RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE

APS-C Dual Fisheye Lens Dedicated for 3D VR Shooting

The unique RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE is a dedicated APS-C VR lens in EOS VR system which is equipped with two fisheye lenses. When paired with EOS R7¹ mirrorless camera, the two lenses produce parallax that can be used to create 3D VR image easily, the lens also enables content creators to harness the camera’s 4K recording capabilities² to produce high definition 180^o VR video³ with an immersive feel.

The light rays that enter each “eye” of the RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE lens are captured by a sole CMOS image sensor. This removes the need for certain parts of the traditional VR production workflow, such as aligning and syncing camera positions before the shoot or stitching images together in post-production, resulting in greater efficiency.

Lightweight and affordable 3D VR Solution

The APS-C VR camera solution consists of RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE and EOS R7 mirrorless camera¹ brings a lightweight and more affordable 3D VR shooting option to content creators interested in creating 3D VR contents, further lowering the barrier of 3D VR production.

RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE weights approx. 290g only⁵, and the total weight when attached to EOS R7 camera is only 902g⁵, offering excellent mobility. When comparing to its Full Frame counterpart,  the lightweight RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE also reduces the requirement for other photographic equipment.  Shooting now becomes easier no matter with tripod, gimbal or handheld,  bringing more freedom to 3D VR shooting styles and shooting scenes.

180^o VR Demo Video for RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE

Innovative Optical Design for High Image Quality

RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE is equipped with 2 Fisheye Lenses (Left and Right) covering a 144^o angle of view and adopts Equidistant projection design, which is ideally suitable for VR shooting. Each fisheye lens incorporates an innovative 11 elements in 8 groups folder optics design, which features 2 prisms that folds the optical path to provide images with natural parallax with a baseline length of 60 mm in a camera with an APS-C sensor (Approx. 22.3mm x 14.8mm). This enables using this interchangeable lens with EOS R7¹ for simple and straightforward 3D VR shooting without the need for any special purpose camera, significantly simplifying the 3D VR production workflow.

Taking the advantage of the large-diameter RF Mount and its short back focus, a lens construction optimized for a folded optical path and effective placement of 2 UD lenses in the final lens group, the lens aberrations have been effectively suppressed and achieved a high image quality across the entire 144^o fisheye image.

Folded Optics design achieved images with natural parallax with a baseline length of 60mm in a single lens.

Excellent Operability of 3D VR Shooting

High Quality Image with 144^o  Angle of View

High quality image is essential for immersive VR videos, a high pixel density⁶ on APS-C size sensor is made possible by designing the angle of view of RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE to 144^o. When recording 4K Fine videos with EOS R7, the same pixel density⁶ as that of the RF5.2mm F2.8 L DUAL FISHEYE and EOS R5 combination is achieved.

Moreover, the angle of view of 144^o allows the user to shoot high quality 3D VR images without capturing other photographic equipment, such as tripods, gimbals and microphones, in the shot, making 3D VR shooting easier.  

144^o  Angle of View

Handheld Shooting Made Easy

The lightweight RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE and it narrower angle of view of 144^o makes shooting 3D VR with gimbal or handheld more convenient and easy, allows more flexibility during shooting. When coped with EOS VR Utility’s Electronic Image Stabilization⁷, the camera shakes in 3D VR videos shot handheld can be reduced. This enables output of stabilized 180^o VR video for more comfortable viewing.    

Synchronized Auto Focus ⁴

The RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE features a gear-type stepping motor (STM) with a dual-lens autofocus mechanism⁴, which drives the left and right lenses in unison. This makes AF as simple to operate as with an ordinary RF lens.
A high-performance microprocessor matches the actuator control with the AF algorithm of the camera, to achieve high-speed and high-precision autofocus.

Subject distance for the best 3D feel

The most three-dimensional subject distance range for 3D VR videos is between 0.5m and 2m. Shooting in this range can make the subject more prominent and bring a more intense and immersive experience.

Dual EMD for Synchronized Exposure

The left and right lenses of RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE are equipped with an Electro-magnetic Diaphragm (EMD) to electronically control the aperture diameter simultaneously to ensure consistent exposure of the left and right images.

Rear Filter Holder

RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE comes with a newly designed removable Rear Filter Holder that supports the use of either 30.5mm screw-in filter or gelatin filter.

