Skip to main content

Always in focus: This camera module turns your next smartphone into a Lytro

Mobile World Congress 2024
Read our complete coverage of Mobile World Congress

There’s no denying it: the Lytro is very cool. It’s a camera that doesn’t need to focus. It takes pictures which can be refocused to highlight a different element of the picture after you’re done shooting. It’s the first consumer product of its type, with the technology previously being used almost solely in the scientific field. Today, however, we learned that its abilities may soon be matched by the phone in your hands, and with 8-13 times the megapixels. It’s not a pipe dream. It’s already here and could be coming to a smartphone near you later this year.

Recommended Videos

California-based DigitalOptics has produced a new camera module it calls ‘Mems|Cam,’ which along with a host of other benefits, performs the same trick as the Lytro. It’s capable of taking a single image with multiple points of focus, allowing you to tap on your touchscreen to refocus an image after you take it. We caught up with DigitalOptics at Mobile World Congress and saw the Mems Cam in action. The module was not encased in a phone, but connected to a computer instead, where a test image was taken.

DOC mems cam Module copy
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Like a Lytro, but not like a Lytro

The Mems Cam takes multiple shots at different depths of field in quick succession, then the camera software stitches them all together into one photo, all ready for you to choose a point of focus. The result is almost identical to the Lytro, and anything of importance on the screen can be brought into focus. And because this is a modern smartphone autofocus camera module, the resolution will be between 8 megapixels and 13 megapixels. Compare that to the measly 1-megapixel Lytro and you’re in business.

DesignOptics Lytro-like camera background focus
Image used with permission by copyright holder
DesignOptics Lytro-like camera foreground focus
Image used with permission by copyright holder

But wait, there’s more

This unusual depth of field/burst mode hybrid feature is only part of what makes the Mems Cam interesting. It’s built using microelectricalmechanical silicone system, or MEMS, which is a technology that makes it much smaller and thinner than traditional camera modules – to the point where a 5.1mm thick smartphone would be possible with this camera. In addition to being smaller, it’s also lighter weight and energy conserving. It removes much of the heavy weight material of traditional camera sensors and consumes a tiny fraction – just 1 percent – of the energy. If you add this energy conservation to the new energy frugal processors and screen technologies we’ve seen this year, and we could see some serious battery life improvements on our smartphones.

DigitalOptics camera Mem

Fast, reliable, and coming soon

The list of advantages continues. The Mems|Cam’s autofocus (if you want to focus) is super-fast, as is its face-recognition software, both of which are unfazed if you add or remove objects in the camera’s viewpoint. The camera focus readjusts almost instantaneously. Another advantage of the silicon construction is it’s ability to keep cool, which boosts its reliability, and means that the lens performance won’t degrade over time.

DOC mems cam exploded view
Image used with permission by copyright holder

No phones have yet been announced with a Mems Cam included in them, but the module is ready to go. We can expect to see a Mems Cam fitted to a phone around mid-year, according to DigitalOptics. We saw several reference design phones with the module installed and in the press release, Oppo and China’s CK Telecom are both quoted as being interested in the technology.

With mobile photography the hot-topic it is right now, innovative tech like this could prove to be a hit with those who’re looking at HTC’s Ultrapixels and Nokia’s PureView, while providing the differentiator a smart phone brand needs. The DigitalOptics camera module is one of the coolest things we’ve seen at Mobile World Congress.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Everything you need to know about the OnePlus 13
Official OnePlus 13 product renders showing rear panel colors.

OnePlus is an excellent brand that offers powerful flagship phones at a great value compared to some of its competitors. We followed every rumor about the OnePlus 13 for months, but now it's here — and it's everything we hoped for. It might not be available in the Western market yet, but it will be soon.

So, what makes the OnePlus 13 so special? Here's everything you need to know about OnePlus' latest flagship.
When is the OnePlus 13 being released?

Read more
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite vs. MediaTek Dimensity 9400: the race is on
Comparison of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 processors.

The flagship mobile silicon race has entered its next phase, one that will dictate the trajectory of Android hardware heading into 2025. Merely weeks after MediaTek wowed us with the Dimensity 9400 system on a chip (SoC), Qualcomm also pulled a surprise with the reveal of the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

But this time around, the battle is not as straightforward. Where MediaTek is working closely with Arm and adopting its latest CPU and graphics innovations, Qualcomm has firmly put its faith in custom cores. These are no ordinary cores, but a next-gen iteration of the same fundamental tech stack that powers Windows on ARM laptops.

Read more
Discolored line on your new Kindle? You aren’t alone
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition on a table.

The new Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is the first full-color e-reader, and a lot of bookworms couldn't wait to get their hands on it. Sadly, many people are reporting the display has a discolored yellow area at the bottom of the screen. The problem is so widespread that the Kindle Colorsoft dropped to an average review rating of 2.6 out of 5, although it does remain the bestselling e-book reader at the moment.

The cause of the discoloration isn't clear. Some users report that it only happens when using the edge lighting feature on the Kindle, while others say it appeared after a software update. Either way, the yellowing is a problem, especially on a device that Amazon has marketed as being great for comics and graphic novel fans. It's hard to enjoy the colorwork in a comic when it's distorted.

Read more