tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/digital-camera-4019/articlesDigital camera – The Conversation2023-02-24T13:12:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988542023-02-24T13:12:03Z2023-02-24T13:12:03ZWhy are so many Gen Z-ers drawn to old digital cameras?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508381/original/file-20230206-19-4a5n1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=287%2C473%2C4423%2C2925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A student on a school bus holding a digital point-and-shoot camera.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Student_on_school_bus_holding_camera.jpg">Jason Zhang/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The latest digital cameras boast ever-higher resolutions, better performance in low light, smart focusing and shake reduction – and they’re <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-phone-cameras,review-2272.html">built right into your smartphone</a>.</p>
<p>Even so, some Gen Z-ers are now opting for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/07/technology/digital-cameras-olympus-canon.html">point-and-shoot digital cameras from the early 2000s</a>, before many of them were born.</p>
<p>It’s something of a renaissance, and not just for older cameras. The digital camera industry as a whole is seeing a resurgence. Previously, industry revenue peaked in 2010 and was shrinking annually through 2021. Then it saw new growth in 2022, and <a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/consumer-electronics/tv-radio-multimedia/digital-cameras/worldwide">it is projected to continue growing for the coming years</a>. </p>
<p>But why?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.lifewire.com/why-digital-cameras-are-cool-again-and-how-to-make-the-most-of-them-7099549">One explanation</a> is nostalgia, or a yearning for the past. And indeed, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-made-us-nostalgic-for-a-past-that-held-the-promise-of-a-future-140651">nostalgia can be an effective coping strategy</a> in times of change and upheaval – the COVID-19 pandemic is just one of the disorienting shifts of the past few decades.</p>
<p>But my research on <a href="https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/information-experience-in-theory-and-design/?k=9781839093692">people’s experiences with technology</a>, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/info10100297">includes photography</a>, suggests a deeper explanation: seeking meaning. </p>
<p>It’s not that these Gen Z-ers are longing to return to childhood, but that they are finding and expressing their values through their technological choices. And there’s a lesson here for everyone.</p>
<h2>The human need for meaning</h2>
<p>Humans have many needs – food, shelter, sex and so on. But humans also <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/6301">feel the urge to find meaning in life</a>. </p>
<p>Meaning is <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-differences-between-happiness-and-meaning-in-life/">different from happiness</a>. Though happiness and meaning are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760802303044">often correlated</a>, meaning doesn’t necessarily include the pleasure that characterizes happiness. Meaningful pursuits may involve struggle, suffering or even sacrifice. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858225">Meaning also lasts longer</a>, whereas happiness is fleeting.</p>
<p>What does meaning do for people? </p>
<p>At its core, meaning is about identifying one’s values and making choices to develop oneself as a person. It allows a person to engage with the various aspects of their personality – “the multitudes” contained therein, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-walt-whitmans-leaves-of-grass-and-the-complex-life-of-the-poet-of-america-116055">Walt Whitman</a> wrote. </p>
<p>Put differently, meaning is about weaving a personal narrative from the facts of life. And it really is a need, not just something that’s nice to have. <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/finding-meaning-in-an-imperfect-world-9780190657666?cc=us&lang=en&">Meaning is what makes life feel valuable and worth living</a>.</p>
<h2>Seeking meaning with technology</h2>
<p>Why do people adopt one technology over another? According to what scholars call the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/technology-acceptance-model">technology acceptance model</a>, people consider two major aspects when choosing a technology: its perceived usefulness and its perceived ease of use.</p>
<p>But certainly there are other considerations, especially for personal technologies. People choose some technologies for <a href="https://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol15/iss2/1/">the way they contribute to meaning</a>. And the search for meaning extends beyond choosing a technology to the way a person uses and experiences it. For example, many people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000232">use social media in constructing their sense of self</a>.</p>
<p>In my own research, I <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24142">discerned four themes involved</a> in people’s meaningful experiences with technology: </p>
<ol>
