The demise of Kodak is a telling story for the digital age. The once near monopoly held by the company has been shattered by its failure to see the potential in its own invention. In its death throws the company is now hoping to cash in on a number of patents on digital photography. Meanwhile digital photography itself is about to enter another dimension. From Digital Photography 2.0 – digital cameras, to DP 3.0 – (mobile phone/HD ) , to DP 4.0 light field photography. The about to be released Lytros cameras herald a significant revolution in photography. These cameras are based on the science of ‘light field’ photography -using new sensors which are capable of capturing far more data than conventional cameras (ie light intensity, colour density, directional vectors). 
These cameras use software rather than physical components to capture what a normal camera can’t- a set aperture of f2 and 8X zoom. Critically it allows you to focus after the fact- meaning you can intereact with the image after taking to determine the point of focus. At last I can sense the smell of photographic chemicals fading from too many years of KODAK darkoom moments.
Reviews on the Lytros below (thanks Grant)
– “new technologies always polarise people@:
· http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20125910-1/lytro-camera-5-things-to-know-before-you-buy/
· http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7237351494/lytro-light-field-camera-first-look-with-ren-ng