Lytro
Thursday, August 21 2014
Lytro Illum: 30 second review
[12:59:53] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor I finally picked-up my Lytro Illum Camera after its shipment delay (due to "technical difficulties at the fulfillment center") and found enough time to write-up my initial impressions after fooling around with it for a short time. Since I haven't really tried to take any real shots with it yet—the camera on paper is about on par for 2-D photographically with a 2001 Canon EOS-1D or a 2003 Nikon D2H. ISO at 2300 looked (subjectively) as good as the 2006 Canon EOS 20D at 1600 as a rough guide at noise control (although the much newer Leica X2 also doesn't like shooting above ISO 1600).
[12:59:53] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor I finally picked-up my Lytro Illum Camera after its shipment delay (due to "technical difficulties at the fulfillment center") and found enough time to write-up my initial impressions after fooling around with it for a short time. Since I haven't really tried to take any real shots with it yet—the camera on paper is about on par for 2-D photographically with a 2001 Canon EOS-1D or a 2003 Nikon D2H. ISO at 2300 looked (subjectively) as good as the 2006 Canon EOS 20D at 1600 as a rough guide at noise control (although the much newer Leica X2 also doesn't like shooting above ISO 1600).
Lytro Illum: 10 second sofware review
[12:59:58] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor The on-camera software is the part of the Lytro Illum about which I find myself most pleased. There are four programmable buttons (labeled for auto-focus, auto-exposure lock, hyperfocal-distance focus, and a generically labeled "function" button), as well as one non-programmable "Lytro" button which toggles—basically—focus-peeking. Of course focus peeking on a Lytor camera is a bit different, but it's still quite nice. Zooming and focusing rotation direction are both controlled by the same setting toggle which is reasonable.
[12:59:58] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor The on-camera software is the part of the Lytro Illum about which I find myself most pleased. There are four programmable buttons (labeled for auto-focus, auto-exposure lock, hyperfocal-distance focus, and a generically labeled "function" button), as well as one non-programmable "Lytro" button which toggles—basically—focus-peeking. Of course focus peeking on a Lytor camera is a bit different, but it's still quite nice. Zooming and focusing rotation direction are both controlled by the same setting toggle which is reasonable.
Lytro Illum: 10 second desktop software review
[13:00:01] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor The desktop software is the oddest bit. It's better than the version 1 of the software I last used. It has basic controls for exposure, and exposes tilt-shift dials (although given the Lytro focus on style and integration, I'd have expected something a little fancier than two sliders to control this—I'm not sure if I should be happy or dissappointed though). While the camera looks like it was designed by photographers, the software looks like it was designed by software developers who hadn't developed raw images. There's no way of selecting a custom grey point either on the camera or in the software, so you're stuck sliding the temperature and tent which is an inexcusable oversight.
[13:00:01] matt [wronka.org]/Psi.cor The desktop software is the oddest bit. It's better than the version 1 of the software I last used. It has basic controls for exposure, and exposes tilt-shift dials (although given the Lytro focus on style and integration, I'd have expected something a little fancier than two sliders to control this—I'm not sure if I should be happy or dissappointed though). While the camera looks like it was designed by photographers, the software looks like it was designed by software developers who hadn't developed raw images. There's no way of selecting a custom grey point either on the camera or in the software, so you're stuck sliding the temperature and tent which is an inexcusable oversight.