<li><strong>Presence</strong>: People choose formats and technologies that will help them be more present and attentive during the experience.</li>
<li><strong>Centripetal force</strong>: A person’s relationship with the technology begins with a central practice but gradually expands to become a bigger part of their life. For example, as a person’s photography practice becomes more meaningful, they may find themselves printing photos, curating their collection and shopping for more equipment.</li>
<li><strong>Curiosity</strong>: A sense of wonder and interest guides the experience. </li>
<li><strong>Self-construction</strong>: Meaningful experiences with technology contribute to the person’s sense of self.</li>
</ol>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551516670099">my research on ultra-distance runners</a>, who run races even longer than marathons, I saw all these elements at play. Runners chose particular shoes, GPS watches, sensors and software – or avoided them – in part to be more present with their bodies.</p>
<p>This can make the running itself more meaningful, along with other activities such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-03-2017-0071">writing race recaps</a>, keeping a training log and sharing photos. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Runner wearing orange pinnie checks watch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512084/original/file-20230223-5838-ucxxfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Marathoner Youssef Sbaai checks his watch after winning the Sofia Marathon in October 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/youssef-sbaai-of-morocco-seen-checking-his-watch-after-news-photo/1229021181?phrase=runner%20checking%20watch&adppopup=true">Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over time, running becomes a central part of a person’s identity – they become “a runner.” In the end, long-distance running is not always enjoyable, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2016.1206826">but it is definitely meaningful</a>.</p>
<p>And so technology, whether it’s the kind associated with running or some other activity, becomes a key way people can discern their values and make choices that support and better embody those values. </p>
<h2>The meaning within old digital cameras</h2>
<p>In this context, using a standalone digital camera immediately enhances the meaningfulness of an experience. Meaning is about exercising choice, and nowadays most people don’t own a camera at all – they just use their smartphone. </p>
<p>Digital cameras also enable presence: You need to remember to carry the camera around, and in return it won’t give you notifications or show you other apps while you’re shooting.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A sleek and minimalist point-and-shoot digital camera from 2008." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508397/original/file-20230206-15-tnvv3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=652&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 2008 Nikon Coolpix S520, one example of the kinds of digital cameras seeing a resurgence today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Speed/Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That goes for any standalone camera. But old cameras, in particular, have a set of qualities that help users make meaning. </p>
<p>First, the image quality is poorer. But on social media, photos that get posted are less about polish and precision and more about sharing experiences and telling stories. As social media theorist Nathan Jurgenson writes in his book “<a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2947-the-social-photo">The Social Photo</a>,” “As a medium, social photography becomes an important means to experience something not representable as an image but instead as a social process: an appreciation of impermanence for its own sake.”</p>
<p>As a person chooses which photos to share and how to edit them, they are expressing their values and developing their sense of self. To some extent, smartphone photo filters allow for some of this expression, but old digital cameras produce different kinds of visual effects and lack <a href="https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/what-is-an-ai-camera/">the automated features</a> designed to professionalize the look of each image.</p>
<p>Older cameras also introduce challenges in getting the images onto social media. They require cables, software and multiple steps to transfer the images. It’s a far cry from one-click <a href="https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-dall-e-2-and-the-collapse-of-the-creative-process-196461">image generation with artificial intelligence</a>. What this means is that photography involves many more activities beyond simply taking photos. Photography becomes a bigger part of one’s life. </p>
<p>All this friction increases a person’s involvement in the process, inviting choices along the way. This is precisely the thinking behind <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557178">the slow technology movement</a>, which aims to design technology for goals like self-reflection, rather than efficiency or productivity. Research on meaningful design shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3064857.3079126">people form stronger attachments to products</a> when they have to make more choices or get more involved. </p>
