SOUTHWICK, Mass.—Mondae Hott has joined Kokusai Denki Electric America as the broadcast camera and imaging solutions provider’s Northeast regional sales manager.

A more than 20-year veteran of broadcast technology company Executive Designs, Hott’s new role calls for her to lead Kokusai Denki’s sales and business development efforts throughout the Northeast and south to North Carolina, working closely with dealers, systems integrators, broadcasters and production teams to help customers make the most of the company’s solutions, it said. She will report to Chief Operating Officer Sean Moran.

“What stood out to me about Kokusai Denki is how seriously they take supporting customers and partners,” she said. “This is a relationship-driven industry, and the teams using these systems need people they can call when they have questions or when they’re planning their next project. That’s where I come in; reconnecting with those I know in the region to help them find the right solutions for their production needs is an absolute priority for me.”

Over her tenure at Ensemble Desgins, Hott played a central role in managing its global sales initiatives, built strong relationships across global markets and earned a reputation for being responsive, technically knowledgeable and committed to helping customers, Kokusai Denki said.

“Mondae has spent her career working closely with customers and partners, and that mindset fits perfectly with how we approach the market,” Moran said. “We always say that we’re not just shipping equipment, but we’re supporting the people who use it every day. Having someone with Mondae’s experience and relationships in the Northeast will make a real difference for our customers in this regard.”

Kokusai Denki said customer support is a cornerstone of its business. By investing in experienced, technically savvy regional managers, Kokusai Denki’s partners get more direct access to support, quicker responses and a closer working relationship, the company said.

For more on Kokusai Denki, visit its website.

Broadcast lens makers have long worked to marching orders from large venue live sports and concert producers wanting longer and (still) longer focal length telephoto zoom lenses. This year the camera at the center field fence can frame a head and shoulders shot of the batter; next year it will inch in a bit to a head only shot.

But now those lens makers are hearing a second voice. It’s asking them for a more cinematic look, not to replace the mega-telephoto zooms, but for use on the sidelines and locker rooms.

There are a number of elements to that cinema look. The most easily identifiable is a shallow depth of field. At the risk of oversimplification, depth of field in still or motion picture photography is the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects that are in acceptably sharp focus in an image captured with a camera. The more shallow the depth of field, the less of the image is in focus, and the more is out of focus. 

This shallow depth of field has long been the province of photography and motion pictures, where it is said to be eye catching. But now it no longer is just restricted to pros—with average consumers using the “profile” feature on their smartphones, even the average joe understands its appeal.

How to Do It
There are three ways to reduce the lens’ depth of field:

• Increase the image sensor size
• Increase the iris setting, the f-stop
• Increase the lens focal length

Most live sports cameras and lenses utilize B4 mount lenses, with -inch three-chip prism sensors. Most cinema cameras and lenses utilize PL mounts, which have larger image sensors than the B4 mounts, and thus deliver a more shallow depth of field.

Opening the lens’ iris setting will also shallow the depth of field. In order to keep the light level even it may be necessary to deploy neutral density filters in the camera. Shutter speed can also be used to limit the light hitting the sensor, but can also yield unwanted effects.

To shallow the depth of field by increasing focal length, a prime lens can be switched out with a higher focal length lens, or zooming the lens can achieve the same result. For a production moving fast and furious, a zoom lens is preferred.

“Over the last series of years, be it sports or other live events, concerts, generally multicam, we’ve seen a desire to create that cinematic look,” said Stosh Durbacz, national sales manager, Optical Devices Division, Fujifilm North America Corporation. 

At the 2023 NAB Show, Fujifilm introduced its Fujinon Duvo HZK25-1000 box lens, which deploys a dual-format system that supports two single sensor sizes: a large format sensor size and a traditional super 35mm sensor.

“Our customers helped us identify a very clear need for a long and fast cinema lens that can produce cinematic results in a live production environment,” said Durbacz. Fujifilm’s newly developed 1.5x expander shifts the focal length of the telephoto side, enabling super-telephoto image capture of 1500mm (1000×1.5).

