Forum Index > Photography Talk > Have you seen the Light? New Light L16 computational camera.
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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostTue Nov 14, 2017 8:41 pm 
It's finally arrived! After over 2 years of waiting since my pre-order I finally have a new toy to play with! Check it out:
L16 camera
L16 camera
This is Light's L16 camera. It has 16 cell phone size cameras (5 x 28mm ƒ/2.0, 5 x 70mm ƒ/2.0, and 6 x 150mm ƒ/2.4) and takes photos with 10+ cameras, stitching them together to make a single 52MP image on par with a mid level DSLR. You can also change depth of field AFTER you take the photo, in post processing. A game changer... Also, since the images are computational, improvements in processing are made via downloadable updates similar to your cell phone. The first release had a bit of a white balance issue, which was corrected with a recent update. So the camera is just going to keep getting better. It still has some issues, but for a 52MP camera that's about the size of two large cell phones put together and weighs in at 15.3 oz... Well I'm a bit excited to start taking pictures with the thing if it ever stops raining. Here's a video if you're unfamiliar with the camera:
Anyone else pre-order one of these? RIP L16 Looks like Light is moving on from its L16 camera. They stopped selling it and announced plans to end support for the L16 at the end of 2019. It had a good run. It's still a good camera with some flaws, and I'll probably continue to use it on certain occasions but it looks like a collectors item now. Bummer. There is so much more the camera could have been with improvements to software but for now it looks like it's over.

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Jaberwock
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PostTue Nov 14, 2017 9:30 pm 
Can you post some demo photos that you've taken?

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostTue Nov 14, 2017 9:36 pm 
Jaberwock wrote:
Can you post some demo photos that you've taken?
I just got my camera a couple hours ago and haven't used it yet, but here is a flickr group for L16 photographers: https://www.flickr.com/groups/lightl16/pool/

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pcg
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PostTue Nov 14, 2017 9:45 pm 
Pretty cool. The photos look like it lives up to the hype. It will be interesting to see how much of a game-changer this camera is. I wonder how long it will be before we see this technology in a camera body able to accommodate lenses of various focal lengths.

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostTue Nov 14, 2017 10:04 pm 
pcg wrote:
I wonder how long it will be before we see this technology in a camera body able to accommodate lenses of various focal lengths.
That's exactly what the L16 is. 5 lens' are at 28mm (ƒ/2.0), 5 at 70mm(ƒ/2.0), and 6 at 150mm(ƒ/2.4).

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pcg
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PostWed Nov 15, 2017 7:38 am 
awilsondc wrote:
That's exactly what the L16 is.
I should have been more explicit. I'm referring to a separate camera body that would allow one to use bodies and lenses of their own choice - big bodies with big sensors and big lenses with sharp glass and low f-stops. There is a reason for large camera bodies and large lenses. You can't stuff that into one tiny camera like the L16, but you could build similar capability into a camera body and into the lenses. Most cameras and lenses already have the hooks for controlling focus and f-stop. They just don't have the firmware to vary the focal point while varying the f-stop, and the massive memory and processing power to collect and manage all that data. For a creative photographer, I think the most useful feature of the L16 is not that you can select various focal lengths, but that you can maneuver the focal point and its DOF. If the ability to vary focal length is desired then there's no reason you can't add that to the lenses and body as well. Many point and shoot cameras already do auto-zoom.

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostThu Feb 22, 2018 9:10 pm 
Just thought I'd share a photographer profile that Light did on me. It was quite the honor to be picked for this, so thanks Light! I've really been enjoying the camera. Most of my photos for the foreseeable future will be from the L16. https://captured.light.co/photographer-profile-aaron-wilson

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IanB
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PostThu Feb 22, 2018 10:17 pm 
Beautiful photos! Congrats on the write-up. up.gif

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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puzzlr
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PostSat Feb 24, 2018 12:14 am 
Nice going -- it must feel good to be recognized. I've admired many of your shots, but even more your energy to be on top of mountains at sunset or sunrise. Your Thomson Peak photo is one of my all time favorites (maybe not taken with the L16). But in that article, there's something wonky in the left part of the "Golden Hour, West Granite" photo. A snow field and ridge line are not continuous. It looks like something that would happen with a stitching error. What's going on?

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostSat Feb 24, 2018 11:23 am 
puzzlr wrote:
there's something wonky in the left part of the "Golden Hour, West Granite" photo. A snow field and ridge line are not continuous. It looks like something that would happen with a stitching error. What's going on?
I think I see what you're talking about, and it does look odd. However, there seems to be the same thing in this other wide angle shot:
Golden light
Golden light
I'm not sure what that is from. Avalanche gully? Clear cut? I tried to find someone else's photo of the same view but was unsuccessful. There is stitching in every L16 photo (obviously) and anomalies and stitching errors do occur occasionally but they manifest themselves as a soft border between objects near and far, or select trees or pine needles are sharp while others are soft or blurry (this is when viewed at 100%, often not noticeable otherwise). I've never seen an L16 stitching error as gross and large scale as ridgeline not matching up so it's highly unlikely that it's a stitching error. Still, it is a bit of a head scratcher. Oh, and thank you! biggrin.gif Edit - I went back and looked at several other shots of that area that I didn't process or publish and they show the same thing. Cliff bands maybe?

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SwitchbackFisher
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PostSat Mar 03, 2018 9:21 am 
Wow as neat as that is I personally would rather pack around more equipment then she'll out 2k. Photography hasn't really been my focus though I'll snap a few photos but that's about it. Slowly I have been upgrading cameras but I'm not anywhere near that level maybe in 5 years when price drops?

I may not be the smartest, I may not be the strongest, but I don't want to be. I only want to be the best I can be.
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nordique
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PostMon Oct 22, 2018 4:43 pm 
$2K? I've always hiked with a camera that I can easily afford to replace, in the event that I have a fall, like a somersaulting fall onto rocks. Ask me why! After that fall, I checked my camera lens--untouched. A short time later, I tried to take a photo--and, wow, my shutter button was gone! We actually found it on our descent to the cars--but no shop repairs cameras--as cheap as my Nikon super-zoom compact camera. Most of my 50K photos on Flickr have been taken with these relatively-cheap light cameras. This year's hike photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsku7zqBw

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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostTue Oct 23, 2018 1:54 pm 
nordique wrote:
$2K?
It's a bit much IMO. I preordered and got it for 1300 which I feel is good value for what it is. They have it on sale right now for Halloween, 25% off. After a year with the camera I have mixed feelings... What I love about it - light weight, compact... 52 megapixels at 35mm and 75mm, detail rich DNG files, excellent in daylight it excels in taking pictures while hiking, I can print my pictures very large What I don't like - not wide angle enough for me 28mm has a soft border that bothers me, it takes an hour or two to transfer photos from camera to computer, then several more hours to convert those to full quality DNG files before I can work with them, frequent minor fusion blurry spots and other artifacts visible only when zoomed in 100% but annoy the crap out of me, not as good in low light, not horrible but I was hoping for better. For fast and light daytime hiking and backpacking, this camera is hard to beat. For serious photography stick with a traditional full frame camera for now. I'm thinking of getting a Sony setup. This is clearly where photography technology is heading however, and this technology will only improve with time.

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