<p>When it comes to finding meaning in older forms of photography – whether you use a digital camera or a film camera – the slower process of creating and sharing images outweighs the speed, efficiency and crisp imagery of smartphone cameras. </p>
<h2>Crafting a more meaningful life</h2>
<p>The meaning hidden within old digital cameras contains broader lessons.</p>
<p>In recent years, critics have bemoaned <a href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/everything-is-broken">the rupturing of social institutions</a> and the transformation of digital platforms into places that merely serve as <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/">vehicles to sell ads and collect data from users</a>. During the pandemic, life itself threatened to go digital with all <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-metaverse-and-what-can-we-do-there-179200">the hype surrounding the metaverse</a>. </p>
<p>I believe that a key to living well in the near future is to identify where you can create choices, so you don’t feel like you’re drifting along at the mercy of algorithms and the whims of Big Tech.</p>
<p>Perhaps you could start <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html">a chapter of the Luddite Club</a> – as a group of teens in Brooklyn recently did – and play board games in the park on weekends. Perhaps you could opt for a paper book rather than a podcast, specifically because you can’t do something else while you’re reading it.</p>
<p>On the surface, deliberately rejecting the latest, flashiest forms of technology may seem like a problem – “You’ll be left behind and miss out!” </p>
<p>But on the other hand, slowing down life by engaging with slower technology creates space to make choices more thoughtfully in relation to your values – and cultivate more meaningful involvement in your own life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198854/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Gorichanaz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Smartphone cameras tend to be more advanced than their clunky, point-and-shoot predecessors. But the allure of cameras from the early 2000s reflects a broader search for meaning.Tim Gorichanaz, Assistant Teaching Professor of Information Studies, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1242952019-09-30T13:37:38Z2019-09-30T13:37:38ZStreamed music and digital images have driven the comeback of vinyl and printed photos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294781/original/file-20190930-194832-7g42rt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C4%2C997%2C661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Larina Marina via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The resurgence of vinyl records in a time of digital music and streaming is a story of how innovation can make technological comebacks possible. In the summer of 2019, the sales of vinyl albums are on the verge of becoming <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/vinyl-cds-revenue-growth-riaa-880959/">the largest source of revenue</a> from physical sales in the music industry. This follows 15 years of upward trend – today, while remaining a niche product, the vinyl record may well eventually survive to be the only analogue medium for music, as the sales of CD continue their downward spiral. </p>
<hr>
<iframe id="noa-web-audio-player" style="border: none" src="https://embed-player.newsoveraudio.com/v4?key=x84olp&id=https://theconversation.com/streamed-music-and-digital-images-have-driven-the-comeback-of-vinyl-and-printed-photos-124295&bgColor=F5F5F5&color=D8352A&playColor=D8352A" width="100%" height="110px"></iframe>
<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Researchers in sociology and consumer culture <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1469540513488403">have shown</a> how this trend goes well beyond nostalgia – buyers of vinyl are attracted by its status as an object, its physical presence. This attraction matters even more today, as most of the time listening to a song does not involve buying a physical support anymore.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/back-on-record-the-reasons-behind-vinyls-unlikely-comeback-39964">Back on record – the reasons behind vinyl's unlikely comeback</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167811617300800">Our study</a> starts from this vinyl comeback. We try to show how it is precisely the process of innovation, in which a new product or technology replaces an outdated one, that opens the possibility for an even older and obsolete product or technology to become relevant again. </p>