Bokeh is another lens attribute that yields a cinematic look. Bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image. 

There are several characteristics that impact bokeh, said Art Adams, product specialist, Cinema Lenses at ARRI. “But the most important is spherical aberration: do light rays from the edge of the lens focus at the same point as light rays from the center of the lens? ARRI lenses are very well corrected for spherical aberration and this produces backgrounds that are incredibly smooth. Subjects pop out of out-of-focus backgrounds as there are no residual hard edges to draw the eye away.”

Adams pointed to ARRI’s 65-300 Signature Zoom as the most useful for live sports. “It is exceptional because it doesn’t exposure-ramp at the end of the zoom range: when you start your zoom at T2.8 at 65mm, you’ll end your zoom at T2.8 at 300mm. That lens ships with a 1.7x extender at no extra charge, and that turns this lens into a very high quality 110mm-510mm T4.9.”

Ergonomic Hurdles
There are a lot of technical hurdles to developing lenses that provide the cinematic look. But there are ergonomics factors as well. 

In cinema production, there may be four or five different operators working around the cinema camera. On a broadcast crew, you have one operator for each camera. 

“This is largely because when they’re making a video, making a movie, they’re not beholden to the action head of them,” said Mark Weir, senior product manager, Alpha Cameras & Lenses, Sony Electronics. “They can have as many takes as they want because the actors and what’s happening are under the control of the production, they’re not taking images that are happening in front of them. They’re literally making them, they’re crafting them, they’re organizing them, they’re structuring them to fit their requirements.“

Weir notes that the technology for the cinematic look is in its infancy. “It doesn’t cover everything in the world of broadcast sports, for example,” he said. “You’ve got to deliver the kind of reach to cover action 100 yards away. Trying to then cover it in shallow depth of field is probably not what the production is looking for. It’s a balance of both.”

As the depth of field becomes more and more shallow, keeping the lens focused on the action becomes more difficult. 

“The challenge is knowing where to point that auto focus,” said Josh Stoner, senior specialist, Product Management Team, Broadcast and Cinema Lenses for Canon. ”The trick is how to make it react so you’re not catching someone out of frame, like somebody coming into the frame and then the focus jumping to that person.  That’s more of an operator function to learn how to do that. It’s less about learning where to point the autofocus, when to engage it and when not to engage it.”

Stoner said picking a lens for a cinematic look depends on which cameras utilized. “If they’re using a stubby camera and they have a whole rig built up around it, I’m going to suggest one of our CINE-SERVO, the 70 to 120, which is going to give you a kind of a wide angle look,” he said. “If they’re going to run around on a gimbal, with a C370, I’m going to go with one of our RF lenses to give you autofocus and lightweight capability so you can run around with it.”

With host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Service recently announcing that it will be using cinematic lenses for the first time at the 2024 Games in Paris, expect to see an overload of the cinematic look next summer. Which seems appropriate when you consider the French invented cinema.

LAS VEGAS—Sony has laid out its plans for the 2023 NAB Show, where it will be showing a wide range of solutions, productions and workflows for broadcast, live event, newsgathering and cinematic content creators.

"NAB Show continues to be a testament to the power and ingenuity of our industry and as the event celebrates 100 years, it's truly amazing to reflect on how much has changed during that time," said Theresa Alesso, president, Imaging Products and Solutions Americas, Sony Electronics. "The event is a springboard for revolutionary innovations and serves as a catalyst for connections – in every sense of the word. Building on that notion, our theme at this year's show is Creativity Connected. You'll experience the multi-faceted connections Sony is unlocking through focusing on trends and forging through our people and technologies."

Here is a full list of the solutions that Sony said they plan to highlight:

Networked Live – Remote and Distributed Production

Sony’s expansive Networked Live ecosystem of solutions, products, services and partners combines hybrid on-premises, and cloud processing and operations with network connectivity to transform live production. Key capabilities include “Network and Resource Orchestration,” “Hybrid Processing and Operations” and “Media Processing and Transport.”

