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by Stanford graduate student Ren Ng unveiled a revolutionary new way to take photographs, a technique that allows for focus to be adjusted after a picture is taken. Called 'light field photography,' the technique introduces an array of micro-lenses in series with the main lens and the light sensor. These micro-lenses alter the light striking the photosensor which allow recording a magnitude and direction for each incidental light ray. Using this additional information allows a post-processor to reconfigure the image's focus by computing how the light would have struck the sensor at different distances and aperatures. Sample photos best demonstrate the concept by refocusing on various subjects using a shallow depth of field.
At present, the concept works on high end, professional, medium format digital camera systems. In the meantime, regular photographers must settle for such features as vibration reduction and image stabilization for improving focus. Or lay off the caffeine.
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This technology has two very clear uses, although I'm sure countless others will develop if the product comes to market.
Sport Photographers: Despite how 'bright' stadium lights seem, a scene is still very dark in terms of photography. When I was shooting college football from the sidelines, often the only way to really capture the action was waiting for it to be within the guide number of the flash. My Nikon SB-26 could reach out approximately 100 feet and stop the scene at 1/250 of a second. And that still required an f2.8 lens opened all the way to maximize incoming light. This in turn reduced my depth of field which made fast focusing a necessity. Ng's contraption would reduce this requirement from the many variables because the image could be processed afterwards both for sharp focus or to change the highlighted subject altogether.
Photojournalists: I'm specifically thinking of combat embedded photographers. Myself, I end up shooting most of my photos through the ballistic windows of a HMMWV as we drive past. This gives my camera less than a second to actually focus on the subject (thank goodness for the D70's speed!) These micro-lenses would allow a photographer to literally point at the subject and worry about the framing and composition instead of the focus. Often, fast shots are taken 'wider' than optimal so that composition can be cropped later. Shooting wide reduces the amount of pixels dedicated to the subject. So a side effect of getting better composition and worrying about focus later is that a photographer will also get increased resolution on the photo.
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Google Earth by milhous :: NR5 :: Show
Couple these ideas with Satellite Imagery (such as Google Earth) and one would be able to get an even better perspective from above. If you've used Google Earth, you know that when you adjust your focal point, the images (focal plane) stay 2-dimensional. Maybe these points could help detail Satellite Imagery (although, the digital information would be immense). I found the video on the "sample photos best demonstrate" link to be helpful in illustrating the cool effects.