Canon today announced a more affordable lens option designed for social media creators and videographers interested in VR and 3D content creation.

Back in June, Canon announced its RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM Dual Fisheye lens, which was designed to allow its line of cameras to take spatial video and photos—priced at $1,099.00.

Now the company is widening its line of dual lens optics with an even more affordable VR lens system with the introduction of RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens, which is going on sale this November for $449.99.

Image courtesy Canon U.S.A., Inc.

As the name suggests, the lens offers a 7.8mm focal length, as well as a 60-degree angle of view. Like the previously released Dual Fisheye lens, the new lens is also compatible with Canon’s latest cameras that support RF mounts, which includes EOS R, R5, R6, RP, and the R7.

While admittedly offering a lower field-of-view (FOV) than the 144-degree FOV of its bigger brother, it’s also less than half the price.

Image courtesy Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Previewed at Apple’s 2024 WWDC, Canon intends to use the new lens to meet the growing demand for accessible spatial video creation.

Notably, the new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens is said to operate like a traditional 2D RF lens, enabling easy setup for newcomers, and allowing anyone with its latest RF mount cameras to create immersive content for headsets like Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3.

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According to Hiroto Kato, Canon’s vice president of Imaging Products & Solutions, the RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens is “an exciting step” in making 3D content creation accessible.

“With the RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens, Canon is not only providing a new visual tool but also enhancing the way creators communicate using emerging VR, spatial and 3D technologies,” said Kato says. “This lens allows users to capture immersive content, bridging the gap between traditional content creation and the latest in VR and Spatial imagery. It’s an exciting step forward in making high-quality 3D content more approachable for everyone.”

The new dual lens is scheduled for release in November 2024, priced at $449.99. Check out the specs below:

Specification Detail
Focal Length 7.8mm
Maximum and Minimum Aperture
f/4.0 – f/16 (1/3 stops, 1/2 stops)
Lens Mount Type
Canon RF Mount; Plastic Mount
Interpupillary Distance / Baseline Length 11.8mm
Minimum Focusing Distance
0.49 ft. (5.9 in.) / 0.15 m
Maximum Magnification 0.07x
Angle of View (Diagonal) 63° 00′
Lens Construction (each lens)
9 elements in 7 groups
Special Elements (each lens)
Two UD lens elements
Lens Coating
Super Spectra Coating
Filter Size Diameter
58mm screw-type filter
Rear Mounted Gelatin Filter Holder Not Supported
Aperture Blades (each lens) 7
Lens Switches
Left-right focus difference adjustment mode switch
Dust/Water Resistance Not Provided
Focusing System
Gear type STM focusing
Left/right focus difference adjustment
Provided, user-adjustable using the Control Ring
Dual Pixel CMOS AF
Provided; Horizontal: approx. 30%, Vertical: approx. 46%

Focus Guide – Shooting Mode

Photo Mode
Left lens only supports focus guide
Photo Mode with L/R adjustment switch enabled
Both Left and Right lenses support focus guide
Video Mode
Left lens only supports focus guide
Video Mode with L/R adjustment switch enabled
Both Left and Right lenses support focus guide
Full-time Manual Focusing
Both Left and Right lenses support focus guide
Control Ring Provided
Optical Image Stabilization Not Provided
Stabilization with in-body IS (EOS R7) Not Supported
Dimensions
ø2.7″ x 1.6″ L (ø69.2mm x 41.5mm)
Weight
Approx. 4.6 oz. (131g)

Accessories

Lens Hood Not Supported
Lens Cap E-58II (bundled)
Dust Cap
Canon Lens Dust Cap RF (Bundled)
Lens Case
Canon Lens Case LP1014 (sold separately)
Extension Tubes Not compatible
Close-up Lenses 250D / 500D Not compatible
Canon RF Extender 1.4x/2x Not compatible
Canon Gelatin Filter Holder III/IV Not compatible
Rear Gelatin Filter Holder Not compatible
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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ViRGiN

    60 degrees video for a niche content? unacceptable. half the price is meaningless here – 500 vs 1000 is no difference at all for someone interested buying hardware for capturing ultra niche content, for many, many hours.

    • kraeuterbutter

      hmm.. sounds like 60 degree are worse than for example 180°
      i think 60degree video looks in some ways better than for example the 180-200FOV (horizontal) you mostly find
      first: you can get more detail with same resolution
      second: stereoscopic videos are perfectly in the middle, but get worse and worse on the sides..
      180° video suggests, that you can look at the sides.. but that does not really work: if you look in real life 90° to the side you get still perfectly stereoscopic view.. if you do that in a 180° video, the cameras were facing to the front, so looking 90° to the side gets realy strange (sorry for my bad english)
      so in regard to this, 60° videos work better for the stereoscopic effect
      you still can zoom in, without destroying the steroscopic effect

      so: i think you should not thing about 60° lenses as "the bad, cheap Version" of 180° fisheye-stereoscopic lenses

  • xyzs

    How can it create a good stereoscopic content when the lens ipd is just 11.8 mm ?
    This should be like 64 mm to work properly

    • kraeuterbutter

      think the distance is not everything..
      i made some stereoscopic fotos and Videos
      (with 2 Osmo Actions, synchronized the video afterwards with davince resolve)
      and: for me – as well surprisingly – pictures look better with 4cm distance of the lenses…
      6cm which is my eye-disstance in real life overdues the 3D-effect
      so i think it depends on the size of lense, the fov of the lense, focal length

  • Alex Soler

    Yeah, don't think many people are gonna buy one of these. Too little for too much money.

  • Foreign Devil

    Isn't Apple's "Spatial video" not true stereoscopic video because they have to put the two lens so close together on the iphone. I mean why buy this camera. .might as well buy the iphone if the lens are going to be equally close together.

    • kraeuterbutter

      i think the distance is not everything..
      i made some stereoscopic fotos and Videos
      (with 2 Osmo Actions, synchronized the video afterwards with davince resolve)
      and: for me – as well surprisingly – pictures look better with 4cm distance of the lenses…
      6cm which is my eye-disstance in real life overdues the 3D-effect
      so i think it depends on the size of lense, the fov of the lense, focal length

  • David Cano

    As already seen on my iPhone, Spatial Video have amazing depth even with the ultra small separation between eyes. Intelligent variable convergence metadata adjust constantly the depth while recording. Of course, if you're recording a far landscape you won't be see magic. But this separation is more suitable than people think, most of the YouTubers content you see could have great 3D depth with the separation of iPhone or this lens.

    • kraeuterbutter

      for landscape 3D fotos i use my drone, take two pictures..
      they are maybe half a meter or even more seperated..
      gives a "puppenhaus"-Effekt, but great 3d
      3D you would not see in real life, because our eyes are too close together for long distance

      • David Cano

        I love hyper stereos

  • Frédérick Destrem

    Are you sure it will be compatible with the R5 and other camera bodies besides the R7?