There have been discussions on how some of the latest mobile phones feature imaging ecosystems which can seriously give a fight to the DSLR cameras. But here’s a camera that is perhaps the size of a smartphone but is not one and can still challenge the big boys in the DSLR space.
It’s called Light L16 and the company has been working on this unique product that has 16 lenses in them and there is a software program that can integrate the images captured by the different lenses to present a final image output that is out of this world.
The news point is the Light L16 is finally shipping. The company has been working on the prototype for the past four years and the shipments now happening are for buyers who pre-ordered and made payments some 18 months ago. So, what is so unique about this camera?
The precise definition of the Light L16 would be a camera with 16 lenses that can click pictures with the efficiency of a 52MP sensor and offer 5x zoom capability as well as the control of the depth-of-field. There are two other significant technical aspects to this camera that one should know.
The first is the company took it upon itself to build the main component, the integrated circuit which is at the heart of all the automated adjustments being made to the sensors. The terminology used is application-specific IC or chip. It is not one of the regular readymade chips procured from a third party and fitted.
Even the camera modules in 70mm and 150mm sizes had to be created to cater to particular needs of the users and which were not in the range of products with the desired focal lengths offered by the lens makers.
The second one relates to the development of the algorithms and the entire Android-based operating systems that allows for linking images captured by all the cameras and process them.
Light has then gone on to create an app for the iOS and Windows environments also by making the suitable adaptations. The Light L16 camera can be therefore paired with any device on these OSs to obtain the desired results.
While the report suggests that the shipments have begun, it is not clear as to how many pieces had been ordered and how many shipped. It is also not clear if the company is now accepting fresh orders for the camera and if so when will those be delivered.