Those who order this week get free shipping as a bonus

Jul 25, 2012 23:11 GMT  ·  By

The Lytro camera captured peoples' hearts when it was launched last year, but not their money apparently, especially in the case of those who didn't own a Mac system, but Windows PC owners should be able to show some interest now as well.

The Lytro Light Field Camera is unique among photo-taking gadgets in that it captures the entire light field.

We'll explain what this means in a jiffy. First, we'll remind the world that the camera needed a special software for the photos to be viewed and edited.

The big problem with that was that there was only a program for Apple's Mac systems until a very short time ago.

Now, though, a Windows version is finally ready, although it has some pretty hefty requirements of its own, and we aren't talking about the 2 GB of RAM here, or of the DirectX 10.

No, the biggest issue is how Windows 32-bit is not supported. Buyers will need a 64-bit OS for the application to run. At least Intel Core 2 Duo or better CPUs are fairly easy to come by.

That said, Lytro is celebrating the launch of the Windows program by shipping the camera for free to all those who make their order this week.

And now we finally get to the point where we explain why the shots taken with this tube-like contraption need a unique software.

Lytro does not take photos like normal cameras. Instead, it captures the entire light field, “which is all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.”

Occupying 16 MB, each picture exhibits the highest detail and can be re-focused and re-zoomed with the program now up for download.

On a related note, Lytro ships with a couple of new accessories too: an USB wall mount charger and a Tripod Mount. The price is of $399 / 330 Euro for 8 GB storage (350 pictures) and $499 / 413 Euro for 16 GB (700-750 pictures).