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Concept
Light field camera
Summary
A light field camera, also known as a plenoptic camera, is a camera that captures information about the light field emanating from a scene; that is, the intensity of light in a scene, and also the precise direction that the light rays are traveling in space. This contrasts with conventional cameras, which record only light intensity at various wavelengths.
One type uses an array of micro-lenses placed in front of an otherwise conventional image sensor to sense intensity, color, and directional information. Multi-camera arrays are another type. Holograms are a type of film-based light field image.
The first light field camera was proposed by Gabriel Lippmann in 1908. He called his concept "integral photography". Lippmann's experimental results included crude integral photographs made by using a plastic sheet embossed with a regular array of microlenses, or by partially embedding small glass beads, closely packed in a random pattern, into the surface of the photographic emulsion.
In 1992, Adelson and Wang proposed a design that reduced the correspondence problem in stereo matching. To achieve this, an array of microlenses is placed at the focal plane of the camera main lens. The is positioned slightly behind the microlenses. Using such images, the displacement of image parts that are not in focus can be analyzed and depth information can be extracted.
The "standard plenoptic camera" is a mathematical model used by researchers to compare designs. By definition it has microlenses placed one focal length away from the image plane of a sensor. In 2004, a team at Stanford University Computer Graphics Laboratory used a 16-megapixel camera to demonstrate that pictures can be refocused after they are taken. The system used a 90,000-microlens array, yielding a resolution of 90 kilopixels. Research has shown that its maximum baseline is confined to the main lens entrance pupil size which is small relative to stereoscopic setups.
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