What Has Canon Got up Its Sleeve for 360/VR Video?

Without much fanfare, Canon showed off a prototype consumer 360/180 VR camera shortly after Apple's reveal of its Vision Pro VR headset in June. Now, we have a better idea of what's under the hood.

VR filmmaker Hugh Hou provides a closer look at the prototype camera that Canon unveiled back in June at Photo Next 2023 in Japan. This time, the camera made an appearance at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam, with a few more specs revealed.

While there's still no sample footage to speak of (it wouldn't be surprising if this was a non-working mockup, a common industry practice), in theory, it should be able to shoot 8K 30p 360 footage, something unheard of in the consumer 360 camera market since Kandao's dearly departed QooCam 8K. It's also listed as being able to shoot 120 fps at 4K and should be able to livestream. While that's not a terribly detailed list, it's certainly a good starting point.

The body looks like an Insta360 EVO in Canon flavor, but it will be curious to see how it handles the heat from shooting 8K video. The Kandao relied on a fan, but it doesn't appear that there is room for one in the Canon. There's also no mention of what photo resolution would look like or any specs about lenses or sensor size. Price and release date also remain a mystery.

Canon has already had some success in the VR space with its RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye 3D VR Lens, and it's exciting to see another major manufacturer jump into the space after Nikon abandoned it years ago with its KeyMission360. Perhaps the intervening years will see Canon learn from the mistakes made there to improve upon its offering while also taking advantage of the more mature 360/180 market, at least compared to six years ago.

Will Canon's entry into the 360 market finally push this kind of footage more to the mainstream? What kind of specs are you hoping to see out of this camera? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.