Network and Resource Orchestration

• HDC-5500V / HDC-3500V: 4K 2/3" 3CMOS Global Shutter System Camera with Variable Neutral Density (ND) Filter (NEW). The HDC-5500V and HDC-3500V cameras come with a native variable ND filter, as well as a slide mechanism to enable use with Sony's new viewfinders (HDVF-EL760/EL740). When used in conjunction with the HDCU-5000 camera control unit, the new HDC-5500V and HDC-3500V1 can be upgraded to support High Frame Rate (HFR) at up to 4x 4K and 8x HD. With an exchangeable side panel for third party integration, numerous HDR settings (Live, Mild and Natural), Live Tone control, efficient Live HDR/SDR workflows and a lens compensation function, the camera can be purchased to include the features users require now while providing sustainable options to grow into the future. HDC-5500, HDC-3500 and HDC-P50 customers can upgrade their existing cameras to enable these new capabilities2. The variable ND filter system camera models are planned to be available this fall.
• CNA-2: Camera Control Network Adaptor (NEW). The scalable CNA-2, expected to be available in the fall, can be used at locations to extend Sony's camera systems and enable remote and distributed live production, as well as camera monitoring and configuring. With a secure web API, users can take advantage of camera painting and formatting settings.

Hybrid Processing and Operations

Sony will demonstrate a newly developed software-based live production platform that can be deployed in various environments including virtual private cloud, data centers, and COTS servers. It can be combined with on-premises solutions like the MLS-X1 stackable switcher and third party live production systems to enable flexible, hybrid production. The MLS-X1: Scalable Live Production Platform (NEW TO NAB SHOW) is a agile, modular live production processor/switcher that enables integrated control from a single user interface. It supports real-time processing of 4K (UHD) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) content with ultra-low latency.  NEP Australia has selected the new system with plans to deploy more than 20 MLS-X1 modules to support their 4K operations.

Media Processing and Transport

• NXL-ME80: Media Transport Appliance (NEW). The NXL-ME80 enables high quality video transport on low-bandwidth networks, with an ultra-low latency processing time.
• HZCE-JX50H / HZCE-JX50F: Software for Sony's IP HDCE-TX30 and HDCE-TX50 Camera Extension Adapters. The latest software enables multiple compressed streams of HD (HZCE-JX50H) or 4K (HZCE-JX50F) JPEG XS, compatible with the SMPTE ST2110-22 standard.
• Nevion: VideoIPath Updates - The company's media orchestration platform, VideoIPath, supports federation of resources, allowing multiple autonomous instances of the platform to collaborate. Additionally, it is integrated with AWS Media Services for ground-to-cloud connectivity and support for AWS MediaConnect and MediaLive services.
• Nevion: Virtuoso RE (NEW) - An expansion of Nevion's Virtuoso family, the latest software-defined media node is smaller and lighter, making it ideal for shallower racks and rackmount flight cases. It can securely perform a variety of real-time transport, processing and monitoring functions in the converged IP LAN/WAN network.
• In addition, Sony will collaborate with Amazon Web Services (AWS) through the vLRP (Virtual Live Remote Production) Partner Acceleration Initiative and will drive the construction of live production workflows on the cloud, together with other partners.

