Don't care about 3D or VR? Neither did I – until Canon showed me what it's doing with the technology at the CP+ 2026 show in Japan. I've honestly gone from being indifferent to genuinely being excited – and that's in large part due to how Canon has democratized this kind of imaging.
For starters, you don't need a special camera, lens or headset any more; thanks to an incredibly innovative implementation of Canon's Dual Pixel wizardry you can take a regular photograph on a standard EOS camera and lens and turn it into a 3D image.
Canon's EOS VR ecosystem requires specific VR lenses and a headset for full immersion. It's built around stereoscopic lenses like the RF 5.2mm f/2.8L Dual Fisheye and the RF-S 3.9mm f/3.5 STM Dual Fisheye. I tried interacting with animal scenes involving dogs, cats, a hedgehog, and an owl – it's cool that Canon is the only brand offering these creation tools.
The MReal x Dual Pixel 3D technology enables 3D images without dedicated hardware, using Dual Pixel to map distance and create spatial images. You can interact with photos in all three dimensions on a standard screen, which could enhance experiences with family photos or ecommerce models.
Finally, MReal combined with volumetric video felt like a real-life version of Nintendogs – holding MReal glasses revealed spatially mapped dogs playing in an empty playpen. All three implementations were mindblowing, showing how the tech can genuinely enhance imaging beyond just being a demo.