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The Light L16 is a 16-camera digital compact camera that takes photos up to 52MP

By Alvin Soon - on 8 Oct 2015, 3:30pm

The Light L16 is a 16-camera digital compact camera that takes photos up to 52MP

The L16 from Light is quite unlike any digital camera we’ve seen till now. The L16 takes the same concept behind dual-camera technology - which lets you do things like blur the background after taking an image - and cranks it way, way up.

Instead of two cameras in one body, it has 16 camera sensors and lenses, in a body that looks like a chunky phablet. Light is taking advantage of three things:

  • One is the advances in the quality of miniature camera technology, made possible in the last few years thanks to the exploding popularity of smartphone photography
  • The second is something called folded optics, where a mirror reflects light to the camera sensors, which are placed perpendicular to the camera body, thus reducing the camera’s bulk (this is already commonly in-use among digital compact cameras)
  • The third is software, which blends multiple images taken at the same time into a single, high-quality image

Each of the L16’s camera modules has a 13MP sensor, and there are five modules with 35mm lenses, five with 70mm lenses, and six with 150mm lenses. These three focal lengths give the user a way to optically zoom in and out of the shot, something that smartphone cameras today still can’t do.

When the L16 takes a picture, it fires 10 of these small cameras, then combines them digitally in-camera to create a final high-quality image up to 52MP in resolution. Because it uses multiple cameras to take a single image, it can create better-looking images in low light, and lets you select your focus and blur the background during editing. The L16 also takes up to 4K video using a single camera module.

In Light’s promotional videos, the L16 looks like a chunky phablet, but as a rectangular box it’s definitely more pocketable than a mirrorless or DSLR camera. The L16 comes with a large touchscreen interface, with in-camera editing and built-in Wi-Fi. 

We’re quite excited to see how the L16 pushes the quality level for digital compact cameras, but right now the L16 is only available for pre-order at US$1,299, and won’t actually be shipping until late summer 2016. If you’re an early adopter with deep pockets, you can go over to Light’s website and pre-order one today, but do it soon, because after November 6th the price jumps up to US$1,699.

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