Creators' Cloud – Next Generation Cloud Production for Enterprises

• C3 Portal is a cloud gateway service that enables seamless content delivery from the field to the cloud, alleviating traditional physical limitations, while vastly accelerating distribution and edit workflows. Custom metadata-tagged camera clips can automatically be pushed from cameras to a production system or non-linear editor (NLE), resulting in simplified search, identification and editing. New integration with Marquis and Avid automates this process, eliminating the need for user interaction. This innovative workflow is currently deploying and being refined by Sinclair. Additionally, Teradek support is now available to enable fast and secure content delivery from the field to virtually any location. 
• Ci Media Cloud is a media management and collaboration service that allows teams to access and collaborate on in-production files and finished media content from virtually anywhere. Recent Ci updates include enhancements to functionality, updated workflows, new pricing plans, and integrations with Atomos CONNECT products via Atomos Cloud Studio (ACS) and Pomfort's Silverstack Lab dailies creation and data management software. 
• M2 Live makes multi-camera live production quick and efficient by providing scalable cloud-based tools that enable the creation of engaging live event streaming, social and web content. A2 Production is an AI-based workflow automation process that provides data analysis, subtitling, clip creation and content enrichment.
• NavigatorX manages and orchestrates assets, data, workflows and devices. 
• Cloud Master Control Content Browser by Crispin enables prep and review of playback content from the cloud, supporting full cloud, or hybrid cloud/on-prem master control, operated from Crispin's Core web-based user interface.

Creators' Cloud – Next Generation Cloud Production for Individuals

• Creators' App enables access to content and upload capabilities from a mobile device, as well as remote control of select Sony cameras3.
• Free Storage (5GB) for Creators' Cloud account holders and 25GB for owners of select cameras4.
• Discover is a place for creators to connect and share their content.
• Ci Media Cloud is also open to individual creators and small teams and can be accessed through a Sony account.

Imaging Innovations

• BVM-HX3110: 30.5 Inch 4K HDR Monitor with IP Interface (NEW). The high luminance BVM-HX3110 reference monitor features a wide viewing angle and wide color gamut for accurate color reproduction and consistent color matching with Sony's BVM-HX310, PVM-X series and LMD-A lineup of monitors. With support for IP ST2110, the BVM-HX3110 complements Sony's Networked Live ecosystem. Optional tool sets include fast pixel response mode for reduced motion blur and support for JPEG-XS and SNMP. The monitor is expected to be available November 2023.
• FR7: Full-frame PTZ Interchangeable-lens camera (NEW TO NAB SHOW). FR7 combines cinematic expression, remote control, powerful connectivity and multi-camera workflow, delivering the best image quality in a versatile PTZ footprint for studio, live production and filmmaking settings. Firmware Version 1.1, planned for May 2023 or later, will support S700 protocol and internal recording and playback over PoE++. Version 2.0, expected in September 2023 or later, will support FreeD protocol to simplify AR/VR production, external zoom adjustment and PTZ trace functionality.
• VENICE Extension System 2 (NEW TO NAB SHOW). The VENICE Extension System 2 offers support for the 8K sensor of the VENICE 2 as well as greater mobility and compatibility with either a 3m or a 12m cable – without the need for a repeater. It has a tilt/roll sensor in the imaging block to support VFX and virtual production.

 Virtual Production

• Virtual production brings together the worlds of virtual reality and practical production in real time, offering numerous creative and cost-saving benefits. As its implementation expands, products, solutions and workflows are addressing challenges and creating efficiencies. At NAB Show 2023 presentations and demonstrations in Booth #C8101 will showcase Sony's end-to-end virtual production capabilities including multi-camera live switching for broadcast and an exploration of Live AR using system cameras such as the HDC-5500 series.
• VENICE Lineup and Crystal LED. As the only manufacturer to offer high-end digital cinema cameras and displays, Sony will feature its comprehensive virtual production solution including Sony's VENICE 2 full-frame camera and select Crystal LED displays. Together, this technology creates a fully integrated and streamlined workflow that supports high dynamic range and empowers visual storytelling and virtual production. Virtual Production Tool Set: Improve pre-production and on-set workflows (NEW). Sony's new tool set address common virtual production challenges such as color matching, moire and enhances in-camera visual effects. The Camera and Display Plugin is a software plug-in for Unreal Engine that allows productions to identify and solve common virtual production workflow issues. The Color Calibrator addresses color shifts in LED wall technology. The complimentary tool set is expected in summer or later. 
• ELF-SR2: 27 inch Spatial Reality Display (NEW). The larger Spatial Reality Display provides realistic 3D content without the use of glasses or VR headsets. With an upgraded high-speed vision sensor, powerful imaging features and installation flexibility, the ELF-SR2 also enables more robust functionality through its versatile support of applications and software development. At the booth, Spatial Reality Display's expanded use cases will be showcased through a wide range of 3D content that aids in creation and visualization.