<p>To do so, we need to go <a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/620129/digital-flashback-cds-bury-vinyl/">back to the late 1980s</a>, when sales of compact discs outsold vinyl records for the first time (in 1988), and then the sales of cassettes (in 1993). <a href="http://www.icce.rug.nl/%7Esoundscapes/VOLUME02/Trends_and_shifts_in_music_sales.shtml">In 1998</a>, vinyl represented only 0.7% of the total music industry revenues.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294789/original/file-20190930-194819-hg8yof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three generations of recorded sound.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HK-PHOTOGRAPHY via Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why did consumers start to abandon vinyl and cassettes? Because compact discs are more resistant to scratches. Because they are simply more practical, easier to store, and easier to switch to the song you want to listen to. Because compact discs were sold to them as of superior sound quality: they can in theory emulate the sound of vinyl to a sampling rate <a href="http://sites.music.columbia.edu/cmc/MusicAndComputers/chapter2/02_03.php">indistinguishable from the original to the human ear</a> while being able to reproduce <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/%7Ewww_pa/Scots_Guide/iandm/part12/page2.html">more extreme frequencies</a> (<a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/381297/pdf?casa_token=pXjsTFjsF7oAAAAA:x8mNiMYBQr3FDLrPHYCG12Zpp2RrdHcvUErKpEI4Iq9ptvspRZFPxdExe6Jwy0DySJt5OK5Fl3I">purists disagree</a>). </p>
<p>Three decades later, digital music has replaced compact discs. <a href="https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Mid-Year-2019-RIAA-Music-Revenues-Report.pdf">In the US</a>, the streaming industry accounts for 80% of music industry revenues. Looking back at the criteria that made the vinyl obsolete, the current streaming technology outperforms compact discs in every dimension: high sound quality and no scratches or storage problems. </p>
<p>The only characteristic on which the compact disc can compete is its physical presence – some people want to possess an object they can touch and display in their home. But on this dimension, it seems vinyl is doing much better than compact discs. Hence, people attracted by the object are more likely to buy a vinyl to complement their digital consumption. </p>
<p>The music industry and vinyl retailers have well understood the importance of that dimension. Recent new and re-releases of vinyl incorporate special features which <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1469540513488403">play up the attractions</a> of buying vinyl. <a href="http://www.pressingvinyl.co.uk/index.php/2014/06/heavyweight-180g-vinyl/">Heavyweight vinyl pressing</a> suggests the importance of the musical content. The same holds for coloured vinyl or other special features such as cover art posters.</p>
<h2>Predators and prey</h2>
<p>This is a story of predators and prey – and is not unique to the music industry. Once the appearance of a new technology leads to the extinction of the previous one, it can be interesting to look at what existed before. Some of the characteristics of a long-extinct technology may have become relevant again now that the predator has disappeared. The key is then to identify how to emphasise these characteristics to the old format work alongside the new format.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/294784/original/file-20190930-194866-1k7vpab.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making a comeback? Polaroid cameras.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Savanevich Viktar via Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the photography industry, the first generation of analogue films has been almost entirely replaced by a second generation of digital cameras. A third generation, based on smartphones and social networks, was not originally designed for physical printing.</p>
<p>As more and more consumers now use the third-generation, abandoning digital cameras – according to <a href="http://www.cipa.jp/stats/dc_e.html">data by the Camera and Imaging Product Association</a>, shipments of digital cameras have decreased by more than 60% between 2010 and 2019 – the physical dimension of analogue photography seems to have become a useful complement. As a result, photography on film has started to return as a niche product – and discontinued products such as Kodak’s <a href="https://time.com/4649188/film-photography-industry-comeback/">Ektachrome</a> or <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/fujifilm-black-and-white-film-neopan-100-across-ii/">Fujifilm’s black and white films</a> are being reintroduced. </p>
<p>Some consumers, who had abandoned products of the first generation start using them again as a complement to the third one. As in the case of vinyl recordings, the industry has well understood the demand for tangible photography, beyond simply reverting to old cameras. Polaroid <a href="https://newatlas.com/digital-cameras/polaroid-lab-smartphone-instant-printer/">is soon to release</a> a “Lab” to print analogue pictures of images taken on smartphones. Fujifilm’s Instax, meanwhile, offers the possibility to print a format similar to Polaroid based on digital pictures. </p>
