Canon has announced what’s easily the oddest glass yet for its EOS R mirrorless camera system: a dual 5.2mm f/2.8 fisheye. The fisheye lenses are 60mm apart and are designed for creating 3D VR images and video content; Canon calls out the Oculus Quest 2 as a potential hardware destination and says this is “the world’s first digital interchangeable lens that can capture stereoscopic 3D 180° VR imagery to a single image sensor.”
Canon’s new dual-fisheye EOS R lens is for creating 3D VR content
It’ll be out in December for $1,999
It’ll be out in December for $1,999
The lens can be used to shoot up to 8K footage on the EOS R5, which appears to be the only camera it’ll work with. Canon is releasing a 1.5.0 firmware update for the R5 as well as a Premiere Pro plug-in and a standalone file conversion app called EOS VR Utility. Canon calls this combination the EOS VR System and will be making the software available on a subscription basis.
The lens will cost $1,999, while the EOS R5 sells for $3,899. That’s a pricey combination, but not too much more than some dedicated VR cameras like the Insta360 Pro 2, and Canon’s solution should be a lot more versatile. The lens and software will both be released in December.
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