For more information on new products and solutions from Sony at NAB Show 2023, please visit https://pro.sony/nab and https://pro.sony/press.

Smartphone cameras and DSLRs have been moving in opposite directions for the past few years, and image quality from phones will finally trump that of their single-lens reflex rivals by 2024, according to Sony.

As reported by Nikkei Japan, the President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), Terushi Shimizu, told a business briefing that “we expect that still images [from smartphones] will exceed the image quality of single-lens reflex cameras within the next few years”.

Some fascinating slides presented during the briefing were even more specific, with one slide showing that, according to Sony, “still images are expected to exceed ILC [interchangeable lens camera] image quality” sometime during 2024.

Those are two slightly different claims, with ‘ILCs’ also including today’s mirrorless cameras, alongside the older DSLR tech that most camera manufacturers are now largely abandoning.

But the broader conclusion remains – far from hitting a tech ceiling, smartphones are expected to continue their imaging evolution and, for most people, make standalone cameras redundant.

So what tech will drive this continued rise of the best phone cameras? Sony points to a few factors, including “quantum saturation” and improvements to “AI processing”. Interestingly, Sony also expects the sensor size in “high-end model” phones to double by 2024.

The larger pixels on these sensors will, it says, allow phone makers to apply multi-frame processing that “realizes a new imaging experience”, including improved Super HDR modes and zooms that combine folded optics (as on the Sony Xperia 1 IV) with AI algorithms.

Sony also highlighted the development of its ‘two-layer transistor pixel technology’, which we heard about last year, which promises to drastically improve the dynamic range on phone cameras and help reduce low-light noise.

Similar advances are coming for video too, according to Sony’s presentation, with the higher read-out speeds of next-gen sensors supporting 8K video, multi-frame processing (including video HDR) and a general realization of “AI processing for video”. In other words, computational video techniques like Apple’s Cinematic Mode.

While it isn’t unusual for Sony to make bold predictions about a sector it’s heavily invested in, there does seem to be substance behind its predictions for the continued evolution of phone cameras at the expense of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.

And that’s significant for all smartphones, because according to Statista, Sony has 42% of the global image sensor market for phones, while teardowns of the iPhone 13 Pro Max show that it uses three Sony IMX 7-series sensors.

Analysis: Phones Continue Their Meteoric Rise
Predictions about the demise of DSLR cameras are nothing new – without saying anything explicitly, Canon and Nikon have both admitted that DSLRs are a legacy format by discontinuing some models, such as the Nikon D3500, without replacing them. But Sony’s latest statements highlight that phone cameras still have a long way to go before they hit their tech ceiling.

The biggest advances in recent years have come in multi-frame processing, otherwise known as computational photography. But Sony was understandably keen to stress the role that new hardware will play in lifting phone cameras to new photographic heights.

Its prediction that the sensor sizes in high-end phones will double by 2024 is slightly surprising, given that this is limited by factors like lenses. For example, the Sony Xperia Pro-I became Sony’s first phone to have a 1-inch sensor last year, but its lens wasn’t able to project a large enough image circle to cover the whole of that sensor, so it could only take 12MP photos rather than the native 20MP resolution.

Perhaps more significant is Sony’s new stacked CMOS sensor with two-layer transistor pixels, which effectively exposes each pixel to twice as much light as a standard sensor. This sounds like a hardware advance that computational algorithms could definitely get their teeth stuck into in order to boost dynamic range and noise performance.

