The Light L16 packs 16 different lenses into a body the same size as a smartphone to offer photography performance that is potentially peerless, whether compared with a flagship handset or a dedicated DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses.
At first glance the L16 looks more like a portable digital radio than a $1700 camera but its looks are definitely deceptive. Light claims the device is the world's first multi-aperture computational camera. On its front side are 16 different lenses that seem to be dotted about in a random configuration while the back side is home to a 5-inch display and shutter and zoom controls.
Ten of the camera's lenses can fire simultaneously, meaning that an image can be captured at different focal lengths and in much greater detail, and those individual snaps are digitally stitched together to create a master image up to 53 megapixels in resolution.
So, even if the subject of a picture is way out in the distance, cropping the photo down shouldn't affect its clarity or quality.
But this approach also means that an image remains ‘live' after it's been captured and focus and zoom changed after the fact, but while still in the camera. What's more, shooting indoors or in near-darkness shouldn't be an obstacle to capturing something worth keeping and sharing.
The result is a camera as good as a DSLR and three different lenses -- 35mm to 150mm -- plus access to professional photo manipulation software but presented in a package that's as big and as simple to use as a smartphone.
"The Light L16 was designed specifically to eliminate the tradeoff between the quality you get with a DSLR, and the convenience you get with a cell phone. I wanted the camera to be easy, so that anyone could pick it up and instantly get amazing pictures with that 'magic' quality. I wanted it to be small and light enough to go where I go. And I wanted to design the entire camera experience around the way we share our pictures in the modern era -- on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook," said co-founder and CTO, Rajiv Laroia.
The Light L16 is available to order now but won't start shipping until 2016. As an incentive the company is going to offer early birds who reserve their camera before November 6 a $400 discount. However, after that date the camera will cost $1699.
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