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.”
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.
