"The Canon EOS R5 with RF 5.2mm F2.8L DUAL FISHEYE lens makes a great way to jump into 3D VR, and it's an easy option for someone inexperienced in VR like me to try it out," says outdoor photographer and filmmaker Martin Bissig. "I already own the camera, and the lens doesn't cost a fortune. It has opened a new field of business for me, and I see a huge potential in it." View Martin's rendered 180° VR showreel on YouTube – and try panning in every direction!
Destination sports such as skiing, ski touring and paragliding are as much about the setting as the physical activity, but a video will tend to do justice to only one of these elements at a time. What if you could experience the action in immersive 3D VR, with the freedom to look around a full 180°?
Mountain biking enthusiast and Canon Ambassador Martin Bissig built his outdoor photography career with the mountainous region of Davos in Switzerland on his doorstep. His startling images of extreme biking terrain and daring riders such as trials cyclist Danny MacAskill have been published in more than 20 countries, for clients including National Geographic and Red Bull. Whether up his local mountains in Switzerland, further afield atop Croatian cliffs or in the wind-carved sandy deserts of Oman, Martin is known for the jaw-dropping scenery in his photos. Both the extreme sports activities and surrounding environment are crucial story components for his clients in the experiences industry, and the challenge for Martin is to bring both these elements to life.
"When I go out on shoots in nature, it's not something you can easily recreate with photos and video, because you miss the 3D look and that sense of being surrounded by the scenery," he says. This has all changed with the revolutionary Canon RF 5.2mm F2.8L DUAL FISHEYE lens designed for shooting stereoscopic 180° VR.
"As a professional, I'm always adventurous and curious to try out new technologies, techniques and gear," Martin says. "I don't know of any other lens like this, and Canon's EOS VR System gives me everything I need to shoot VR. With the EOS R5 and the EOS VR Utility application from Canon, this system allows me as a photographer and filmmaker to jump into a new field of work."
For his first production with the dual fisheye lens, teamed with the EOS R5 he uses regularly, Martin shot an immersive stereoscopic 3D 180° VR video for the Davos tourism board to showcase some of the winter activities possible amidst stunning snow-covered mountains, including cycling, snowshoeing, ski touring, skiing, paragliding and sledding.