Canon boasts an established reputation, as they are no stranger to innovation and technological progress. The Company has maintained their place among the leading patent applicants in the USA for over a decade. Several important innovations gained Canon prominence in the photo-video industry, and the venerable EF mount is fundamental for many of them. The mount, launched in 1987, completely replaced its FD predecessor. Offering fully electronic camera-lens communication, it launched Canon’s system to their top position and they’ve maintained it ever since.

The inclusion of fully electronic communication and a focus motor in every lens made EF lenses relatively easy to fully adapt to other systems. Almost every modern mirrorless mount has an EF adapter, and most include autofocus and other advanced features. However, as long and interesting as Canon’s history may be, this article is about their future. So, what does Canon have in store for us?

Absolute position in the mirrorless market

While objective stats are hard to come by (and there is more than one way to measure them) Canon’s grip on the interchangeable lens camera market is firm, with about half of total sales attributed to it. Oceans rise, empires fall, but it seems Canon manages to remain on top of things. Still – the mirrorless segment poses a challenge, and Canon is opting to reinforce their control over it. According to their recent strategy document, the company will try to broaden the video-oriented crowd in both the social media content creator segment, as well as with “traditional” video professionals. As the company mentions “experience” as one of their top goals, and notes some of their more unique designs like the PowerShot V10, we may expect some interesting designs in the future.

Canon professional support

Canon’s 2024 strategy acknowledges the importance of continuous professional support. Canon is a strong performer in the professional segment. Some indication of that claim emerges from rental figures regularly published by Lensrentals. Though these figures are far from representing the entire market, they provide some quantitive indication. The professional market may not be as vast as the consumer market, but it holds secondary advantages regarding brand-based marketing. This will go hand in hand with the company’s continuous professional service and support.

Canon’s take on “experience”

Canon may not be the first manufacturer to offer a 3D-enabled interchangeable lens option. They do, however, offer the RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye 3D VR Lens, which is probably the most solid option for an interchangeable 360 VR kit around. This lens is rather niche in terms of mainstream interchangeable systems, but it’s far from being the company’s only entry into the world of viewing experience, and definitely not the most extreme.

Mixed reality

Canon mentioned the viewing experience as one of the major future shifts in the industry. As such, they made some strides in this regard. Canon’s MREAL X1 is a mixed-reality set. Mixed reality seems to be very similar to augmented reality (AR) as it combines the input coming from an internal camera array and virtual input to instill a sense of presence in virtual objects.

The MREAL X1 is aimed mostly at industrial applications and currently lacks the finesse of other AR/VR sets. The view, as seen in the sample video, isn’t as smooth and can’t provide the same experience that recent competitors can. This is due to its different target audience that will probably value efficiency over seamlessness. As Canon’s officials recently claimed, current entries like the Apple Vision Pro require more resolution than any camera can provide. The MREAL X1 is a more “down to earth” solution.

Volumetric Video

Perhaps the most interesting prospect of Canon’s journey lies in their Volumetric Video. Volumetric Video is a method of motion capture incorporating a large number of synchronized cameras to both film and 3D map the scenario in real time. The outcome is a video-game-esque 3D environment depicting actual events.

Volumetric Video is extremely demanding in terms of hardware, software, and infrastructure. Such a system requires many cameras, a synchronized control, and exorbitant data throughput. Yet, the prospect of watching your next soccer, basketball, or football match with the ability to wander around, following your favorite player’s field of view, taking a bird’s-eye view, and then diving deep into the fray, is quite exciting.

Tradition of innovation

For most current creators, Canon is a “constant”. It was always there – a brand synonymous with image-making. This was achieved by continuous innovation. Canon was there during (and leading) the autofocus revolution. They brought market-leading cameras into the digital revolution and merged victorious. The company launched a mirrorless system on June 2012 but was still a bit late to the professional mirrorless turn of events. Once they did enter the market, they quickly harnessed their innovative prowess to churn out various lenses and cameras, now covering most niches and genres. Like it or not, Canon is among the most influential players in this game, and their strategy will probably affect us all in some way.

What do you think the future holds for motion capture and content consumption? Is Canon on the right track here, or is it a “Kodak moment”, when a major manufacturer strays from the needs of its audience? Let us know in the comments.

In a recently published interview, PetaPixel’s Jaron Schneider discussed these challenges with a contingent of Canon executives. They’ve all emphasized the importance of augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR), and they’ve also claimed no camera today can provide such a demanding video feed. While this claim is probably mathematically true, I’d like to dissect it, because in my eyes things aren’t so simple or decisive.

The Apple Vision Pro displays are only one small component

While the dual displays are impressive in their own right, it’s the spatial nature of the Apple Vision Pro that really raises the bar here. Once the user moves their head, new visual information streams across into the twin displays. As long as this information comes from the device’s camera array there’s no problem, but if it originates from an external imagery or video then the source material must cover an incredible amount of detail.

Let’s not forget – augmented or virtual reality has more than two dimensions, meaning that getting closer or farther away from the image should also be considered and accounted for when creating footage for the Apple Vision Pro, as well as the refresh rate of the system. These technical specifications pose a great challenge for aspiring creators looking to move into this niche.

What tools do we have today?

