Lytro Camera

Photo snipped from Lytro.com.

My tech-forward teen wanted to buy a Lytro light field camera. I'd heard about the Lytro on NPR and agreed it sounded pretty cool--you can focus your photos after they're taken. But the teen, like many of his peers, doesn't always make the best decisions. I blame the lack of frontal lobe development.

I thought the camera was a bit pricey for him.

Also, the first iteration of a breakthrough product is the most expensive, but not necessarily the best.

And most importantly, to download and manipulate the Lytro's Living Pictures, you need a Mac and our family is all PC.

But the Lytro folks are working on the PC software and say it's just matter of months before it's available.

So my son, flush with cash from his this year's 8th grade graduation and last year's bar mitzvah, purchased a Lytro.

It's unlike any camera I've ever seen, both in look, user interface and function. My son had fun exploring it its functions. As is his way, within a few minutes, he seemed to figure out how to use it as well as how to manipulate the various bells and whistles.

We have an understanding in our house that I've drilled into my boys since their pre-school days: any special item that is taken out of the house (to school, camp, the playground, etc.) is done so with the understanding that the special item might get lost, damaged or stolen.

So when the camera was just a week old and my son took it to the Farmer's Market and returned home without its lens cap, I tried to bite my tongue. I figured he was paying the price for his carelessness. That is, until I went online to order a replacement and realized that Lytro lens cap loss is a very common problem.

You see, the lens cover is attached the the camera's body magnetically. It makes for a sleek, aesthetically pleasing design, but also one that doesn't hold up well.

Thanks to the Lytro user community, his camera currently looks like this when it's not in use.

I'll be back with an update on the camera functions once the PC software is available or we convince one of our Mac friends to let my boy download the software and take over their computer for a few hours.

For now, click over to Lytro.com and play around with the light field technology. It's pretty cool!