Canon will start shipping a dual fisheye lens with an estimated retail price of $1,999 in late December that can shoot 3D 180° video when paired up with the EOS R5 camera.
The Canon RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens will debut alongside a subscription-based software utility and Adobe Premiere Pro plug-in “for completing the post-production process,” a press release explains. Canon says it will offer free trial periods for the EOS VR Utility and EOS VR Plug-in, with details to be shared later, but there will also be “the ability to process still images and certain clip lengths for free.”
Canon says the lenses were engineered with an interpupillary distance of 60mm to deliver a field of view about 190 degrees onto a single full-frame sensor inside the R5 camera. The product is said to be capable of focusing up to 7.87-inches away with an aperture range from f/2.8 to f/16.
The product is a curious release from Canon. The VR market already saw a range of consumer and professional camera products come and go that were targeting 180-degree and 360-degree capture, and consumers haven’t really shown a willingness to pay for content captured this way. Still, Canon’s cameras are in widespread professional use and the company is pitching a “simplified workflow” for processing captures with its hardware that might be tempting for some creators. Likewise, Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 is heading toward mainstream adoption and millions of engaged Quest owners might breathe new life into this type of content.
