Full-Resolution Light-Field Camera via Fourier Dual Photography

Abstract

Conventional light-field cameras with a micro-lens array suffer from resolution trade-off and shallow depth of field. Here we develop a full-resolution light-field camera based on dual photography. We extend the principle of dual photography from real space to Fourier space for obtaining two-dimensional (2D) angular information of the light-field. It uses a spatial light modulator at the image plane as a virtual 2D detector to record the 2D spatial distribution of the image, and a real 2D detector at the Fourier plane of the image to record the angles of the light rays. The Fourier-spectrum signals recorded by each pixel of the real 2D detector can be used to reconstruct a perspective image through single-pixel imaging. Based on the perspective images reconstructed by different pixels, we experimentally demonstrated that the camera can digitally refocus on objects at different depths. The camera can achieve light-field imaging with full resolution and provide an extreme depth of field. The method provides a new idea for developing full-resolution light-field cameras.

Keywords

• light-field camera
• dual photography
• full resolution
• single-pixel imaging