But given how good the latest phones are at photography, the most noticeable advances over the next few years are likely to be in video. Sony’s presentation highlighted this with references to multi-frame processing and its Edge AI platform, which promises to boost both video performance and support for augmented reality apps.

While DSLRs and mirrorless cameras will always have an audience among hobbyists and pros due to their handling, creative control, viewfinders and single-shot image quality, the kinds of advances outlined in Sony’s presentation show that the next few years are going to be a particularly exciting time for phone cameras.

This article originally appeared on techradar.com.

MUNICH—When I was in my “formative years” (whatever they are), my parents, relatives, teachers, neighbors and others passed on many gems of wisdom. One of these was “believe nothing you hear, and only one half of what you see.” Beyond the obvious gossip and tall-tale factors, this seemed to be solid advice back in the 1950s when audio tape recording was coming into its own and the media was full of stories about how easy it was—with nothing more than a pair of scissors and some splicing tape—to totally rearrange and alter the meaning of recorded conversations.

Lytro light field motion imaging camera There is a now a technology that can totally undermine even that promised 50 percent of believability: light field imaging. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute has been rather quietly touting it at trade shows for the past several years, but it wasn’t until the 2016 NAB and IBC Shows that it got a lot of notice, perhaps due to the many other high-tech entries that the large research organization always brings along. Also, with all the buzz about UHD, HDR, HFR, ECG and other “disruptive” technologies, light field imaging seems to have gotten short shrift.

However, this is one “light” that shouldn’t be hidden under a bushel. The technology offers some really remarkable advantages in image capture, and brings with it a large share of “wow factor” as well.

So what exactly is light field technology all about?

GOING BEYOND CONVENTIONAL IMAGE CAPTURE

In a nutshell, it’s a technology that adds another quantity or dimension to image capture. In conventional imaging, be it television, still camera, or cinema rig, the imaging device (or film), in addition to recording light intensities, really only captures two quantities: the height and width of the object or objects upon which the camera lens is focused. A light field camera builds on this by defining the direction from which the light rays reflected off the object or objects being captured originated. In other words, another dimension—depth—is also recorded.

Jon Karafin You may say “so what’s new?—3D does this and it’s been around for years.” True, 3D is a form of light field imaging; however, it’s a “low sampling” manifestation, as the 3D images are created from only two optical samples (left/right eye). Today’s light field technology goes way beyond this, capturing many, many more such visual samples that are representative of an equally large number of viewpoints, thus generating a very large amount of information about a scene.

“Capturing light field is like photographing a digital holographic image of the world,” said Jon Karafin, head of light field video at Lytro, a key player among the dozen or so entities involved with light field imaging research and development. “It is the true merger between the virtual and real where you can have the benefits of a virtual production set while shooting in a real-world environment. With light field data, you have unprecedented creative control during post-production as well as unfounded capabilities for visual effects.”

Pete Ludé Pete Ludé, chief innovation officer of RealD, another company that’s deeply involved in advanced imaging technology, enumerated some additional advantages associated with light field cinematography.

“There are two important practical benefits,” said Ludé. “One is that since you are able to capture the light rays from all directions, it allows you to refocus and readjust depth of field in postproduction. It also allows you to reset the stereo base on a stereoscopic image capture and it allows you to do depth mapping, which sort of segues to the second practical benefit, which is that you don’t need to use green screens to do mattes and masks.

“Encoded within the image itself is the volumetric space that allows you, later in postproduction, to know where to set the background plane without having to light behind the actors. You could just shoot [the scene] anywhere and the computers will later know where to insert the background plates without any further action.”

Light field brings with it another benefit too—very selective focus by artificially creating an extremely shallow depth of field.

“Today you can shoot at f2.4 or f16 and get different depths of field,” said Ludé. “By using light field, you can mathematically calculate what the depth of field would be with an f0.2 lens—which is physically impossible to construct, but mathematically you could treat the light rays as if that were possible.”

Also, due to the multiple “point of view” capture inherent in the system, it’s just as easy to create a 3D product as a 2D version.

