Canon’s Latest Dual Fisheye Lens Lets You Shoot VR Compatible Videos

Canon’s latest product announcement has caught most people off-guard. Instead of a new camera or a traditional lens, its newly revealed product is a dual fisheye lens that allows you to shoot content specially viewed on VR or AR headsets.

Known as the RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye, the new lens is designed to be used together with Canon’s high-end mirrorless cameras such as the EOS R5 – taking advantage of their large CMOS sensors to capture and deliver high quality content. Undeniably, its design may seem unusual for most users – featuring two bulging fisheye lenses on a flat surface that is attached to an RF mount connector. When attached to a compatible EOS camera, it does give you an impression that your camera either has a new pair of eyes or, amusingly, a snout.

But as bizarre as it looks, the whole point of its design is to enable your camera to capture up to 190-degree stereoscopic high resolution 3D footage or photos, while at the same time giving them a perception of depth. Other than that, Canon says it features coatings to control flare and ghosting, a F.28 to F16 aperture range, as well as dust and water resistant sealing.

Oh, and the Dual Fisheye is manual-only, by the way. Much like most lenses, it features a ring that adjusts the focus on both lenses simultaneously. There’s also an Allen screw adjustment that enables you to calibrate the focus on one lens if required.

Canon also announced a forthcoming firmware update for compatible cameras which would enable them to support the lens and the company’s new EOS VR system. Included in the update are new features such as MF (manual focus) peaking and Magic Window UI that aids users to customise their footage or photos for different types of VR/AR headsets.

Concurrently, new EOS VR Utility and EOS VR Plugin applications have also been introduced. These allow users to edit footage captured with the Dual Fisheye with a variety of tools for customising its resolution output and export format (DPX, Pro Res, H264, etc.). Last but not least, Canon will release an EOS VR plugin for Adobe Premiere as well.

The new Canon RF5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye is slated to be released in select markets in late December 2021 and will retail at US$1,999 (RM8,362). The company has yet to announce whether the lens will be making its way to Malaysia in the foreseeable future.

Nikon Announces Slow Shipment For Z FC Cameras, Delays New 28mm Lens Indefinitely

Nikon has announced via its website that it has finalised the shipping timeline for its newly launched Z FC mirrorless camera. However, the company also revealed in the same statement that it does not have the supply to fulfil all pre-orders for the device at this time. It noted that it will do its “utmost to deliver the product as soon as possible”, but did not provide an expected time frame for future shipments.

“We have received a large number of reservations for the Z FC and Z FC 16-50 VR SL Lens Kits that exceeded our expectations,” Nikon wrote in the statement. “For some customers who are currently making reservations, it may take some time before the product is delivered. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers who are waiting for our products.”

While it may take some time for some customers to receive the retro-inspired Nikon mirrorless camera, the same cannot be said for those who’ve also pre-ordered the Z FC 28mm f/2.8 Special Edition Kit lens. In a separate statement issued on the same day, the Japanese camera maker also announced the lens’ original planned release in late July 2021 has been postponed, presumably indefinitely. Again, the company noted that the delay in parts supply is to blame, and promised to inform customers of a new release date for the product once it has been decided.

Aside from Nikon, the currently ongoing shortage of silicon supply around the world has caused numerous delays for other companies – affecting product development from different industries including automotive, smart devices, PC hardware, and even video game consoles. Semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and Foxconn warned that the shortage could continue into 2022, with major brands including Sony and IBM also expressing similar concerns.

Nikon globally launched its new Z FC camera back in late June 2021. Although its Malaysian branch (via) did not officially announce its pricing, local stores retailers such as ShaShinKi and YL Camera have listed the pre-order price for the retro-inspired mirrorless camera at RM4,488 (body only).

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold Goes Official: Features The Company’s Own ISP and Liquid Lens Camera System

Still reeling from last night’s event which saw the launch of the expanded family members of Mi 11 Series that includes Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11i, Mi 11 Lite 5G, and Mi 11 Lite, the Day 2 of Xiaomi Mega Launch has several significant revelations in tow as well. In addition to announcing its entry into the electric vehicle market, the Chinese tech giant has also unveiled its first-ever foldable device, the Mi Mix Fold.

Xiaomi is positioning its foldable debutant as a flagship device and apt enough, it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. Adopting a similar form factor as per Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Mi Mix Fold is equipped with an 8.01-inch 60Hz WQHD+ flexible OLED display on the inside while there is also a 6.5-inch 90Hz AMOLED display with 2520 x 840 resolution on the outside.

In order to ensure the phone’s reliability especially its U-shaped hinge design, the company claimed that the Mi Mix Fold has been subjected to extreme tests that involved up to 1 million bends. Supporting 5G and Wi-Fi 6, the phone offers up to 16GB of LPDDR5-3200 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage.

The launch of Mi Mix Fold also marked the arrival of the company’s Surge C1 ISP chip which apparently took two years to be developed. The new chip apparently provides an improved 3A algorithm and enhanced the phone’s low-light focusing capabilities which also improved its autofocus, exposure, and white balance that subsequently allows the Mi Mix Fold to deliver high-quality image output.

Not only that, Xiaomi has also claimed that Mi Mix Fold is the first device in the world to feature a rather interesting optics technology called Liquid Lens. Paired with an 8MP sensor, the company said that the lens is really made from transparent liquid and its curvature is being controlled using a high-precision motor that allows users to access telephoto capabilities from 3x optical zoom up to 30x maximum zoom.

Aside from that, the 8MP Liquid Lens camera can also act as a macro camera with a focusing distance as close as 3cm. Other than that, Xiaomi has also equipped the new Mi Mix Fold with a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor for its main camera and 13MP ultra-wide camera as well as a 20MP selfie camera.

Comes standard with a quad-speaker system that has been tuned by Harman Kardon and boosted by a 15V Smart PA amplifier, the Mi Mix Fold’s fingerprint reader is integrated into the phone’s side-mounted power button. Completing its basic specifications is a 5020mAh battery that can gain back its full capacity in just 37 minutes via a 67W wired fast charger.

The Mi Mix Fold’s international launch date is not yet known at the moment although it will be released in China in the middle of April with a price range of between CNY 9,999 (~RM 6,320) to CNY 12,999 (~RM 8,192). We will keep you posted if the new foldable is going to make its way to Malaysia, so stay tuned.

New Canon Patent Reveals Interchangeable Lens With Touchpad Tech

As seen with a previous patent that was unveiled in December 2020, Canon is not afraid of exploring new technologies to redefine photography, as well as its own cameras. This time around, a new patent has revealed yet another seemingly daring take by the camera maker to replace traditional approaches with a more modern twist.

In a report by Japanese website Digital Camera Info, the recently discovered Canon patent showcases an interchangeable lens which features a large circular touchpad on its side. From what is explained in the patent’s description, the touchpad functions as a mechanism that allows the photographer to manually focus on subjects – basically replacing the traditional focus ring altogether.

The component is able to detect touch operations performed clockwise and counterclockwise at a variety of speeds. Needless to say, these motions represent the process of focusing in or out.

It remains to be seen whether or not this approach is actually practical for photographers. While the previous shutter-touchpad patent revealed that it is capable of identifying different touch inputs that may represent a variety of commands, this particular innovation – on the other hand – is shown to only handle basic focusing functions and nothing else.

Much like the shutter-touchpad, this new approach for interchangeable lenses will likely not sit well with most photographers due to its reliance on touch-based tech to replace traditional mechanisms. Fortunately, as with most patents, there’s also a chance that Canon’s unnecessary attempt of reinventing the wheel may not see the light of day.