????Lytro新推出的專業(yè)級(jí)“光場(chǎng)”相機(jī)Illum優(yōu)化了第一代相機(jī)的功能，拍攝的圖片更清晰，而且還能調(diào)整景深。此外，它的造型也更接近人們更熟悉的傳統(tǒng)單反相機(jī)。Lytro公司創(chuàng)始人吳仁說(shuō)：“這是我一直想打造的相機(jī)。”

????三年前，吳仁（音譯——譯注）推出創(chuàng)新性相機(jī)Lytro，希望借此革新攝影術(shù)。當(dāng)時(shí)，他在某些方面太過(guò)超前，有些方面又做得還不夠。

????Lytro帶給消費(fèi)者全新的攝影類型——光場(chǎng)攝影，這種方式捕捉的光線數(shù)據(jù)比傳統(tǒng)相機(jī)多得多。Lytro的不足之處在于，它的選取框功能——能在拍攝某影像后重新聚焦的功能——雖然很炫，卻頗為有限，而且顯得有些華而不實(shí)。事實(shí)上，在Lytro發(fā)布相機(jī)兩年后，智能手機(jī)攝像頭已經(jīng)能夠模仿這種效果。

????Lytro做得有些過(guò)頭的是，試圖顛覆相機(jī)設(shè)計(jì)。不同于傳統(tǒng)的傻瓜相機(jī)，Lytro的外型呈長(zhǎng)方塊狀——《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》（ the New York Times）把它比作黃油棒——相機(jī)一端帶有一塊極小的觸摸屏，另一端是鏡頭。

????因此，上市時(shí)標(biāo)價(jià)399美元起、后來(lái)降價(jià)的Lytro相機(jī)一直是叫好不叫座。Lytro公司不愿公布銷售數(shù)字，顯然，它并沒(méi)有沖出所謂的“創(chuàng)新先驅(qū)”買(mǎi)家組成的利基市場(chǎng)。

????而此次推出新品Illum，Lytro似乎有意彌補(bǔ)上一款產(chǎn)品的上述兩個(gè)失誤。

????首先，Illum看著就像相機(jī)——更確切地說(shuō)，它的外形與它試圖挑戰(zhàn)的專業(yè)級(jí)數(shù)碼單反相機(jī)相似。其次，Illum的軟件平臺(tái)大大提升了光場(chǎng)技術(shù)。當(dāng)然，Illum能拍攝可重新聚焦的圖片，但用戶也可重新調(diào)整角度和傾斜度，同時(shí)改變景深。

????Illum的目標(biāo)用戶是專業(yè)人士或攝影發(fā)燒友。這款產(chǎn)品將于今年七月面市，售價(jià)1599美元。這個(gè)價(jià)格不便宜，但I(xiàn)llum能媲美許多數(shù)碼單反相機(jī)，而且它還相當(dāng)于配備了一個(gè)30mm - 250mm的長(zhǎng)焦鏡頭。

????Lytro公司創(chuàng)始人吳仁說(shuō)：“這是我一直想打造的相機(jī)。這是我們一直看好的技術(shù)走向。”

????吳表示，Illum的光場(chǎng)傳感器比一代Lytro相機(jī)的功能要強(qiáng)大三倍，恒定f/2.0光圈，高速機(jī)械快門(mén)，拍攝的圖片比大多數(shù)專業(yè)相機(jī)更清晰，尤其擅長(zhǎng)近距離對(duì)焦微距拍攝。

????Illum的變焦鏡頭不能更換，比同檔次傳統(tǒng)鏡片要輕得多，因此相機(jī)總重量?jī)H約兩磅（約合0.9千克）。大多數(shù)控制是在一個(gè)傾斜度可調(diào)節(jié)的大觸摸屏中進(jìn)行。Illum相機(jī)機(jī)身從側(cè)面看呈梯形，因此觸摸屏不是垂直的，而是默認(rèn)傾斜的，從而更容易使用。觸摸屏帶有轉(zhuǎn)軸，因此能轉(zhuǎn)到不同的位置。Illum還帶有支持閃光燈的插座。

????要想知道Illum能否兌現(xiàn)其承諾，只有等到試用過(guò)該相機(jī)才知道。不過(guò)，吳和Lytro公司的投資者堅(jiān)信Illum這款先鋒產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)成熟，必將大賣(mài)。

????Lytro公司擁有約85名員工，去年年底從一群著名投資者手中募得了4000萬(wàn)美元，其中包括早期支持者安德森?霍洛維茨（Andreessen Horowitz）以及Greylock Partners。2013年早些時(shí)候，安德森?霍洛維茨指派了公司頗受信任的高管杰森?羅森塔爾擔(dān)任Lytro公司首席執(zhí)行官。羅森塔爾曾在網(wǎng)景（Netscape）、Opsware以及Ning等公司與馬克?安德森以及本?霍洛維茨二人共事多年。

