Light's multi-lens technology is coming to smartphones

Light's multi-lens photography technology looks set to make its way onto our phones soon.

Two years ago, Light launched the L16 camera, a "multi-aperture computational camera" that features no less than 16 lenses. These lenses simultaneously capture a single image but with different focal lengths. The camera then combines these separate images into a single 52-megapixel photo, ensuring that the entire landscape and depth of the photo are in focus. So if you imagine a photo with a flower in the foreground and a mountain in the background, then all objects, from the nearby flower to the distant mountain, will appear crystal clear in the photo.
As a photography technique, it is possible to focus with great depth with a single, single lens, but it requires a very bright day and fine-grained, i.e. fast film.
The Washington Post reports that Light is looking to bring this idea to a phone. According to the paper, Light has shown off several prototype phone ideas that have between five and nine lenses built into their backs.
And the company claims that its design can take 64-megapixel photos, can take better photos in low light, and offers advanced depth effects. Light says it aims to announce a smartphone with a multi-lens design in 2018. But we're curious to see how much such a device would cost, as you can see from the company's website, the $2,050 price tag for the L16 certainly isn't cheap.