Placing a micro lens array in front of an image sensor transforms a normal camera into a single lens 3D camera, which also allows the user to change the focus and the point of view after a picture has been taken. While the concept of such plenoptic cameras is known since 1908, only recently the increased computing power of low-cost hardware and the advances in micro lens array production, have made the application of plenoptic cameras feasible. This text presents a detailed analysis of plenoptic cameras as well as introducing a new type of plenoptic camera with an extended depth of field and a maximal effective resolution of up to a quarter of the sensor resolution.

Date Published: 17 February 2012
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 8291, Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XVII, 829108 (17 February 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.909882

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8291:
Human Vision and Electronic Imaging XVII
Bernice E. Rogowitz; Thrasyvoulos N. Pappas; Huib de Ridder, Editor(s)