Even during daytime outdoor shoots, a Neutral Density (ND) filter can be installed to control exposure when shooting with large aperture or help to ensure smooth video effect with a proper shutter speed.

Bundled removable Rear Filter Holder supports the use of either 30.5mm screw-in filter or gelatin filter.

Focus / Control Ring

RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE also incorporates “Focus/Control Ring” which user can switch from camera’s menu between Focus Ring operation or Control Ring operation such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed or exposure compensation adjustment.

Environmental Protection

Canon is working to reduce the amount of plastic materials used in product packaging.

In RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE, by using packaging materials made from plant-based nonwoven fabric and cardboard to replace plastic tray and plastic bubble wrap, Canon reduces plastic waste and contribute to a reduction in environmental impact.

EOS VR System • Streamlining 3D VR production

VR is being increasingly applied in many industries including entertainment, tourism, and education. Amid this background Canon is leveraging on its optical technologies nurtured through its development and production of the EOS interchangeable lens camera system to establish a new VR video production system that realizes high-quality images alongside an efficient production workflow.

The EOS VR System is a triune system consists of compatible mirrorless cameras and Cinema EOS cameras, VR lenses along with Canon application to remote control and convert the resulting image files to a standard VR file format, making the post-production process easy.

EOS VR system is designed for 180^o VR footage, which has half the field of view of 360^o VR footage. This reduces the volume of data generated and produces high-definition footage that is easier to handle, excellent for creating highly realistic images. Camera operators can also focus on shooting with the knowledge that they will not be captured in-frame.

By establishing this system, Canon hopes to cater to the wide-ranging needs, whether they are from VR image creators and productions or new users just starting their VR video production journey.

The EOS VR System is a triune system consists of compatible mirrorless cameras and Cinema EOS cameras, VR lenses along with Canon application to remote control and convert the resulting image files to a standard VR file format.

Advantage of 3D VR production with One Sensor System

Before viewers can view the 3D VR footage on a head-mounted display (HMD), the footage captured by the camera must first be converted into a VR file. The conventional VR image production workflow therefore consists of 4 stages: shooting, checking, post-editing, and file conversion. Conventional 3D VR shooting requires 2 cameras (2 sensors) and 2 lens for capturing left and right images, it is necessary to aligning the positions and synchronizing the settings of the left and right cameras before the shoot. It is also necessary to stich footages before file conversion to 3D VR format. Moreover,there tends to be differences in color and brightness between two images due to sensor characteristics, additional post processing is needed for correction. 

Under Canon’s EOS VR system, images are captured using just one EOS R7 camera1 with one CMOS image sensor and one RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE, rendering the parts of the workflow that were necessary with a two-camera system redundant. It is also no longer necessary to stich footage before file conversion. Additionally, when users convert files with either the EOS VR Utility computer software or the EOS VR Plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro dedicated plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro , they can also automatically correct horizon and  lens parallax during conversion, improving workflow efficiency.

The light that enters each “eye” of the lens can be recorded with just one CMOS image sensor. This removes the need to adjust camera positions and synchronizing settings before the shoot, or to stitch images in post-production.

3D VR Workflow comparison of EOS VR System vs Conventional Two-camera system

EOS VR System 3D VR Production Workflow

In addition to compatible cameras and VR lenses, the Canon Remote Control and Format Conversion applications play an important role in the EOS VR system 3D VR production workflow.

VR production often requires remote shooting. Users can use the EOS Utility computer software to adjust camera settings and transfer images from the camera to the computer, or use the Camera Connect smartphone app to adjust camera settings and check images from a smartphone.

After shooting, users can choose EOS VR Utility computer software (paid subscription service) or EOS VR Plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro (paid subscription service) to simply convert the image into a 180o VR format Equirectangular Projection, It can also automatically correct the horizon and lens parallax during conversion to further improve work efficiency. Among them, EOS VR Utility supports image conversion and basic editing, and allows adjusting image quality and file format flexibility according to post-production and display environment needs. The EOS VR Plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro allows users to perform file conversion and post-editing in Adobe Premiere Pro editing software.

Workflow of EOS VR System 3D VR Production

EOS VR System Applications

Remote Control Applications

Format Conversion Applications