Systems and methods for decoding refocusable light field image files

1. A system for rendering an image using a light field image file, the system comprising:

a processor; and

memory containing a rendering application and a light field image file;

wherein the light field image file is structured using the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) and comprises:

an encoded image; and

metadata describing the encoded image stored within an application marker segment within the light field image file, where the metadata can be utilized to post-process the encoded image;

wherein the metadata comprises a depth map that specifies depths for pixels in the encoded image; and

wherein the rendering application directs the processor to render an image having at least one focus area at a particular depth by applying post processing to the encoded image using metadata contained within the light field image by:

locating the encoded image within the light field image file by locating a start of image marker within the light field image file;

decoding the encoded image;

locating the metadata within the light field image file; and

processing the decoded image by modifying the pixels of the decoded image based on the depths of the pixels indicated within the depth map to create a rendered image by applying a depth based effect to the pixels of the decoded image.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depth based effect comprises at least one effect selected from the group consisting of:

modifying the focal plane of the decoded image;

modifying the depth of field of the decoded image;

modifying the blur in out-of-focus regions of the decoded image;

locally varying the depth of field of the decoded image;

creating multiple focus areas at different depths within the decoded image; and

applying a depth related blur.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the encoded image is an image of a scene synthesized from a reference viewpoint using a plurality of images that capture the scene from different viewpoints.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depth map is generated based on a plurality of images that capture the scene from different viewpoints.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image rendered from the different viewpoint is part of a stereo pair of images.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the metadata in the light field image file further comprises a confidence map for the depth map, where the confidence map indicates the reliability of the depth values provided for pixels by the depth map.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the confidence map is losslessly encoded.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the rendering application directs the processor to decode the confidence map using a JPEG decoder.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the confidence map is encoded using lossy compression.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the confidence map is utilized in the processing of the decoded image in order to apply different filters in areas of the decoded image in order to improve the image quality of the decoded image based on the reliability of the depth values indicated within the depth map.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the confidence map is utilized to modify the F number of different portions of the decoded image as part of processing of the decoded image.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depth map is losslessly encoded.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the rendering application directs the processor to decode the depth map using a JPEG decoder.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the depth map is encoded using lossy compression.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the memory further comprises a JPEG decoder application;

the light field image file is encoded according to the JPEG standard; and

the rendering application further directs the processor to decode the encoded image using the JPEG decoder.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the application marker segment is identified using an application marker that is used to identify the JFIF data.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the light field image file comprises encoded image data captured from at least two focal planes.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein rendering application further directs the processor to:

identify a focal plane within the encoded image based on at least one pixel within the encoded image; and

process the decoded image to refocus the decoded image based on the identified focal plane and the depth map.

19. A method for decoding a light field image file, where the light field image file is structured using the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) and comprises an encoded image and metadata describing the encoded image stored within an application marker segment within the light field image file, the method comprising:

locating the encoded image within the light field image file by locating a start of image marker within the light field image file using an image rendering system;

decoding the encoded image using the image rendering system;

locating the metadata within the light field image file using the image rendering system, where the metadata comprises a depth map that specifies depths for pixels in the encoded image; and

processing the decoded image by modifying the pixels of the decoded image based on the depths of the pixels indicated within the depth map to create a rendered image having at least one focus area at a particular depth by applying a depth based effect to the pixels of the decoded image using the image rendering system.

20. A non-transitory machine readable medium containing processor instructions, where execution of the instructions by a processor causes the processor to perform a process comprising:

locating an encoded image within a light field image file by locating a start of image marker within the light field image file, where the light field image file is structured using the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) and comprises the encoded image and metadata describing the encoded image stored within an application marker segment within the light field image file;

decoding the encoded image;

locating the metadata within the light field image file, where the metadata comprises a depth map that specifies depths for pixels in the encoded image; and

processing the decoded image by modifying the pixels of the decoded image based on the depths of the pixels indicated within the depth map to create a rendered image having at least one focus area at a particular depth by applying a depth based effect to the pixels of the decoded image.