Video refocusing

1. A light field video acquisition device comprising:

optics;

a photosensor array, configured to acquire first light field video data, and further configured to acquire second light field video data after acquisition of the first light field video data;

a microlens array, disposed between the optics and the photosensor array so that light rays are directed onto the photosensor array via the optics and the microlens array;

first memory, configured to store up to a predetermined amount of:

first refocusable video data which is representative of the first light field video data;

second refocusable video data which is representative of the second light field video data;

first summary data derived from the first light field video data; and

second summary data derived from the second light field video data;

wherein the first and second refocusable light field video data each comprise a representation having at least four dimensions and comprising at least an indication of a direction of travel of light;

and wherein the second summary data is derived after acquisition of the first light field video data;

second memory, configured to store video data; and

processing circuitry, coupled to the first memory and to the second memory, configured to:

(i) determine a first virtual focus parameter using the second summary data;

(ii) generate first video data using the first refocusable video data and the first virtual focus parameter, wherein the first video data includes a focus depth that is different from the optical focus depth of the acquired first light field video data; and

(iii) cause an output device to output the first video data.

2. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , further comprising:

an interface, coupled to the processing circuitry, configured to receive input focus data, wherein the processing circuitry determines the first virtual focus parameter using the second summary data and the input focus data.

3. The light field video acquisition device of claim 2 , wherein the interface comprises a user interface which is configured to receive a user input which is representative of the input focus data.

4. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual focus parameter comprises information which is representative of focus tracking.

5. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the first video data substantially concurrently with the photosensor array acquiring the second refocusable light field video data.

6. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first memory is configured to store the first refocusable video data by buffering up to a predetermined amount of first refocusable video data.

7. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first memory is configured to store the first refocusable video data by storing up to a predetermined amount of most recently acquired first refocusable video data.

8. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein storing first refocusable video data comprises storing an amount of first refocusable video data which corresponds to at least three seconds of first refocusable light field video data.

9. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual focus parameter comprises information which is representative of at least one focus depth which is different from the optical focus depth of the first refocusable light field video data.

10. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first refocusable video data comprises an amount of first refocusable video data which corresponds to less than ten seconds of first refocusable light field video data, and wherein the less than ten seconds of first refocusable light field video data corresponds to less than ten seconds of first refocusable light field video data acquired substantially immediately before determining the first virtual focus parameter.

11. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual focus parameter comprises information which is representative of maintaining a predetermined focus depth of an area of the scene.

12. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual focus parameter comprises information which is representative of focus tracking.

13. The light field video acquisition device of claim 12 , wherein the information which is representative of focus tracking is acquired by performing the steps of:

identifying at least one subject of interest in the scene; and

generating the first video data having a predetermined virtual focus depth relative to the one or more subjects, wherein the predetermined virtual focus depth is different from the optical focus depth of the first refocusable light field video data.

14. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the optical focus depth of the first refocusable light field video data varies during acquisition thereof.

15. The light field video acquisition device of claim 14 , further comprising:

a configuration mechanism, coupled to the processing circuitry, configured to vary the optical focus depth of the video acquisition device, wherein the varying optical focus depth of the video acquisition device allows generating the first video data having a predetermined focus depth relative to the one or more subjects;

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the first video data by generating video data having the predetermined focus depth relative to the one or more subjects wherein the varying optical focus depth is different from the predetermined focus depth relative to the one or more subjects.

16. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein the optical focus depth of the first refocusable light field video data is fixed during acquisition thereof.

17. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , further comprising:

an input device, coupled to the processing circuitry, configured to receive a user input indicative of a subject in the scene after acquisition of the first refocusable light field video data;

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the first virtual focus parameter by using a focus depth of the subject in the scene and the second refocusable light field video data.

18. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , further comprising:

an input device, coupled to the processing circuitry, configured to receive a user input indicative of a location in the scene after acquisition of the first refocusable light field video data;

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the first virtual focus parameter by using a focus depth of the location in the scene and the second refocusable light field video data.

19. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 further comprising:

an input device, coupled to the processing circuitry, configured to receive a user input after acquisition of the first refocusable light field video data, wherein the user input is indicative of a selected focus depth;

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine the first virtual focus parameter by using the selected focus depth and the second refocusable light field video data.

20. The light field video acquisition device of claim 1 , wherein:

the first memory is further configured to store second refocusable video data which is representative of the second refocusable light field video data;

the photosensor array is further configured to acquire third refocusable light field video data of the scene after acquiring the second light field video data;

the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a second virtual focus parameter using at least a portion of at least one of the first, second and third refocusable light field video data;

generate second video data using the second refocusable video data and the second virtual focus parameter, wherein the second video data comprises a focus depth that is different from the optical focus depth of the second refocusable light field video data of the scene; and

cause an output device to output the second video data, wherein the first and second video data are temporally contiguous.

21. The light field video acquisition device of claim 20 , wherein:

the first and second virtual focus parameters each include information which is representative of focus tracking which is acquired by performing the steps of:

identifying one or more subjects of interest in the scene,

generating the first video data having a predetermined focus depth relative to the one or more subjects, and

adjusting the focus depth of the second video data to maintain the predetermined focus relative to the one or more subjects for a predetermined period of time.