Siegfried Foessel Siegfried Foessel, head of Fraunhofer’s department of moving picture technologies, also offered his own take on the magic of light field imaging.

“You can now capture multiple elements of a light field, which allows the recombining of individual light rays for rendering new images, and that is the basis of light field,” said Foessel, noting that the Fraunhofer has been very interested in the development of light field imaging, even to the point of creating a special study group as part of the organization’s Digital Media Alliance for exploring “computational imaging” some five years ago.

ENABLING THE TECHNOLOGY

While the concept of light field imaging has existed for more than a century, not much was done with it until fairly recently due to the size and other physical limitations of devices necessary for its practical implementation. That has all changed with the arrival of both smaller imaging devices with higher resolutions, and very high-speed processing engines.

Lytro has used today’s advanced solidstate imager technology to construct a highly specialized camera with the image quality necessary for high-quality cinema productions. It’s been used for several projects, including the creation of a short production (“Life”) that shows off some of the remarkable capabilities achievable with light field photography, and which has been exhibited in connection with light field presentations at both the NAB Show and IBC this year. This demo film included seamlessly intercut footage from both the Lytro camera and ARRI’s ALEXA.

The Fraunhofer experimental light field imaging device consists of nine small HD cameras mounted in a 3 x 3 matrix. So are there any drawbacks to this revolutionary image capture technology? Perhaps the greatest one right now is the physical size of the camera. It’s constructed around a very special 755-megapixel sensor that’s backed up by an equally specialized micro lens array (think compound insect’s eye), which spreads light rays from many directions over the surface of the large imager and is quite ponderous.

“The camera is approximately six feet long and weighs hundreds of pounds,” said Karafin. “It is not designed to be handheld, but rather mounts directly to a crane or dolly. We provide a production truck to transport the system to and from the production location to further enable the technology to be leveraged by any studio or project.”

However, it must be kept in mind that this is a first-generation device. Recall the enormity of the original three-strip Technicolor motion picture camera and the size and weight of first-gen color television cameras and how these steadily shrank with advancing technology.

Karafin noted that “the next generation of the technology is designed to be more commensurate with an industry standard definition of a traditional cinema camera.”

A DIFFERENT LIGHT FIELD METHODOLOGY

Not all light field research is being done with a single sensor and micro lens array though. Fraunhofer’s Foessel described a somewhat different approach taken by his organization using multiple small cameras with individual lenses.

“For the movie production itself we saw that the approach with a micro lens array was a bit too limited, because you are restricted in viewpoint renderings to the dimensions of either the sensor, if you have no main lens, or to the entrance pupil of the main lens,” said Foessel. “So you cannot calculate so much special effects based on our micro lens array sensor, especially if it has no main lens, and that is the reason why we continued with camera arrays. With the camera array, you can reposition each camera differently and make different arrangements to capture the light field in a wider space, and this allows us now to make virtual camera movements and to make more special effects [such as] looking behind objects and so on.”

In describing the multiple camera array, Foessel was quick to note that Fraunhofer has not abandoned its work with micro lenses.

“We are still working on projects with micro lens arrays for new ways to capture images,” said Foessel. “One of these is for capturing images in smartphones, mainly to get additional depth information.”

THE FUTURE OF LIGHT FIELD

So where is this technology going? Will it eventually replace conventional imaging technology for movie production completely? Will it be possible to construct a television studio or movie sound stage with the walls ringed with light field camera arrays, allowing a director to get 360-degree shots with no movable cameras (or camera operators)?

Foessel believes that this could happen, but says it will take time.

“I think it will be probably in conjunction with development of the cloud, because you need a lot of computation power to do this, and the cloud is now exponentially growing and more and more of the broadcasting and movie production is moving to the cloud,” he said. “So I see this happening within a five to 10-year time frame.”

Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you’re invited for a demo of light field imaging and processing, by all means take advantage of the opportunity. You’ll be witnessing something that’s really cutting edge!