Patent: Canon stereoscopic lens for the RF mount

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Canon News has uncovered an interesting patent for a stereoscopic lens for what appears to be the RF mount.
According to the patent, this would only work on a full-frame camera, as the two lenses have an image height of 8.75mm which fits perfectly for a full-frame sensor.
According to the patent language, the application is for a camera, as the design takes into account a camera grip for usability.
In the lens device, since the angle of view of the optical system is relatively narrow and the distance (baseline length) between the optical axes of the two optical systems is short, the realism of the obtained stereoscopic image is not sufficient.  On the other hand, in the imaging apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the two optical systems to try to increase the base length with a wide-angle of view, lens apparatus is enlarged. In this case, when the lens device is attached to the main...

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I agree that this would be primarily interesting for the RF cinema cameras.

As I understand this this would be two anamorphic lenses in one with the added difficulty that the left one has to be offset further out to provide proper eye distance while still leaving enough space for the Hand around the grip if you were to use it with an R6/ R5. So the focal length of the left lens would have to be slightly shorter and faster to make up for the longer distance.

Interesting.
 
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Maybe for astronauts on the moon or mars in the next 5 ... 10 years to measure objects? To make immersive movies of the first mars landing? Thoughts just going mad ...
But measuring objects might be a good application for a high res stereo image with one camera. E.g. for checks on large buildings if everything is in place ...
 
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[...].

So the focal length of the left lens would have to be slightly shorter and faster to make up for the longer distance.

Interesting.
I think they have two different lenses with the SAME effective focal length but the left one is more "retrofocus" to have a longer distance between the first element and the image plane - like they do for SLRs or better have done for SLRs due to the larger flange distance.
By the way: To do that calculation seems hard work - two lenses with different distances to the sensor but very very similiar image properties to give a good stereo view ...
 
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Seems to indicate VR use, due to fisheye nature of each side. There was another patent not too long ago - so far unreported so far as I know - that dealt with multiple cameras and multiple views from a camera being used to identify individual objects in a scene and their various spatial relations. The patent appeared to be regarding security cameras, though; at least I thought at the time. I went and (via Google Translate) looked at this patent, and it seems more geared to the photo/video market. Fun stuff.
 
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usern4cr

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2 little fisheye lenses squeezed into a single 3:2 sensor? :unsure:

Geez! Why don't you just buy 2 R5s and 2 lenses and build a bracket to hold them together? :ROFLMAO:
Well, I didn't expect that much reaction to my post. In fact, I have seen people put 2 cameras on a bar and take high quality stereo photos in the past, I'm sure with a single shutter release hooked up to both of them.

I've always loved the View-Master slides & viewer, and wished there was a great mainstream stereo camera I could use, and envisioned it as a double lens & mount on the far left & right of a single body, and a separate viewer of some sort to view the result later. But maybe you could have both in a single body by putting the lenses at the top left & right and having 2 viewfinders with adjustable eye spacing and a cutout in the bottom center for your nose. That basically becomes a binocular camera, which I would dearly love to have!

It seems odd to try to pack 2 lenses into one lens body that funnels the light from 2 views which must be kept separate onto a single sensor, which I assume is done by making their images so small that they fit separately on the left & right sides of the sensor, with lots of wasted sensor space around both of them.

I guess the reason that this patent was done is that it is economically possible to have a single lens made (no matter how great the complexity and loss of IQ) to fit on a currently produced mainstream camera.

You know, Canon does make stellar image stabilized binoculars. Why don't they just put 2 sensor&EVFs on them and come out with a line of binocular cameras, with some having a wide angle of view or possibly with zoom ability. That's what I'd buy! :D
 
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usern4cr

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So, only good for stationary subjects?
I suppose if both cameras start at the same time (via a split manual release) then a video with time-code could keep them in sync later for post combination.

Or if the cameras were as close together as possible on a nice tripod then you could get stills or video with moving subjects just like you would with a regular camera on a tripod.
 
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Well, I didn't expect that much reaction to my post. In fact, I have seen people put 2 cameras on a bar and take high quality stereo photos in the past, I'm sure with a single shutter release hooked up to both of them.

I've always loved the View-Master slides & viewer, and wished there was a great mainstream stereo camera I could use, and envisioned it as a double lens & mount on the far left & right of a single body, and a separate viewer of some sort to view the result later. But maybe you could have both in a single body by putting the lenses at the top left & right and having 2 viewfinders with adjustable eye spacing and a cutout in the bottom center for your nose. That basically becomes a binocular camera, which I would dearly love to have!

It seems odd to try to pack 2 lenses into one lens body that funnels the light from 2 views which must be kept separate onto a single sensor, which I assume is done by making their images so small that they fit separately on the left & right sides of the sensor, with lots of wasted sensor space around both of them.

I guess the reason that this patent was done is that it is economically possible to have a single lens made (no matter how great the complexity and loss of IQ) to fit on a currently produced mainstream camera.

You know, Canon does make stellar image stabilized binoculars. Why don't they just put 2 sensor&EVFs on them and come out with a line of binocular cameras, with some having a wide angle of view or possibly with zoom ability. That's what I'd buy! :D
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This would be a dream for me. The sensor may be used in halves, so that you have 2 portrait oriented shots (these could be cropped to landscape with a large 45 mp sensor like the R5). One shutter release so that you have same metering, shutter speed etc. in one frame. I have also photographed with 2 cameras on a rig that try to get same settings. It is way too finicky and problematic. It must be perfect. If you have a single leaf or small subject blowing in the breeze and out of sync the mind cannot process it and it makes you nautious. I have used a lens that splits the image via mirrors but it was cheaply made and results were poor. A true quality stereo lens would definitely get me back into stereo photography which I left because it was.too finicky and current stereo cameras were essentially point and shoot.
 
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