The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2024–2025
Canon's RF-S3.9mm Dual Fisheye makes 3D VR filming casual — IDEA 2025 Gold
One compact dual-fisheye lens turns a normal APS-C mirrorless camera into a 3D VR camera — Canon's first-ever IDEA Gold, 2025.
Canon Inc.
What it had to solve
VR video was growing in entertainment, tourism and education, but the tools were expensive, heavy and intimidating. Canon saw a market of first-timers — social creators and vloggers — who owned capable mirrorless cameras but had no way to shoot in 3D.
How it works
In June 2024 Canon shipped the RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE, an APS-C lens that turns an ordinary EOS mirrorless camera into a 3D VR camera. Two fisheye optics sit 60mm apart, close to human eye spacing, capturing a 144° stereoscopic view through 11 elements in eight groups, including two UD glass elements and Canon's Air Sphere Coating.
The design target was first-timers: social creators and vloggers who wanted VR content but not heavy cinema rigs. At about 54.6mm long and 290g, with a suggested price of $1,099, it looked like a normal lens for normal cameras. Its curved front was shaped to reassure subjects being filmed, and the sculpted rear leaves room for a firm handhold during handheld shooting.
On September 19, 2025, the International Design Excellence Awards gave the lens its Gold Award — the first Gold in Canon's IDEA history. The jury weighs innovativeness and benefit to users alongside form, which is exactly what the lens was built around: making 3D VR capture feel accessible.
Why it lands
- It removed the equipment barrier: one affordable lens on cameras creators already owned, instead of dedicated VR cinema rigs.
- The optics matched the medium's needs — 60mm eye spacing and a 144° view approximate how humans actually see depth.
- Ergonomics were part of the concept: a curved, non-threatening front and a sculpted rear for stable handheld shooting.
- The bet paid off with IDEA's top honor — the first Gold in Canon's history at the competition.
What it did
The Gold Award at IDEA 2025 was the first in Canon's history at that competition. The lens became the accessible entry point of Canon's EOS VR System for APS-C owners, and in June 2025 Canon extended it to native playback of Apple's Projected Media Profile on visionOS 26.
What you can take
The barrier to a new medium is usually the tool, not demand: make it familiar and creators appear. Ergonomics doubled as storytelling — a lens shaped to feel safe for the person filmed.
Since then
Canon kept building on the bet: in June 2025 it made the lens natively compatible with Apple's Projected Media Profile on visionOS 26, so footage shot with the lens converts via EOS VR Utility into high-quality playback on Apple Vision Pro. The RF-S3.9mm became the affordable, portable pillar of Canon's EOS VR System, aimed at growing the 3D VR market beyond professional cinema.
Sources
- Canon's 3D VR lens honored with Gold Award at the International Design Excellence Awards
- Canon announces compact dual fisheye lens for VR content creation
- Canon Makes Its EOS VR System Compatible with Apple Projected Media Profile and Spatial Photo
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