An Unanswered Letter to Lytro

Christopher L. Jorgensen
P.O. Box 546
Ames, IA 50010

October 26, 2011

Lytro, Inc.
200 West Evelyn, Suite 120
Mountain View, CA, 94041

Dear Lytro,

Your camera looks way cool! It would be real neat if you could build a browser app that would allow you to actually manipulate a raw Lytro file. The flash interface is neat, but I’m hoping that’s not an accurate representation of what can actually be done (since it has a limited number of focal points, but the camera doesn’t, correct?).

I’m not sure how cool this is as a consumer of media. If in the end I am left with a static image how do I care how it was created? If there is no interaction allowed after the fact who cares? From the point of view of a media creator I think this idea rocks. Being able to decide the focus in post production is magic!

If the end viewer could control one of these it would be even cooler. Someday I see your product combined with a throwable panoramic camera ball like this: http://jonaspfeil.de/ballcamera but rather than stills it would shoot video. The practical applications might be limited, but the entertainment value would be limitless. Imagine watching a baseball game from the viewpoint of the baseball! That might not be feasible, since the camera would probably explode, but in the not far off people will be grabbing images in never before manners and exploring them in great detail after the event!

I’d buy a Lytro for myself, but I am currently saving up for the iPad 5 (or maybe 6). I think I have $37.14 roughly, so it’ll be a while before I can start saving for a Lytro. I can’t wait to see what people do with your camera! Perhaps by the time I can afford one you will be doing 360 degree video.

Sincerely,

Christopher L. Jorgensen