新一代光场数码相机能重新定义单反吗
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Lytro新推出的专业级“光场”相机Illum优化了第一代相机的功能，拍摄的图片更清晰，而且还能调整景深。此外，它的造型也更接近人们更熟悉的传统单反相机。Lytro公司创始人吴仁说：“这是我一直想打造的相机。” 三年前，吴仁（音译——译注）推出创新性相机Lytro，希望借此革新摄影术。当时，他在某些方面太过超前，有些方面又做得还不够。 Lytro带给消费者全新的摄影类型——光场摄影，这种方式捕捉的光线数据比传统相机多得多。Lytro的不足之处在于，它的选取框功能——能在拍摄某影像后重新聚焦的功能——虽然很炫，却颇为有限，而且显得有些华而不实。事实上，在Lytro发布相机两年后，智能手机摄像头已经能够模仿这种效果。 Lytro做得有些过头的是，试图颠覆相机设计。不同于传统的傻瓜相机，Lytro的外型呈长方块状——《纽约时报》（ the New York Times）把它比作黄油棒——相机一端带有一块极小的触摸屏，另一端是镜头。 因此，上市时标价399美元起、后来降价的Lytro相机一直是叫好不叫座。Lytro公司不愿公布销售数字，显然，它并没有冲出所谓的“创新先驱”买家组成的利基市场。 而此次推出新品Illum，Lytro似乎有意弥补上一款产品的上述两个失误。 首先，Illum看着就像相机——更确切地说，它的外形与它试图挑战的专业级数码单反相机相似。其次，Illum的软件平台大大提升了光场技术。当然，Illum能拍摄可重新聚焦的图片，但用户也可重新调整角度和倾斜度，同时改变景深。 Illum的目标用户是专业人士或摄影发烧友。这款产品将于今年七月面市，售价1599美元。这个价格不便宜，但Illum能媲美许多数码单反相机，而且它还相当于配备了一个30mm - 250mm的长焦镜头。 Lytro公司创始人吴仁说：“这是我一直想打造的相机。这是我们一直看好的技术走向。” 吴表示，Illum的光场传感器比一代Lytro相机的功能要强大三倍，恒定f/2.0光圈，高速机械快门，拍摄的图片比大多数专业相机更清晰，尤其擅长近距离对焦微距拍摄。 Illum的变焦镜头不能更换，比同档次传统镜片要轻得多，因此相机总重量仅约两磅（约合0.9千克）。大多数控制是在一个倾斜度可调节的大触摸屏中进行。Illum相机机身从侧面看呈梯形，因此触摸屏不是垂直的，而是默认倾斜的，从而更容易使用。触摸屏带有转轴，因此能转到不同的位置。Illum还带有支持闪光灯的插座。 要想知道Illum能否兑现其承诺，只有等到试用过该相机才知道。不过，吴和Lytro公司的投资者坚信Illum这款先锋产品已经成熟，必将大卖。 Lytro公司拥有约85名员工，去年年底从一群著名投资者手中募得了4000万美元，其中包括早期支持者安德森•霍洛维茨（Andreessen Horowitz）以及Greylock Partners。2013年早些时候，安德森•霍洛维茨指派了公司颇受信任的高管杰森•罗森塔尔担任Lytro公司首席执行官。罗森塔尔曾在网景（Netscape）、Opsware以及Ning等公司与马克•安德森以及本•霍洛维茨二人共事多年。 罗森塔尔在谈到光场摄影时说：“这是一个全新的摄影类别。”罗森塔尔称，专业相机市场每年市值约200亿美元。“即便我们只占据一小部分市场份额，我们也能做成大买卖。” 罗森塔尔认为一代Lytro相机并不是一款失败的产品。他表示，一代Lytro相机的销售额事实上甚至还“稍稍”超出预期，而且哪款产品向消费者引入了光场摄影这一概念，同时催生了一批愿意为Lytro制造零部件的供应商。 罗森塔尔称Illum较之一代Lytro“进了一大步”，同时也在提升和普及光场技术方面前进了一大步。他说：“我们将继续不断进取。”（财富中文网） 译者：项航 |
The pioneering company introduces the Illum, a professional-grade "light field" camera that promises sharper pictures and an adjustable depth of field. When Ren Ng set out to remake photography with his innovative Lytro camera three years ago, he went both too far and not far enough. Lytro introduced to consumers a whole new type of photography, called light field photography, which captures far more light data than traditional cameras. It didn't go far enough because its marquee feature -- the ability to refocus an image after it was shot -- while dazzling, seemed limited and a little gimmicky. Indeed, two years after Lytro released its camera, smartphone cameras have found ways to mimic the effect. Where Lytro went too far is in trying to reinvent camera design. Unlike traditional point-and-shoot cameras, Lytro's was shaped like an elongated square block -- the New York Times compared it to a stick of butter -- with a touchscreen, which was too small, at one end and lens at the other. As a result, the Lytro camera, which was introduced at $399 and up but later dropped in price, never lived up to the hype it received. The company won't release sales figures, a sure sign that it never got past a niche market of what it calls "creative pioneers." As it tries again with a new camera, Lytro seems to be addressing both of its initial missteps. For starters, the new camera, the Lytro Illum, looks like a camera -- more specifically, it looks like the kind of professional-grade digital single-lens reflex camera it is trying to compete with. Second, the Illum's software platform takes light field's technology several steps further than its predecessor. The Illum takes images that can be refocused, of course, but users can also shift perspective and tilt, and change the depth of field. The Illum is aimed at professional or serious amateur photographers and will be available in July for $1,599. That's not cheap, but it's comparable to many dSLRs, especially considering that it's equipped with the equivalent of a 30mm-250mm telephoto lens. "This is the camera I always wanted to build," says Ng, Lytro's founder. "This is the direction we always thought the technology would go." ” Ng says the Illum, which has a light field sensor four times more powerful than the original Lytro camera, a constant f/2.0 aperture, and a high-speed mechanical shutter, will take sharper pictures than most professional cameras and will do particularly well with close-focus macro shots. The Illum's zoom lens, which is not interchangeable, is much lighter than traditional lenses with similar range, giving the camera a total weight of about two pounds. Most of the controls are in a large touchscreen whose tilt can be adjusted. The camera's body, when viewed from the side, is shaped like a trapezoid, so that the touchscreen, rather than being vertical, is tilted by default, making it easier to use. The touchscreen is on a hinge, so it can be moved to different positions. The Illum also has a hot shoe that supports a flash. It's impossible to know whether the Illum will deliver on its promise until the camera is available for testing. But Ng and Lytro's investors are betting that the photography pioneer is ripe for takeoff. The company, which has about 85 employees, raised $40 million late last year from a group of marquee investors, including early backers like Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners. Earlier in 2013, Andreessen Horowitz tapped one of its most trusted lieutenants, Jason Rosenthal, to be Lytro's CEO. Rosenthal had a long history of working with both Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at companies like Netscape, Opsware, and Ning. "This is a new category in photography," Rosenthal says about light field photography. The market for professional cameras, he says, is about $20 billion a year. "If all we did was take fractional market share, we'd be a big business." Rosenthal rejects the notion that the original Lytro camera was a flop. He says sales exceeded projections "slightly" and that the camera introduced consumers to the concept of light field photography. It also helped to seed a market of suppliers who are willing to build components for Lytro. He describes the Illum as "a huge step forward" from its predecessor, and as just one step on the path to enhancing and popularizing light field technology. "We'll do that again and again and again," he says. |
