. Lytro is also introducing a Camera Case and a protective Camera Sleeve.

• The Lytro camera in Seaglass - Available today exclusively on Lytro.com (8GB, $399);
• The Lytro camera in Moxie Pink - Available exclusively today at Target.com and in November at CityTarget stores (8GB, $399);
• Camera Case – Made of technical, coated canvas and lined with soft microfiber, the camera case holds a Lytro camera and includes a removable bucket to hold several accessories. Available at Lytro.com and at select retailers ($59.95);
• Camera Sleeve – Meant for everyday use, the camera sleeve is made of technical, coated canvas and soft microfiber. It includes a matching wrist strap for easy access to the camera. Available at Lytro.com and at select retailers ($29.95).

About Lytro

Lytro is transforming the camera into a powerful computational photography platform, forever changing the way everyone takes and experiences pictures. The first Lytro Light Field Camera offers photographic capabilities never before possible, such as focusing a picture after it’s taken, and creates interactive living pictures that can be endlessly refocused and enjoyed by friends and family online. Founder and Executive Chairman Ren Ng, whose Ph.D. research on light field photography won Stanford University’s prize for best thesis in computer science in 2006 as well as the internationally recognized ACM Dissertation award, founded the company in 2006.

For additional information, visit Lytro.com.