<p>Not every comeback is possible. Many products and technologies disappear because they have nothing useful to bring anymore. But when a new product or technology starts dominating a market, it may be a good idea to look at what existed two or three generations before. This may well prove to be part of the future – even if it’s just a small one.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renaud Foucart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vinyl records are set to become the largest source of revenue from physical music sales.Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/472672015-09-24T05:38:47Z2015-09-24T05:38:47ZSnap: smartphones give dedicated digital cameras a run for their money<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95768/original/image-20150923-25782-1cq0f1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Smartphone cameras do have their uses but can they rival a traditional digital camera?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashtonpal/9624479689/">Flickr/AshtonPal</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple’s recent offering of <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-provides-a-technology-spritz-keeping-their-products-fresh-but-familiar-47360">new tech toys</a> includes the latest <a href="http://www.apple.com/au/iphone/compare/">iPhone</a> – available in <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2015/09/21iPhone-6s-iPhone-6s-Plus-Arrive-on-Friday-September-25.html">stores from Friday</a> – and it boasts some mighty camera power.</p>
<p>Looking at the 12-megapixel (MP) still image size and 4K video in the <a href="http://www.apple.com/au/iphone-6s/">iPhone 6S</a>, we need to wonder if this is the only camera/video recorder you’ll ever need? In fact, how long will we continue to call these digital pocket-size computers “smartphones”, since the ability to use them as a phone seems less important that other functions?</p>
<p>But can a smartphone camera outsmart the more traditional digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) or the mirrorless cameras favoured by enthusiasts and professional photographers?</p>
<p>The new iPhone is getting plenty of <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/first-review-apples-iphone-6s-has-two-killer-features-that-will-change-everything/story-fn6vihic-1227539486975">reviews this week</a>, but let’s take a deeper a look at what Apple is offering in the camera department.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95666/original/image-20150922-16682-x0jdzg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The leap from 8MP to 12MP is not that great and far from the 24MP of a typical DSLR.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation (Background image: Flickr/Reto Fetz)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s worth examining the megapixel arms race a bit more clearly and you can see the jump from iPhone 5’s 8MP to 12MP is not that great. So before you run off to update your iPhone or Android device, keep the pixel count in mind. </p>
<p>So a 12MP image on the new iPhone is not that much bigger, especially when compared to some of the typical DSLRs on the market at the moment. These can take <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/best-dslr-cameras/">images up to 24MP</a> and even higher, some even <a href="https://photographylife.com/are-you-ready-for-50-mp-cameras">pushing 50MP</a>.</p>
<p>Those iPhone publicity photographs we are seeing displayed on large billboards are a bit of a stretch. We view billboards from great distances and they are generally printed at 50 to 150 DPI. We should be just as impressed with the actual printer quality and how it handles the data, rather than the data sent to the printer from the iPhone.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95769/original/image-20150923-25794-y6z9v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shot on an iPhone – the billboard campaign by Apple to showcase photos taken on iPhones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If we were to put a two-metre-wide photographic quality print made from a good-quality DSLR camera, such as a Nikon or a Canon, next to a print made from an 8MP iPhone in a gallery setting, the quality of the DSLR’s image would be obvious, especially when you can walk up to the print and look into the detail.</p>
<p>So if your images need to live as print, as well as on screen, then the DSLR is still the way to go. But if your images are only going to live on a screen of some sort, then maybe you never need to use a DSLR again. </p>
<h2>DSLR vs the smartphone</h2>
<p>Of course there are plenty of things to consider other than just the megapixels, such as image sensor size, zoom and focus options, low light conditions and other functions and options. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FHUf6yE-Hts?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>This globally networked lens can also expose the less friendly corners of the planet via apps such as <a href="http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=11E76B66-D949-4738-9347-E67FBFBB9441">eyeWitness to atrocities</a>, developed by the International Bar Association. </p>
<p>The app permits sound, video and photo recording, locks the data so it can’t be manipulated and sends it to a secure cloud. The data can then be verified and distributed to global media. </p>
<p>So when it comes to deciding which camera to use, I feel it’s about intent. Most of the time photographers will go for the device that gives then the ability to best craft an image.</p>
<p>Control of light, depth of field, quality of focus, bokeh, focal length, framing and that crucial capturing of the moment in time and space are all second nature to many photographers.</p>
