Modified light field architecture for reconfigurable multimode imaging

Light field cameras can simultaneously capture the spatial location and angular direction of light rays emanating from a scene. By placing a variable bandpass filter in the aperture of a light field camera, we demonstrate the ability to multiplex the visible spectrum over this captured angular dimension. The result is a novel design for a single-snapshot multispectral imager, with digitally reconstructed images exhibiting reduced spatial resolution proportional to the number of captured spectral channels. This paper explores the effect of this spatial-spectral resolution tradeoff on camera design. It also examines the concept of utilizing a non-uniform pinhole array to achieve varying spectral and spatial capture over the extent of the sensor. Images are presented from several different light field – variable bandpass filter designs, and limitations and sources of error are discussed.