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Apple Awarded Patent for Refocusable Camera with Light-Field Technology

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) for a digital camera including a refocusable imaging mode adapter, with the document also discussing the potential use of a similar camera system in a device like the iPhone.

The patent details a camera that is able to be configured to operate in a lower-resolution mode that includes refocusing capability in addition to a high-resolution non-refocusable mode, with the camera's body containing an image mode adaptor to switch between the two.

Also cited in the patent is the plenoptic imaging system used in the Lytro light-field camera, which Apple draws inspiration from but points out that its own microlens array can produce higher-quality images because of a higher spatial resolution. Apple also cites the Lytro's camera system as prior art in the patent.

refocus_lens_in.jpg
Microlens (440) inserted into light path for lower-resolution refocusable images​
A digital camera system configurable to operate in a low-resolution refocusable mode and a high-resolution non-refocusable mode comprising: a camera body; an image sensor mounted in the camera body having a plurality of sensor pixels for capturing a digital image;

An imaging lens for forming an image of a scene onto an image plane, the imaging lens having an aperture; and an adaptor that can be inserted between the imaging lens and the image sensor to provide the low-resolution refocusable mode and can be removed to provide the high-resolution non-refocusable mode,

The adaptor including a microlens array with a plurality of microlenses; wherein when the adaptor is inserted to provide the low-resolution refocusable mode, the microlens array is positioned between the imaging lens and the image sensor.
Click to expand...
refocus_lens_out.jpg
Microlens (440) removed from light path for higher-resolution standard images​
Apple's patent outlines how such a lens system could be integrated with a more complete camera solution incorporating image correction and other features, either in a standalone product or within a mobile device.

The Lytro-like technology naturally leads to speculation that it could be used in Apple's rumored standalone point-and-shoot digital camera, which was first rumored in 2012 after Steve Jobs was quoted his biography done by Walter Isaacson stating his desires for the future involved the reinvention of three industries, with one of them being photography. Isaacson's biography also noted that Jobs had met with the CEO of Lytro, although it has been unclear how much direct interest Apple had in Lytro's technology.

Article Link: Apple Awarded Patent for Refocusable Camera with Light-Field Technology
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/26/apple-awarded-patent-for-refocusable-camera-with-light-field-technology/
M

Meandmunch

macrumors 6502
Jan 3, 2002
496
143
Light field technology is the only way smart phone cameras can continue to shrink in size and increase in quality. Good news.
 
Tankmaze

Tankmaze

macrumors 68000
Mar 7, 2012
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Steve Jobs was quoted his biography done by Walter Isaacson stating his desires for the future involved the reinvention of three industries, with one of them being photography
Click to expand...

Can't agree more, all Tim need to do is to make it happen. And make it right.
 
Klae17

Klae17

macrumors 65816
Jul 15, 2011
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This is pretty legit for once. Clarifying prior art, saying that there has been previous attempts and this is how we are different, and also meeting with the other company.
 
cmChimera

cmChimera

macrumors 601
Feb 12, 2010
4,273
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Klae17 said:
This is pretty legit for once. Clarifying prior art, saying that there has been previous attempts and this is how we are different, and also meeting with the other company.
Click to expand...

Patents do this all the time....
 
2

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
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I looked at the Lytro camera before. the problem with it was that you could not see the picture to do the refocusing without special apps or plugins. I am sure that the technology is improving, but until I can send the picture to a friend or print it out with needed anything special, this will have limited use IMO. I hope that if apple implements this correctly, these issues will be solved. Then this could be a cool new feature to play with.

:cool:
 
L

lzyprson

macrumors regular
Mar 2, 2012
156
13
Waiting patiently for a "DSLR-like" apple camera product. it only makes sense for the company to go in this direction at some point.

I feel like the company, today, has the foundation and more importantly the patience to do something like this. I think they know better than to become bloated with various versions of the same products.

An Apple DSLR-type of camera would be number one on my wish list. Even if it was an upgrade form my point & shoot. I am not a professional photographer by any means, but take tons and tons of pictures with a point/shoot camera, which of course is super confusing to use.
 
jclardy

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,161
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So...Apple just patented a higher resolution Lytro? I don't see how they can be granted this patent especially when there is already a consumer product on the market using the technology. It would be like patenting 8k TV or a 40MP camera.
 
M

mozumder

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2009
1,285
4,416
This is stupid. Nobody has ever had a need to refocus after the shot, because you can focus when you TAKE the shot in the first place. Also, smartphones small sensors have a huge depth-of-field anyways. You only have shallow/unfocused images in large sensors.

It's a dead end technology.

The most important and useful photography technology that Apple could implement would be to add optical image stabilization. The next would be larger sensors.

Other options would be to allow for interchangeable lenses, and to provide Aperture capability on a mobile device.

A professional photographer has a need to edit and publish photos as quickly as possible. The genius thing about smart phones is that they allow the editing/publishing part to happen in mobile devices in field. The next step would be to implement a higher-quality imaging system (35mm full-frame sensors, various lenses, flash/strobe mounts, other SLR features, etc..)

No need to get silly with light field tech. Just look at what's needed (high-end imaging and rapid publishing) and implement a solution for that.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,584
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Redondo Beach, California
Meandmunch said:
Light field technology is the only way smart phone cameras can continue to shrink in size and increase in quality. Good news.
Click to expand...

Quality? The lightfeild image has much lower resolution. That is why Apple's patent allows you use to switch from normal to light field. One way you get good images with one plane focused and the other mode allows refocusabl image but with much lower resolution.

If the sensor has only so many pixels you can use those pixels in two ways. A light field camera might use 100 sensor pixels per image pixel.

How could Apple use this? The technology makes for a good 3D camera too. I doubt many people will want to re-focus their images but they might want 3D and stereo images with one click. Light field can do that.
 
O

osx11

macrumors 6502a
Jan 16, 2011
825
0
jaijaibinx said:
Although this is very cool, I would much appreciate a megapixel update on the next iphone if possible apple... even just a little to keep up with the nokia lumia!!
Click to expand...

good that you're not in charge of Apple. Megapixels are not everything.
 
M

mozumder

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2009
1,285
4,416
Meandmunch said:
Light field technology is the only way smart phone cameras can continue to shrink in size and increase in quality. Good news.
Click to expand...

Light-field technology doesn't allow cameras to shrink in size.

In fact, it makes them MUCH larger for the same image quality.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,584
1,700
Redondo Beach, California
mozumder said:
This is stupid. Nobody has ever had a need to refocus after the shot, because you can focus when you TAKE the shot in the first place. Also, smartphones small sensors have a huge depth-of-field anyways. You only have shallow/unfocused images in large sensors....
Click to expand...

This is what I was getting at. A human user would not likely want to re-focus a shot but a computer might. The computer would do the re-focus in order to gain depth information. With such info it could create a wire frame and a texture map.

Combine this wire frame 3D image with the 3D sensor they reported yesterday can you can drop a real person into a video game.

Today if you tried that with a still image you'd have a "cardboard cut out" dropped into the game. It would look bad. But a real 3D character. People would by that.

You could turn it around backwards too. Take a re-focusable image of a room. Now you can drop a virtual camera into the scene and move the camera around. In a game you could place the chargers in your environment but for way a real-estate sales you can make better presentations because you have the 3D data to allow perspective changes with viewpoint changes.

So YES,I agree, who would want to refocus an image? Answer software would.
 
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