Nokia has bigger welcome mat for Refocus camera app

(Phys.org) —Nokia found customers happy with its show of "shoot-first, focus later" technology in its PureView-imaging technology branded handsets. Nokia now has released the app for anyone with a Lumia smartphone running Windows Phone 8. The Nokia Refocus camera app can shift the focus depending on where you want it, or can show everything in focus. The feature makes creatives out of anyone who wants to dabble in decisions about what to accent in either the background or foreground.

The announcement was made in a blog posted on Friday, titled "Depth charge! Nokia Refocus rolls out to all Lumias." The post said more people now can have a piece of the "varifocal" action. A varifocal lens is a camera lens with variable focal length; the focus changes as focal length changes. Nokia Refocus, an imaging app, was launched in November for PureView devices, allowing users to take a photo first and later choose what they want in focus, and able to do easily simply by clicking on the image.

As Digital Trends' Andy Boxall explained at the time, photography fans already may have been aware of such technology outside of Nokia, through cameras such as the Lytro. He also noted that Nokia's app is all software driven. "It works by taking several different images, all at different depths of field, when you hit the shutter release."

It is after the photo is taken that the creative choice begins, by choosing anywhere to adjust the focus, have the entire photo focus, or choose any specific color to pop out. The Windows Phone site also notes that Refocus is ideal if shooting close-ups of the subject "because it allows you to show depth in your photos, and then change focal point if you want." The Color Pop feature can highlight the color of a particular area too.

The Nokia Refocus app can be downloaded from the Windows Phone page. In the blog post, Jens Eggert, Nokia's lead program manager for Refocus, asked for tips on shooting the best shot, said that to create a great Refocus image, "move as close as possible to the object nearest you, get that in focus – between five and ten centimeters – and ensure you've got something defined in the background." He also said, though, that the best advice was experimentation. "Just play," he said, "it's fun!"

According to the blog announcement, people receiving the image do not need a Lumia smartphone or the Nokia Refocus app to choose their own focal point. They can even do it via Facebook.

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