If you pack 16 lenses into one body, will you get a great camera?
The Light L16 is a product that actually tried to make that happen.
It is about the size of a 5-inch smartphone,
yet it has 16 lenses crammed into that small surface.
Some of them use a periscope structure,
bending light with mirrors to send it to the sensor.
Here is how it works:
Multiple lenses trigger the shutter simultaneously,
and software combines those images into one
to create a high-resolution photo with depth information.
What smartphones do today using software,
the L16 tried to force through hardware 10 years ago
by attaching a bunch of lenses.
The concept itself was impressive.
The problem was what came next.
For starters, the device was thick and ugly.
About half of the buttons and ports on it
were never actually needed.
The Android-based software
was already outdated by the time it was released,
and the process of taking and checking photos was always sluggish.
To properly view the original files, you even had to install a dedicated program on your computer.
There were so many conditions to take a good picture: the light had to be sufficient,
the subject had to be still, your hands had to be steady,
and finally, the synthesis algorithm had to work just right.
In the end, the L16 failed.
But because it failed too early and too aggressively,
it remains a bizarre masterpiece in the history of technology.
(Planning: Ha Hyun-jong | Directed by Park Gyeong-heum | Assistant Directors: Cheon Se-yeon, Interns Kim Eun-chong, Yang Gi-chang, Oh Tae-hyun | Technical Support: Yoo Se-hoon | Cinematography: Yoo Se-hoon, Jung Hoon | Editing: Jung Hye-soo | Brand Design: Kim Tae-hwa | Music: Kim Ji-won)
(SBS Subusu News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.