[matsemann]

> Killer feature of this new technology was the ability to refocus the image after it was taken! (...), the camera was trying to solve a problem that didn’t exist

A related camera technology, but which I've found great to use, is 360 cameras. The ability to re-frame (not focus) the image as I want in post is so great. No longer do I have to spend many attempts positioning a camera perfect, just shoot and later "point" the camera correctly. For instance when filming ski videos, it could take multiple attempts getting the angle correct to get exactly the person+jump in view. Now it just works.

[lostforwords]

I worked in scientific imaging and when Lytro came on the scene it showed a lot of promise. It brought the promise that we would be able to clearly capture and measure across multiple focal planes in a single image. Lytro focused on the consumer audience and never produced a product suitable to scientific imaging. You'll see Raytrix is still around in this space as they did embrace the scientific market.

[eyesee]

I worked on 360 cameras / software for many years. Looking forward to the day when an article like this comes out for one of the products I worked on.

When you’re in the heart of it it’s so easy to take pride in the technical challenges you’ve overcome, but completely miss the realities of the marketplace.

[matsemann]

I really love my 360 camera. Use it everyday. I fill my 128 gb memory card multiple times a week. I use it on my helmet when biking for work. On a selfie stick when skiing so that it looks like I have a personal camera man following me (example https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnFtVsMJd39/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M... )

But yeah, they haven't taken that much off compared to traditional action cams. The frame rate and resolution after reframing is the blocker for many. And hard to do that with the current available sensors it seems like, and no one right now wants to gamble on spending much on R&D for launching the next gen.

[eyesee]

The problem is that you’re always at a sensor deficit because you need so much more resolution to cover a wide field of view. When sensors and chipsets would finally catch up, user expectations would grow to match. Now we’re up against physics: Can’t add more resolution past the diffraction limit, and larger sensors are impractical for super fisheye lenses.