Focus after you take the shot

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/06/22/auto.focus.camera/index.html?h...

I wonder how long before we see this in a Pentax?

That is remarkable. Focus bracketing is something which some compacts have already, and could be used in a similar way, but this is something new and amazing. Maybe they can put it in the next Q?

We were talking about this 3 years ago when the tech was first talked about. The interesting thing with the latest announcement is that there has been $50 million of venture capital secured to develop the tech. Interesting times ahead!

Guess the original shots had a large depth of field, and blurring is applied via software. Doesn't the Q offer some bokeh effect?

The Q does it with a filter or maybe through merging two shots with different focus settings (current Sony compacts do this). This is something else though.

So basically it captures all the information to create a '3D model' of the scene, which you can then capture snapshots of with various camera settings or slightly different shooting angles?

this will find it's way into surveillance and radar cameras first before it makes it's way into consumer cameras.
the point and shoot crowd won't wanna pay more for a camera with this, and the d-slr crowd won't need it as long as they got lenses for thier existing system. But law enforcement and military and gubments would surely like the idea og snapping a shot of a crowd and being able to focus in on one individual or group...

I wonder whether you could use this for focus stacking...?

Surely they can do that already? Doubt they're interested in aesthetic differential focus effects! Seeing from slightly different angles in partial 3d might interest them though.

Are you really saying that gadget loving consumers wouldn't love this sort of camera? I think it'll be massive.

It'll make focus stacking look quaint and clunky! You can have as much or as little in focus as you want, if it does what I think it does.

Just to add, this works by using a modified microlens array in front of the sensor.

The thesis PDF shows them hacking an MF digital camera. The 'raw' output is decidedly odd, but the software analyses the sensor data to reconstitute a 'proper' image given your required focus point and range.

The interesting thing is they have packaged not just the capture technology but the web technology to allow you to email images and for other people to selectively choose the focus from your image! Presumably when you look at the gallery images you are using the delivery technology they plan on using...

Matt

I was using Safari when I first looked, and was wondering what the gallery was supposed to show

Then I switched browsers to Firefox and suddenly it worked Pretty amazing stuff.

Apparently there is already software that you can tweak the focus in post processing. Anybody know what it is? Any experience?

There's Focus Magic, which can correct very slight focus blur, and directional movement blur. It's only incrementally better than normal sharpening though, except the movement blur which is slightly more impressive.

I torrented it specifically for correcting shutter induced blur, which it does a great job on - not that I see it very often with my k7

Robots... machine vision... massive possibilities there.

I had a play with the demo. It is fun to play with I admit, but where is the skill? Surely part of the enjoyment of photography is in the actual taking of the photograph, the thinking about it, the composition of it, deciding on what and how much should be in focus?
A depressing prospect if it can all be done in computer later.