K|Lens Unveils Light Field Imaging Lens
K|Lens, a Germany-based start-up, is designing and producing the K|Lens One light field imaging lens in co-operation with Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH in Germany.
The new imaging lens works for both still images and videos, reportedly delivering additional data that no other lens can offer, namely, rich light field data in the form of depth maps, point clouds and nine separate viewpoints of each image/video.
Inside the K|Lens One, a mirror system projects nine slightly different perspectives of the scene on the camera sensor simultaneously. According to reports, the mirror system works similarly to a kaleidoscope, hence the name K|Lens, and effectively gives the user the chance to shoot a scene from nine viewpoints with only one single exposure.
Bundled with the K|Lens One is K|Lens’ in-house software, “SeeDeep”, which calculates the depth in space of every single pixel in every shot, and makes that information available in postprocessing in the form of depth maps, depth channels and/or point clouds, which can then be processed in all standard post-processing programs. Additionally, the light-field content can be integrated into web applications, giving users access to multiple perspectives of their scenes.
Matthias Schmitz, CEO of K|Lens, said “We are so excited for the world to experience the K|Lens One! Our passionate team has been tirelessly working on the project for five years now, and finally it’s time to unleash this next evolutionary step in the worlds of photography and videography. The K|Lens One will revolutionise how creative minds think about and produce visual arts, and how consumers interact with them, and we can’t wait to see the first results in 2022!” The K|Lens One Kickstarter package contains the K|Lens One light field imaging lens with a lens clamp and the K|Lens SeeDeep software. A dedicated 5” monitor with native software to help in image composition can be ordered as an add-on.
The K|Lens One Kickstarter campaign began on November 29, 2021, with a super early bird price starting at EUR 1,799 (approx. USD 2,049). The future RRP of the product will be EUR 3,599 (approx. USD 4,099).