..AND NOVEL DUAL FISH-EYE FOR SHOOTING 3D VR

A RATHER MORE exotic new RF-mount lens is the RF 5.2mm f/2.8 Dual Fish-Eye designed to create stereoscopic 180º images for virtual reality content using just one camera. This is Canon’s first interchangeable VR lens – also a world first for digital camera systems – and is one component of the EOS VR System that also includes the newly-developed Canon VR software and the EOS VR Utility plug-in for Adobe Premiere Pro (required to process 180º VR content). In particular, it allows for the easy conversion of the dual circular fish-eye images to the side-by-side equi-rectangular 180º VR format. These can then be exported into various resolutions and codecs – including up to 8K resolution for video when shooting with the

EOS R5 – for post-production editing and/or final playback on suitable VR headsets.

The RF 5.2mm f/2.8L Dual Fish-Eye features a pair of forward-facing fisheye lenses, each with an ultra-wide, 190º field-of-view. This enables the projection of two images onto the camera’s sensor with perfect alignment and synchronisation. Capturing two images on the same sensor ensures they're identical in both image quality and exposure, reducing the need for grading in post-production and the need to match the left and right image output. The dual lens module incorporates a folding optical design and baseline distance between the two lenses of 60mm to match the human interpupil distance to create a naturallooking view. Being an L-series lens, the dual fisheyes’ 12-element optical constructions each include two elements with ultra-low dispersion (UD) characteristics. They also employ Canon’s Sub Wavelength (SWD) multicoating to help minimise ghosting and flare. A holder is provided at the rear to accept gelatine-type filters, including NDs for additional exposure control options when shooting in bright conditions. The minimum focusing distance is 20cm and the minimum aperture is f/16. Focusing is manual with the control ring focusing both lenses simultaneously (but obviously the depth-of-field is huge, and the R5’s focusing peaking display is available as an assist). The dual electro-mechanical diaphragms (EMDs) are more precisely controlled to ensure both exposures are the same. The dual fish-eye has a weather-sealed construction along with fluorine antismear coatings on the external surfaces of the front elements. The Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 Dual Fish-Eye will be available locally from late December, priced at $3,849. The supporting software is due in early 2022 and will be purchasable by subscription. For more information visit www.