Post Focus Arrives in Mainstream Cameras

By now most of us are familiar with the Lytro camera technology - those funny looking cameras that allow you to choose your point of focus AFTER you take the photo. They didn't sell well and the company has moved on to VR applications now.    That doesn't mean the idea of focusing after you take a picture is dead. Panasonic teased it a few months back and now we have the official announcement though their version of this technology is a good bit different and doesn't require any fancy viewers, then again it isn't as interactive as the Lytro stuff - read on.Panasonic will release a firmware update available via the Lumix Global website next Wednesday, November 25 at 01:00 GMT. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8, DMC-G7, and DMC-FZ330 will be supported.Watch this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCmPSEMiEA How does post focus work?  It uses the 4K Photo technology that is currently available in many of the Panasonic camera capable of shooting 4k Video- 4K Photo technology allows you to shoot 4k video and then extract a still.  I have talked about this and demonstrated the technology on our weekly live show. You can shoot 4k video at 30fps and then scroll through and pick your still image to pull out and save as a jpeg. These jpeg files are 8mp. Big enough to get prints, I have and was impressed with the quality.  What the post focus feature adds - as you use the feature it is running that 30fps video and each frame is focused on a different point in the video. When you play it back you can move backward and forward in time to select the focus point you want, extract the still and voila.Gimmick or Useful?  The beginning of serious technology that is a glimpse of what is to come for photography or a silly fad? Let me know in the comments your thoughts.