<p>A photographer will also make good use of a smartphone when needed. Benjamin Lowy’s iPhone photos have made it onto <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/06/time-magazine-cover-shot-with-iphone/">the cover of Time magazine</a>. He also found the iPhone made him less of a target in <a href="http://www.benlowy.com/editorial/libya--revolution/libya--the-fall-of-tripoli/">war zones such as Libya</a>. Using an iPhone, he could move quickly and blend with the crowd unencumbered by camera bags. </p>
<p>“It’s a fast little camera and I do like that on a tough assignment,” he said. Although he added that the “pros will push me aside”, assuming he is a tourist or an amateur.</p>
<h2>The choice is yours</h2>
<p>One thing new smartphones have yet to address is the issue of batteries. Many years ago traditional cameras did not have batteries, so they never suffered from a flat battery. Today’s digital cameras do need batteries but their life can far exceed that of a smartphone, lasting many weeks compared to about a day on a smartphone.</p>
<p>There was a time when cameras were purchases for life; they were handed down from generation to generation. No need for a megapixel count, they were resolution-independent. They just relied on good film and quality lenses. </p>
<p>Today’s smartphones and digital cameras will never be handed down to a new generation, unless they are digital archaeologists. </p>
<p>In the end, no matter what device you choose to use, it’s who’s behind the technology that counts. And if you wait around long enough we may see the best apps of the smartphone and the best qualities of a DSLR converge and then what will we call it?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip George does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The latest iPhone from Apple is out Friday and it offers a bigger and better camera than previous models. But will smartphone cameras ever replace the traditional digital cameras?Phillip George, Associate Professor, UNSW Art & Design , UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/357902015-01-12T06:21:55Z2015-01-12T06:21:55ZThe enduring appeal of analogue in a digital world<p>Everyday objects with network connections that can collect and share data or be remotely controlled – the Internet of Things – promise to transform the way we interact with the world around us by fusing the physical and digital into what is gradually being referred to as “<a href="http://thephygital.com/">phygital</a>”.</p>
<p>As an example, take the new <a href="http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/01/06/ces2015-polaroid/">Socialmatic camera</a> by Polaroid. The camera updates the original instant-print Polaroid film camera developed in the 1960s to a digital camera with built-in printer that is also network-connected to share images directly to social media sites. In a somewhat knowing, self-referencing way, the camera is shaped like a giant Instagram logo – the original photo app whose “retro” filters re-popularised the look of film to a generation raised on digital. </p>
<p>Is the appeal of analogue in a digital world simply nostalgia for the old days, or a growing trend?</p>
<p>With the Polaroid camera it’s both. The concept of such a physical-digital hybrid camera was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8222753.stm">initially conceived in 2009</a>, <a href="http://www.digit.in/digital-cameras/polaroids-new-camera-prints-and-shares-pictures-24774.html">developed further in 2012</a>, unveiled in May 2013 and is <a href="http://www.gizmag.com/polaroid-socialmatic-available-preorder/35246/">due for release in 2015</a>. Why has it taken so long to come to fruition? Perhaps because it’s only in recent years that the approach of the IoT has reinvigorated people’s interest in the appeal of hybrid analogue-digital objects.</p>
<h2>The rise of hybrid games</h2>
<p>The hybridisation of physical and digital elements can be found in other fields, such as in video games and toys. In fact, physical game pieces are becoming a popular addition to traditional ones and mobile digital gaming, such as real-world game character figurines like captain Jack Sparrow. Large game studios such as Disney Infinity and Activision are merging their video game and toy divisions into exciting seamless experiences through game titles such as <a href="http://www.skylanders.com">Skylanders</a> and <a href="https://infinity.disney.com">Disney Infinity</a>.</p>
<p>These games include collectible real-world figurines that can be imported (through digital imaging) into the video game, so that characters from Skylanders or Disney can come alive in the video game world. In mobile games such as Tangible Play’s <a href="https://www.playosmo.com">Osmo</a>, real-world objects are used in combination with an iPad to bring children back towards physical play, solving puzzles with blocks or by playing word games with physical letter tiles.</p>
<p>These games have been a terrific success – Skylanders has sold 175m toys and reached the <a href="http://uk.ign.com/articles/2014/02/07/skylanders-in-top-20-game-franchises-ever-175-million-toys-sold">top 20 highest-selling videogame franchises of all time</a>, with <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/17/5320206/disney-infinity-sales-3-million-units">similar results</a> for Disney Infinity and <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/10/16/kids-games-device-osmo-secures-12m-hits-apple-retail-stores">Osmo</a>. The appeal for physical toys in a digital game world has given rise to a whole new genre of hybrid “phygital” games. </p>
