Light Field Camera: Lytro The World's First 4D Consumer Camera (INTERACTIVE IMAGES)

If a four dimensional camera sounds a bit outlandish, prepare to be surprised.

Lytro has released its first camera, which supposedly captures more rays of light than any other camera on the market. According to Lytro's press release, the camera can capture an astounding 11 million rays of light.

But just what makes it "4D"? Using a the light field sensor, the camera not only captures the color and intensity of every ray, but the direction as well.

Still don't get it? Check out the Lytra gallery, and be sure to click on some images to get the full effect. You can also scroll down to see it for yourself.

Simply stated, the Lytro captures as much data as possible in each photograph and producing "interactive" images. The effect is somewhat magical, allowing users to refocus images directly in the camera, meaning almost no shot can be a bad one.

The enormous amount of light it takes in (a constant f/2 aperture) means it functions well in low light. Both the 16 GB version ($399) and the 32 GB version ($499) keep the same specifications.

As far as the ultimate use for the camera, Lytro's founder, Ren Ng told the New York Times in June that he sees a future in the use of Lytro photo on sites like Facebook. Apparently, they are also preparing an app for the social network.

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