Canon has launched the RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM Dual Fisheye APS-C lens for VR content production. The lens enables VR bloggers to easily create 3D content from an arm's length and is compatible with the Canon EOS R7 mirrorless camera on firmware 1.5.0 or higher.

The lens has a 144 degree, wide-angle view equivalent to approximately a 7mm fisheye lens on a full-frame 35mm camera. The two 3.9 mm lenses use a 60 mm PD (interpupillary distance), closely matching the distance between human pupils in adults for VR images that are comfortable to view with less chance of blurry vision, eye strain, and headaches.

The lenses are driven by a gear-type stepping motor (STM) for autofocus, with fine-tuning of each possible. The lens can only be manually focused during movie filming, and image stabilization is not available.

Each stereo lens is covered with a Canon Air Sphere Coating to reduce ghosting before light passes through a 7-blade aperture. The fisheye lenses have an aperture of f/3.5 to f/16 adjustable in either 1/3 or 1/2 stops with a minimum focusing distance of 0.66 feet (0.2 meter). The Dual Fisheye can take 30.5 mm screw-on filters and has a rear-mounted gelatin filter holder. Each lens has 11 elements in 8 groups with two ultra-low dispersion (UD) elements in a folded-optical design to reduce chromatic aberration for sharp VR images. The Dual Fisheye measures 4.4 x 3.3 x 2.1 inches (112.0 x 83.7 x 54.6 mm) and weighs 10.2 ounces (290 grams).

The RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM Dual Fisheye will be available on June 27, 2024 at an MSRP of $1,099. Readers itching to create new content for Meta Quest and other AR/VR/XR headsets should also pick up a Canon EOS R7 mirrorless digital camera.