<p>The fact this has managed to win over digitally-minded youngsters shows real promise for its appeal to a more technologically-sceptical older generation.</p>
<h2>The appeal of analogue</h2>
<p>But what makes our experience with the analogue world and physical objects so magical even in today’s digitally-dominated world?</p>
<p>Looking back at early childhood development, it’s through touch we first perceive and make sense of the world around us. The physical, material nature of objects, their colour, texture, shape, size, weight and smell engage our senses. That is why many still <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/06/ebooks-print-books-outsold_n_5940654.html">prefer actual books to e-books</a>: it’s the warm feel of paper as opposed to the coolness of plastic and metal. The fresh aroma of a new book, or the pungent scent of an old volume, something simply absent from its digital counterpart. The rustle of turning pages compared to the clicking of an e-reader. All-in-all, a truly multisensory experience.</p>
<p>Even in a marketplace increasingly dominated by online shopping, physically interacting with products is still relevant and why physical stores still have an important role to play. For example, major brands such as Apple retain high street stores because the physical experience and interaction with the company’s products <a href="http://reshaping-ict.ft.com/digital/are-physical-stores-still-relevant-in-a-digital-world">remains at the heart of the shopping experience</a>.</p>
<p>And it is here that analogue’s appeal wins out: by fulfilling our need to make the intangible tangible, in order for to meaningfully interpret the world around us.</p>
<p>Being tangible also means being able to easily share something. Certainly this is true of printed photos, passing them around to spark conversation or attaching a treasured image to the fridge – things digital photos cannot do. Making play physical encourages collaboration between the generations, where games with physical pieces can be enjoyed by young and old without the need to master any digital skills.</p>
<p>We live in an increasingly digital age, but despite this – perhaps because of this – the yearning for analogue is re-emerging. Despite all the progress possible through increased digitisation of the world, the physical is deeply imprinted in our biological and psychological makeup, and is how we make sense of our world. It’s here to stay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Tsekleves does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everyday objects with network connections that can collect and share data or be remotely controlled – the Internet of Things – promise to transform the way we interact with the world around us by fusing…Emmanuel Tsekleves, Senior Lecturer in Design Interactions, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/100302012-10-09T19:37:38Z2012-10-09T19:37:38ZFocus after the fact: the Lytro light field camera is in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16275/original/xfk2zqd2-1349666848.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Lytro is ripe for exploitation in ways that have yet to be explored.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Thomas Hawk</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve all been there: the photo that would rock if not for the dodgy focus, highlighting a pot plant instead of your subject’s head. Today, nine-or-so months after its launch in the US, the <a href="https://www.lytro.com/camera">Lytro camera</a> will be available to buy in Australia – bringing with it the ability to refocus pictures in incredible detail after the fact. </p>
<p>The rectangular-prism-shaped Lytro is an innovative device that combines recent advances in the number of megapixels that can be packed into a digital camera’s image sensor, the fabrication of miniature optics, and computer image processing techniques to produce an affordable, new type of image recorder, that <a href="https://www.lytro.com/camera">the manufacturer describes</a> as a “light-field camera”. </p>
<p>Of its many unique features, the ability to choose what part of the picture should be in sharpest focus after the image has been recorded is being seen as a huge selling point. </p>
<h2>Sure … wait, what?</h2>
<p>To understand how such “focusing after the fact” works, think about how we gather visual information about our surroundings. Each point on an object emits rays of light fanning out in many directions. Imagine these rays as straight lines travelling through space. Our eye captures a small bundle of these rays, and focuses them back to a single point on the retina. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16276/original/28m9vtyw-1349666962.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JefferyTurner</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same process happens in a conventional camera, where the image sensor takes the place of the retina. But in the process of focusing, we lose track of exactly which rays were travelling in which directions. </p>