Canon itself produces a dedicated AR/VR set with its RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye 3D VR Lens and R5 or R5C cameras. This unique lens projects two image circles over the 8K sensor. Working on a single sensor bypasses any synchronization issues associated with multi-camera solutions, but compromises raw resolution. This system is probably the most compact, outdoor-ready system capable of adequate results.

Other options are also available. Canon’s executives claim the required benchmark for the Apple Vision Pro revolves around 14K (or about 100 Megapixels) While such cameras are hard to find, there is the Insta360 TITAN that comes pretty close. With 8 Micro Four Thirds sensors overlapping the spherical camera body, this one captures an impressive 11K 360 VR footage.

These are a lot of pixels, generating a lot of data. The TITAN uses 9 memory cards. Eight are assigned to the eight different cameras while the ninth collects additional sync information, gyroscopic motion stats, etc. Here we encounter another challenge – data throughput.

Extreme alternatives

If there’s a will there’s a way, and everybody wants a piece of this new tech. One rather extreme solution that comes to mind is Sphere’s Big Sky Camera in all its 18K glory. As perfect as this solution may sound, we’re talking about one of the rarest cameras in the world with very demanding operational requirements. Oh, and no depth perception… Other options are camera assemblies. These may provide adequate quality depending on the cameras used, but they are even more operationally demanding and require a high level of expertise both in terms of videography and in terms of the electro-mechanical rigging required for such contraptions.

Big data

The higher the resolution, the “bigger” the data. Though Apple surely compresses the footage coming to the Vision Pro most efficiently, there’s no way out of the raw resolution requirements dictated by such a device. Producing, editing, and sharing this kind of digital information is a daunting task, at least at this point in time (and technology)

AI. Must mention AI.

It seems like almost every tech-related article must mention AI in some way, but it’s actually very relevant here. AI-based tools possess some unique abilities. I’m not talking about the hyped video-generating tools such as SORA and LTX Studio. A day may come (could be tomorrow…) when these generators are up to the task, but as of today, they will probably generate more problems than solutions. The relevant tools here are resolution enhancers, which have been pretty efficient in recent years and have been here long enough to provide professional-level results with adequate consistency and reliability.

Peak performance is rarely required

Don’t we all just love 8K? Don’t you take photos and videos of your kids (or groceries) with the highest resolution possible? Of course not. Peak performance is very nice. Sometimes required, but most of us do most stuff at lower settings, and this applies to much more than filmmaking, to be fair. The same will probably go for the Apple Vision Pro. As nice as immersing ourselves in the Grand Canyon while editing or emailing may be, we don’t need every image to cover entire virtual surroundings. As I see it, one of the Apple Vision Pro’s biggest features is its multitasking ability. So no, I probably won’t be able to fully immerse myself in my recent music video, documentary, or feature, but I believe it’s good enough for now, and beyond. Immersive AR/VR content still has some major non-technical hurdles to leap over before it is fully immersed into the mainstream (pun intended).

Creating spatial content professionally

For those who wish to create specific high-res spatial content, I sadly bear no significant news. Gear-wise, alternatives are scarce, quite expensive, and require a considerable amount of expertise. Alas – early adopters pay a premium, but those who brave these challenges may place themselves in a unique position for the future.

Do you see yourself creating dedicated content for the Apple Vision Pro? Do you think AR/VR will become mainstream content consumption devices in the near future? Let us know in the comments.

The blocky guy is not really there.. or is he?

Imagine this: you’re scouting a location for an upcoming shoot and want to make sure that everything will go smoothly once cast and crew arrive. Well, just grab your iPhone and block the scene with virtual characters and props, cameras and lenses, right there on location. That’s exactly what Blocker for iOS is capable of.

Blocker for iOS

Just to get it out of the way: this app is not available for Android, and you’ll need a reasonably current iPhone or iPad. The key is the AR Kit introduced with iOS 11, allowing iDevices to handle augmented reality and providing APIs (Application Programming Interface) for third-party developers.

Blocker is basically a camera app with a twist. It acts as a director’s viewfinder, but the real magic is that it allows you to place virtual objects into the live camera image. Watch the video below to get the idea:

The first version of Blocker came out in summer 2017, and right now we’re at version 1.3. A lot of detail improvements have been implemented, such as an added button for deleting models instead of swiping. The unit of measurement can now be changed between imperial and metric. There’s also an extended character and furniture pack available.

Excuse me mister, can I help you?

The app itself is free but there are several in-app purchases which unlock the full potential of Blocker:

• Complete Camera Pack $29.99
• Extended Character Pack $9.99
• Furniture Pack $4.99

Features of Blocker

Beside the obvious (and super cool) AR features of Blocker, you can also use it as a directors viewfinder. Also, you can calculate the path of the sun on any given day on the location you’re at with the help of a virtual sun.

As you can see you’re able to simulate any position of the sun along its daily path, and the augmented 3D models in your shot will cast shadows accordingly. Very neat!

When you’re finished blocking your virtual scene, you can capture stills of it. These can carry lots of useful information regarding camera model, focal length, camera height and so on.

The Future is Now

I don’t know if apps like Blocker will replace a proper director’s viewfinder or dedicated apps for calculating the path of the sun. Also, specialized apps like Shot Designer will still have their raison d’ être. But this is certainly a little app that can do it all, so let’s see where this leads us! I’m sure we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible with AR these days!

links:  iTunes Store

Would you use this app for blocking a scene or is it too fiddly to work on such a tiny screen? Let us now what you think in the comments below!