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"Lytro made a name for itself with its shoot-first-focus-later photos, captured by a new kind of photography that captures an entire \"light field\" of a scene. Now, Lytro is going beyond just refocusing, enabling users to shift the perspective of their photos as well as add filters.\nSince the lens of the Lytro camera is quite large, and it captures light-direction data, it's possible to slightly shift the perspective of any light-field image. First, the viewer needs to put the photo \"all in focus\" \u2014 another feature that comes with the software update \u2014 essentially flattening the image, focus-wise. You do that by clicking and holding (or, on a touch screen, pressing and holding), and then you can just move your mouse (or finger) to shift perspective.\nThe effect is slight, but extremely effective. In a demo, Lytro reps showed me perspective shift on various kinds of photos \u2014 from nature scenes to faces to still lifes \u2014 and the effect made each one seem more immersive and personal. Even more than refocusing, perspective shift epitomizes the entire idea of \"living pictures.\"\nYou can try out the effect for yourself in the Lytro pic below. To use perspective shift, click and hold, then move your mouse.\n\n\nPerspective shift will be available via an update to the Lytro software starting Dec. 4. It'll work on all Lytro photos \u2014 even ones users have already taken. Whoever's sharing the photo must first enable perspective shift for viewers to be able to use it, however, and the feature is a little awkward to use on a touch screen. But just as before, the embeds work in both Facebook and Twitter streams.\n\nSEE ALSO: Lytro: The Most Social Camera Ever Made [REVIEW]\nThe software update also lets users add filters to their photos. But these aren't the same sepia or high-contrast tones that made Instagram a hit \u2014 Lytro has crafted filters that specifically take advantage of the light-field data in the photo.\nFor example, one filter lets you put the foreground in color and the background in black and white, or vice versa \u2014 centering the color saturation of the image around the focus point (see the pic below for an example). Another exaggerates the blur in out-of-focus parts of the pic, making the \"reveal\" effect more dramatic.\n\n\nLytro says the new tricks are all part of a long list of features and abilities of unlocking the full potential of the light field. Also on the to-do list: 3D photos, video and Matrix-style \"bullet time\" effects, which would take the perspective-shift idea to the extreme.\nAs for any new hardware, Lytro is staying mum. Obviously not wanting to \"Osborne\" its first-generation product, the company is focused on software features at the moment. Nonetheless, the main criticism of the camera has been its low resolution, which is about a megapixel.\nHow do you like the new Lytro features, and what other ones would you like to see? Share your thoughts in the comments.\n\nPhoto by Mashable"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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