The illustration below depicts the entire image that is captured by the lens (large circle), and the area that can be seen clearly when viewing the virtual reality images with VR goggles (within the red circle). The areas outside the red circle will only appear in your peripheral vision. Therefore, it is important to consider the area that will be clearly visible when setting up the composition of the shot, to ensure that the main subjects are front and center, and can be seen easily when viewed with VR goggles.

Also, because of the nature of the display, the recorded image is magnified for viewing purposes. This may allow the viewer to perceive noise and lack of resolution in the image, particularly when compared to the perceived resolution when viewing 2D images on a PC or phone. Therefore, it is best to set the resolution as high as possible when taking 3D virtual-reality shots.

The distance from the camera to the subject is also important. Each lens has a recommended distance to the subject, indicating the range that will produce the most vivid three-dimensional effect. Be sure to keep this distance in mind when setting up your shot. If the subject is too far away (compared to the recommended distance), the three-dimensional effect will be less pronounced. If the subject is too close, the 3D effect may be ruined entirely.

When VR videos are viewed with VR goggles, the stability of the image is important. If the camera moves or shakes too much, viewing the images may cause symptoms of “VR sickness” - dizziness, nausea, and discomfort. To ensure that your 3D VR videos do not cause VR sickness, try to keep the camera stable with as little shaking as possible.

When shooting with a moving camera, it is best to move the camera in the same direction as the viewer's line of sight. Many of the camera techniques used when shooting 2D videos (such as pan, tilt, roll, etc.) involve horizontal movement or rotation of the camera. If employed when shooting 3D images, this type of movement is likely to induce VR sickness.

On the other hand, as long as the entire subject/scene that you want to capture fits inside the viewing area of the VR goggles, a 3D lens can be used in exactly the same way as a conventional 2D lens, with no restrictions.

Shadow Reflection

When using a lens with a wide angle of view, there is a risk that the shadow of the photographer, camera or tripod may appear on the screen. To avoid this, carefully choose the shooting direction and composition depending on the position of the sun or other light sources.

Level

Image tilt is much more noticeable in 3D virtual reality images than in 2D images. Furthermore, since the image stabilization function relies on an algorithm that detects the tilt of the image, it cannot properly correct the tilt if the image is tilted from the beginning. It is best to use an electronic level in the camera or a commercially available level, to carefully position the camera before shooting.

Some models of VR lens are equipped with an AF function. If the lens you are using has the AF function, the AF point will appear on the left-eye side of the image on the monitor. To autofocus, just point at the desired point of focus and press the shutter release button halfway, to bring the camera into focus, as you do with normal 2D photos.

If the VR lens you are using has no AF function, focus should be adjusted manually. Since the image will appear smaller than when shooting normal videos, use the viewfinder’s magnification function to bring the image into focus. To achieve a more accurate focus, be sure to adjust the focus of both the left and right lenses individually.

As is the case when shooting conventional 2D video, 3D / 3D VR videos can record sound using either the camera’s built-in microphone or external microphones. For high-grade video productions, a stereoscopic sound system may be used.

Notes on the use of external microphones

- RF5.2mm F2.8 L DUAL FISHEYE
Since the angle of view is 190°, this lens will capture the external microphone attached to a camera as shown in the picture. To avoid this problem, use an off-camera shoe cord or some other setup to keep the microphone away from the camera.

- RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE / RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL
A genuine Canon microphone can be attached for shooting 3D and 3D virtual reality images, without the risk of it being captured in the picture frame.

No lighting equipment has been developed exclusively for shooting VR images. In general, normal lighting equipment can be used. However, when shooting with wide-angle lenses such as the RF5.2mm F2.8 L DUAL FISHEYE or RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE, it is important to check the position of all lighting equipment, to avoid capturing it in the picture.

Lighting equipment should be placed behind the camera. When lighting a subject close to the camera, be careful not to capture the camera’s shadow in the frame. If necessary, use a supplemental light source to help eliminate shadows, such as a ring light or multi-lighting device that can be placed at center of the camera.

The EOS VR SYSTEM contains a standalone 3D / 3D VR conversion software called “EOS VR Utility”, as well as plug-in software for Adobe Premiere Pro. With these applications you can easily perform non-linear editing (NLE) of 3D / 3D VR footage, as easily as normal video editing. In addition, image data converted with the EOS VR Utility can be edited in Fusion mode of Davinci Resolve. However, the metadata must be set to match the output destination, using Adobe Media Encoder.

EOS VR Utility (some functions require a user fee)

The EOS VR Utility allows you to switch left and right fisheye images that were recorded in reverse due to the design of the lens. This utility can also convert images to the equirectangular cylindrical view (supporting both movies and still images), perform various lens corrections (parallax correction, horizontal correction), and perform playback and simple cut editing. It also supports image stabilization and look-up tables for Canon Log movies.

EOS VR Plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro (some functions require a user fee)

This software plug-in is used to convert virtual reality images to the VR180 format which is used by Adobe Premiere Pro (left-right image switching, equirectangular cylindrical view). Since the filmed data can be edited directly, full-scale VR video editing is easy. Parallax correction and horizontal correction are also supported.

For 3D VR footage recorded with the RF5.2mm F2.8 L DUAL FISHEYE or RF-S3.9mm F3.5 STM DUAL FISHEYE, a spacious cutaway is recommended so that the viewer can see the periphery of the image.

When the viewer’s line of sight changes or there is a cut to another scene, it is best to insert a brief black-screen cut, to help the viewer anticipate the transition to a new image.

There are several software applications that allow the user to add text to VR video. The following instructions will use Adobe Premiere Pro as an example.