Light-field cameras may be used to capture a four-dimensional (4D) light-field image, with two spatial dimensions, x and y, and two angular dimensions, u and v. In many light-field cameras, a plenoptic microlens array and a single photosensor, containing a two-dimensional (2D) array of pixels, are used. These plenoptic light-field cameras capture image data that may be much more versatile than traditional two-dimensional image data. In particular, a light-field image may be processed to create a set of virtual views, in which focus distance, center of perspective, depth-of-field, and/or other virtual-camera parameters are varied within ranges enabled by the data in the four-dimensional light-field image. Further, the light-field data may be analyzed to calculate a depth map and/or analysis information.
One drawback of existing plenoptic cameras is that virtual views have relatively low resolution. In order to capture the four-dimensional light-field, the spatial resolution is decreased significantly in order to increase the resolution of the angular dimensions. In many applications, the output resolution of virtual views may be too low for widespread adoption.
However, depending on the use case, a complete and even sampling in the two angular dimensions may not be required. In many cases, the desired output from the light-field camera may be a combination of high-resolution image data and depth data, often in the form of a depth map or a set of three-dimensional (3D) points (a point cloud). In some use cases, the desired output may be high-resolution depth data.