Their method captures a light field instantaneously at
the expense of spatial resolution. They place a microlens array where the film would be, followed by a sensor. Each microlens forms an disk on the sensor with angular light distribution. Developed in Mark Levoy's group http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/lfcamera/
This method works nice for photography where all the dimensions involved are much bigger than wavelength.
I work on something like that in fluorescence microscopes.
I can tell you, it is much harder when you have to
consider wave optics.
The idea has been around since the turn of the century.Lippmann proposed it [1]. But the first guy to BUILD a light field camera was a Russian in 1911 [2]. He built a light field camera AND display using a copper plate drilled with 1200 pinholes and reconstructed the light field of a lamp.
BTW, your comment illustrates that much of "computational photography" is just re-application of tricky imaging tech from other fields. Nothing wrong with that, but something to keep in mind.
Of course they're not really holograms - they deal on the "pencil" ray level and not the wave optics level - even so... seeing the first 3D reconstruction of a light field (the apparent image of the lamp) must have been totally thrilling.
Film still has many advantages for plenoptic stuff. It's a large, single-use sensor.
Comments
Their method captures a light field instantaneously at the expense of spatial resolution. They place a microlens array where the film would be, followed by a sensor. Each microlens forms an disk on the sensor with angular light distribution. Developed in Mark Levoy's group http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/lfcamera/
I guess Ren Ng is behind the company as he was first author: http://graphics.stanford.edu/~renng/
This method works nice for photography where all the dimensions involved are much bigger than wavelength. I work on something like that in fluorescence microscopes. I can tell you, it is much harder when you have to consider wave optics.
Here is a related talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THzykL_BLLI
The idea has been around since the turn of the century.Lippmann proposed it [1]. But the first guy to BUILD a light field camera was a Russian in 1911 [2]. He built a light field camera AND display using a copper plate drilled with 1200 pinholes and reconstructed the light field of a lamp.
BTW, your comment illustrates that much of "computational photography" is just re-application of tricky imaging tech from other fields. Nothing wrong with that, but something to keep in mind.
[1]http://www.tgeorgiev.net/Lippmann/index.html [2]http://www.futurepicture.org/?p=34
Cool! I only heard of Lippmann's holograms before. And now I would really like to see the 3D pinhole camera!
Of course they're not really holograms - they deal on the "pencil" ray level and not the wave optics level - even so... seeing the first 3D reconstruction of a light field (the apparent image of the lamp) must have been totally thrilling.
Film still has many advantages for plenoptic stuff. It's a large, single-use sensor.
I was refering to Lippmann holograms or interference colour photography ([1]).
His technique from 1891 preceded the first "real" photographic film and is based on a standing wave pattern in the photographic emulsion.
This hologram only works from one viewing angle but it can be reconstructed with white light.
The holograms needed to much integration time to be of practical use. And apparently they are still very colourfull.
[1] http://holography.co.uk/archives/Bjelkhagen/Belkhagen.pdf