NUCS 331 HW6 — Light Field Approximation via Smartphone
Summary
Light Fields are usually captured with either a camera with a microlens array or a multi-camera array, which is quite expensive for an amateur. However, a light field can be approximated with just a smartphone. Although the code structure was already laid out for the students in the class, we needed to implement the functions ourselves and also use our own video for the approximation.
Video Capture
As seen in the video, a recording of a scene was taken while moving the camera along the light field plane. The video I took was taken on an iPhone XS, which has a decent camera. However, this technique should still be achievable with any camera with video recording abilities.
Trajectory
By using template matching, it is also possible to detect the path of the camera during the recording. For this video, I used a circular path. However, it is also possible to use a zig-zag pattern path.
Final Result
By choosing the "focus point" of a scene and using the light field that was approximated, a photo that was taken on a large aperture camera can be simulated.
