March 3rd News: Apple's Vision Pro headset, with one of the highest resolution screens among current AR/VR devices, requires a powerful camera to create top-notch immersive content.
Recently, the Canon executive team, interviewed at the CP+ Photography Expo held in Yokohama, Japan, discussed the growing trend of AR and VR technologies, with a specific mention of Apple's Vision Pro.
According to reports, Canon has previously released a lens designed specifically for creating VR content—the 5.2mm f/2.8 L. It seems they are closely following the pulse of the VR industry and have been paying attention to this field for some time.
Canon's Imaging Communication Business Operations Advisor Director and Unit Executive Officer, Kiyomi Tetsuji, stated, "From last year to this year, I have witnessed a significant increase in demand for VR. Therefore, I believe the demand for 3D, VR, and AR will definitely increase."
Canon's Imaging Group Senior Executive Executive Director and Vice President, Tokura Go, added, "Even before Apple launched Vision Pro, the VR market itself was already expanding, but its launch will certainly further drive the development of this market. Due to the extremely high resolution of Vision Pro, as far as we know, it is currently difficult to find a VR system with a resolution sufficient to meet Vision Pro's requirements."
Canon stated that looking to the future, developing a camera and lens system to support the creation of immersive video content for Vision Pro could be a new business opportunity or potential market.
Currently, Apple provides a range of immersive "environments" that allow Vision Pro wearers to immerse themselves in various virtual scenes. However, achieving such a level of detail and refresh rate in the real world, without the aid of computer graphics, using currently available cameras on the market is quite challenging. It is speculated that some of the foundational footage for these immersive materials is captured using RED 8K cameras, but Apple has not confirmed this. Moreover, many of these environments are not designed for close-up viewing, and the proportions of these contents seem different when viewed on Vision Pro compared to content captured with typical cameras on the market. While there are some dynamic scenes, most environments are static.
If one wants to create an immersive landscape that includes elements such as animals and characters, Canon believes that it would require a very powerful camera system to achieve a lifelike quality.
Canon's Image Communication Business Operation Consultant Director and Unit Executive Shiomi Yasuhiko said, "To create videos for Vision Pro, you would need a sensor with at least 100 million pixels. So, at present, we cannot meet this level of demand. But I speculate thatThe company providing images for Vision Pro will need a sensor with at least 100 million pixels and a frame rate of 60 frames per second."。”
For reference, 100 million pixels are equivalent to 14K, almost twice the resolution provided by most high-resolution films currently. The only camera meeting these requirements is the Big Sky camera from Sphere, which boasts an 18K resolution and requires a team of 12 people to operate. While it can meet the demands, it has not entered mass production. Considering the cost, it lacks commercial viability beyond creating content specifically tailored for Sphere.
Indeed, a specification of 14K at 60 frames per second is quite extravagant, and currently, there is no commercially available camera on the market that can meet the resolution and frame rate requirements of the Vision Pro.
At the Canon Expo in 2015, the company showcased a 100 million-pixel sensor, indicating that Canon had previously ventured into this level of resolution. However, the combination of this resolution with the requirement for 60 frames per second is exceptionally demanding.
"So far, we haven't been able to achieve this in a commercially viable manner. However, if you don't mind, please look forward to whether we can achieve this," added Tokura. "Technically, theoretically, we can do it. But the question is whether we can develop a commercially viable product and at a price that is affordable for customers."
This point is worth emphasizing because the previously mentioned Big Sky camera does exist, but it is highly specialized and, under the current circumstances, may not be considered commercially viable.
However, Canon is closely monitoring this market and expects to move in the direction of meeting these demands. "It's a goal," says Tokura.
"We are improving our technology to be able to provide high resolution for VR purposes. We will continue to work on improving our technology to achieve a good balance between resolution and speed," says Shiomi.
Source: IT Home
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