Lytro is an innovative company operating at the merging point of consumer electronics, scientific development and design. Its main product line includes light field cameras, the special type of photography equipment that is said to be able to revolutionize the field for both producers and consumers. The project is very ambitious by nature, aimed at making traditional photographic technology using lenses obsolete, replacing it with an alternative that is capable of being directly manipulated while also providing unprecedented image quality. The technology developed by the company encompasses different platforms, including a physical camera and specialized software to manipulate images taken by it. Lytro uses innovative approaches that are in most ways incompatible with the current software used for photographic work, coupled with a new way to take photos, both of which factors make it hard for the company to gain public acceptance. The research into the field of light field cameras, as well as their prevalence on the market, is virtually non-existent as of now, making both marketing and competition with traditional brands difficult.
The two major market segments Lytro’s technology can address include casual users and professional photographers. With both segments, the company can offer unique value and technology that has not been previously used on a large scale. The current demand of both markets is currently fulfilled by the major players of the photo industry, including brands like Nikon and others. They have high pixel counts and other features that casual users and professionals find important. In Lytro’s case, however, the company has to identify the particular needs of each group and offer precisely what they need. For the casual market, such considerations as portability, affordability and functionality come first, as the rise in phone technology and the general trend towards smaller cameras has conditioned the public into expecting more convenient products. The company needs to make the ergonomic and simplistic design of the camera, coupled with its high-end functionality, the main focal point of the marketing. Additionally, the regular consumer base often prefers products compatible with different hardware and software, those that are easy to use and shared around with one’s friends. Due to this tendency, it might be difficult for Lytro’s proprietary software to match the mass appeal of traditional cameras. However, the considerations and needs will be different for a more professional audience. Professional photographers and editors value the quality of images and the potential functionality of the product more than anything, striving for the best result at any available price range. While the focus of the professional sphere is significantly set on such things as pixel counts and other traditional methods of evaluating a camera, they also have a much wider capacity for accepting innovation. The light field camera niche can be used to further streamline the editing process and offer creative individuals an ability to further engage with their art, which is both a big part of professional photography. By focusing on the potential novelty and benefits of their revolutionary camera, Lytro can make a good case for themselves in the photography sphere. Due to a generally high price and currently somewhat limited functionality, it would be difficult for Lytro to cater to an average consumer, so using professionals as the main target audience would be a safer and more effective choice.
Lytro’s main value comes from the company’s ability to completely streamline a major part of the photo editing process in the future. Currently, with the development of mobile phones and smart technology, the capacity for consumer electronics to take high-quality photos has increased exponentially. In this developing climate, the capacity to create novel ways of taking photos becomes much more viable. Consequently, Lytro offers its customers a prospect of new value. The technology used in the light field cameras produced by the company allows one to take pictures while recording new types of visual data, which can be later manipulated at will, creating new visual experiences without the need to use specialized software. The process can allow the professional skill barrier for photography to be decreased significantly, opening up the possibility that completely new genres and avenues of photography will develop. Additionally, the use of new technology in this process makes many of today’s camera components unnecessary. The decrease in the number of components needed can be used to improve portability, as well as to further increase the efficiency of taking photos. As a last benefit presented by the company, their mass appeal can be used to cement the idea of light field cameras in the common perception, opening up the possibilities for further development and adaptation of this technology in other devices. A limited implementation of this principle was already seen in phones, and with the growth of Lytro’s popularity, their spread can be widened even further.