A startup called Lytro is apparently close to releasing a new type of camera which could revolutionise photography. Instead of capturing a flat scene like conventional cameras do, a Lytro camera captures what they call the light field - which captures the color, intensity and vector direction of the rays of light. This allows dynamically altering the image once has been captured - including refocusing the scene and a certain amount of 3D information.

It's still early days, so I'll reserve judgement for now (no word on what the camera will look like, or the actual cost yet), but they plan to launch their first camera later this year.

Here's an interactive demo photo, taken with a Lytro camera. Click anywhere inside the image to refocus.

Flugpano Papierfassung in Italy

Stunning panorama of the Alps, taken by a paraglider in Italy. Best viewed fullscreen on the 360cities.net site.