<p>It is this detail which gives us the information about how far away the object is: for a distant object, the rays of light will be more closely parallel to each other than for a nearby object, where the rays are more divergent. </p>
<p>This is why we have to change the focus of the camera between near and far, so that the lens supplies the right amount of change in divergence to bring the rays from a certain distance to a good focus. </p>
<p>But then rays from points at other distances are not brought to an exact focus, and so these points turn out blurry. What we need is a way of recording at once both the positions and the directions of arrival of all of the light rays from an object. That’s what the Lytro does.</p>
<h2>Open wide</h2>
<p>The front lens of the Lytro is similar to an ordinary, large-aperture camera lens, forming an image near the <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/digitalcameras/lytro-light-field-camera-lets-you-focus-after-taking-your-shot/5328">11 megarays</a> image sensor. But just in front of the sensor is an array of tiny microlenses, with very short focal lengths. </p>
<p>Each microlens covers the area of a number of pixels on the image sensor, and focuses an image of the back of the main camera lens on to it. The pixels record which part of the main lens a ray came through: that is, the direction of arrival of the ray at the sensor, for that particular spot on the main image. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JDyRSYGcFVM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>So what we end up with is a four-dimensional map of the intensities of all of the light rays entering the camera: two dimensions of space data, and two dimensions of corresponding direction data. </p>
<p>This data set is referred to as the “<a href="http://www.lytro.com/science_inside">light field</a>”. You could think of this as being like having many little cameras inside the big camera, each one recording the same scene but from a slightly different viewpoint from within the area of the main camera lens.</p>
<p>With some clever digital image processing done on a microcomputer inside the camera, it’s possible to recombine all these little pictures and overlap them, so that any particular desired object in the scene is in focus. At the same time, it’s possible to correct for any aberrations in the main lens, since we know which part of the lens each ray came through. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16277/original/rvprsx52-1349667080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Rhodes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main lens is always used at full aperture, so light gathering power is at a maximum and the camera can operate under low light levels. </p>
<p>The trade-off is that since we are using many of the sensor pixels for direction information, we don’t have so many to use for position information, meaning the effective resolution of the image is reduced. </p>
<p>But modern megapixel arrays have more than enough pixels to display acceptable resolution, and again clever image processing helps to “fill in the gaps” between sampling points.</p>
<h2>A picture of the future</h2>
<p>The operating principles of the camera place it in a class midway between conventional photography, where all directional information is lost, and the technique of <a href="http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/optmod/holog.html">holography</a>, in which complete position and direction information is recorded (in fact, it is possible to convert a Lytro image file into a <a href="http://paulbourke.net/miscellaneous/hologram/">synthetic hologram</a>). </p>
<p>The big advantages of the Lytro are its portability, low cost, ease of use, digital recording, and ability to be used under ordinary lighting conditions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/16274/original/kmnsq5qf-1349666523.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lytro Group</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What further developments can we expect? An obvious enhancement would be to use much larger pixel arrays (say 100 megapixels) and microlens arrays, giving higher spatial and directional resolution. The manufacturing processes for these already exist. </p>
<p>The Lytro has been manufactured to be very economical and easy to use. The blue and silver models come with 8GB worth of storage for A$399, while A$499 will get you the red model, which comes with 16GB of storage. </p>
<p>But we can expect to see more expensive versions becoming available for scientific and industrial applications. </p>
<p>The flexibility of being able to record the complete light field and to analyse it in detail later makes this design ripe for exploitation in ways that have yet to be explored.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10030/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Wilksch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’ve all been there: the photo that would rock if not for the dodgy focus, highlighting a pot plant instead of your subject’s head. Today, nine-or-so months after its launch in the US, the Lytro camera…Philip Wilksch, Associate Professor, Applied Sciences, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.