????羅森塔爾在談到光場(chǎng)攝影時(shí)說(shuō)：“這是一個(gè)全新的攝影類別。”羅森塔爾稱，專業(yè)相機(jī)市場(chǎng)每年市值約200億美元。“即便我們只占據(jù)一小部分市場(chǎng)份額，我們也能做成大買(mǎi)賣(mài)。”

????羅森塔爾認(rèn)為一代Lytro相機(jī)并不是一款失敗的產(chǎn)品。他表示，一代Lytro相機(jī)的銷售額事實(shí)上甚至還“稍稍”超出預(yù)期，而且哪款產(chǎn)品向消費(fèi)者引入了光場(chǎng)攝影這一概念，同時(shí)催生了一批愿意為L(zhǎng)ytro制造零部件的供應(yīng)商。

????羅森塔爾稱Illum較之一代Lytro“進(jìn)了一大步”，同時(shí)也在提升和普及光場(chǎng)技術(shù)方面前進(jìn)了一大步。他說(shuō)：“我們將繼續(xù)不斷進(jìn)取。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????The pioneering company introduces the Illum, a professional-grade "light field" camera that promises sharper pictures and an adjustable depth of field.

????When Ren Ng set out to remake photography with his innovative Lytro camera three years ago, he went both too far and not far enough.

????Lytro introduced to consumers a whole new type of photography, called light field photography, which captures far more light data than traditional cameras. It didn't go far enough because its marquee feature -- the ability to refocus an image after it was shot -- while dazzling, seemed limited and a little gimmicky. Indeed, two years after Lytro released its camera, smartphone cameras have found ways to mimic the effect.

????Where Lytro went too far is in trying to reinvent camera design. Unlike traditional point-and-shoot cameras, Lytro's was shaped like an elongated square block -- the New York Times compared it to a stick of butter -- with a touchscreen, which was too small, at one end and lens at the other.

????As a result, the Lytro camera, which was introduced at $399 and up but later dropped in price, never lived up to the hype it received. The company won't release sales figures, a sure sign that it never got past a niche market of what it calls "creative pioneers."

????As it tries again with a new camera, Lytro seems to be addressing both of its initial missteps.

????For starters, the new camera, the Lytro Illum, looks like a camera -- more specifically, it looks like the kind of professional-grade digital single-lens reflex camera it is trying to compete with. Second, the Illum's software platform takes light field's technology several steps further than its predecessor. The Illum takes images that can be refocused, of course, but users can also shift perspective and tilt, and change the depth of field.

????The Illum is aimed at professional or serious amateur photographers and will be available in July for $1,599. That's not cheap, but it's comparable to many dSLRs, especially considering that it's equipped with the equivalent of a 30mm-250mm telephoto lens.

????"This is the camera I always wanted to build," says Ng, Lytro's founder. "This is the direction we always thought the technology would go."

????”

????Ng says the Illum, which has a light field sensor four times more powerful than the original Lytro camera, a constant f/2.0 aperture, and a high-speed mechanical shutter, will take sharper pictures than most professional cameras and will do particularly well with close-focus macro shots.

????The Illum's zoom lens, which is not interchangeable, is much lighter than traditional lenses with similar range, giving the camera a total weight of about two pounds. Most of the controls are in a large touchscreen whose tilt can be adjusted. The camera's body, when viewed from the side, is shaped like a trapezoid, so that the touchscreen, rather than being vertical, is tilted by default, making it easier to use. The touchscreen is on a hinge, so it can be moved to different positions. The Illum also has a hot shoe that supports a flash.

????It's impossible to know whether the Illum will deliver on its promise until the camera is available for testing. But Ng and Lytro's investors are betting that the photography pioneer is ripe for takeoff.

????The company, which has about 85 employees, raised $40 million late last year from a group of marquee investors, including early backers like Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock Partners. Earlier in 2013, Andreessen Horowitz tapped one of its most trusted lieutenants, Jason Rosenthal, to be Lytro's CEO. Rosenthal had a long history of working with both Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at companies like Netscape, Opsware, and Ning.

????"This is a new category in photography," Rosenthal says about light field photography. The market for professional cameras, he says, is about $20 billion a year. "If all we did was take fractional market share, we'd be a big business."

????Rosenthal rejects the notion that the original Lytro camera was a flop. He says sales exceeded projections "slightly" and that the camera introduced consumers to the concept of light field photography. It also helped to seed a market of suppliers who are willing to build components for Lytro.

????He describes the Illum as "a huge step forward" from its predecessor, and as just one step on the path to enhancing and popularizing light field technology. "We'll do that again and again and again," he says.