2. Description of the plenoptic camera

After a brief presentation of the plenoptic context and a positioning in relation to the various 3D imaging techniques, we will describe here the different configurations that have been proposed in the literature for plenoptic imaging. Initially, we will focus on the two major concepts, plenoptic cameras 1.0 and 2.0, and then present a few variants. Each concept will be described, and a typical focal-plane image will be presented and analyzed to show how volume information can be traced back to the observed scene. Image processing is essential. Indeed, whatever the concept, the raw images obtained on the camera's detector all have in common the fact of intermingling 2D and 3D information in a single image, rather like cubist paintings, and are therefore not directly interpretable. To be readable and usable, these images must undergo digital processing.