Adding a Third Dimension
The new EOS R8 Mark II offers the tantalising promise of simple-to-create 3D images, thanks to the announcement by Canon of its incoming Dual Pixel 3D technology.
Alongside the announcement of a new EOS model, Canon has also launched ‘Dual Pixel 3D’, a simple 3D image generation technology that takes advantage of Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology. This new facility allows users to create immersive three-dimensional images and models via the free-to-download Dual Pixel 3D Converter app, without the need for specialised shooting equipment or viewing devices.
The app offers the simple conversion of Dual Pixel RAW images captured with selected EOS series cameras, as well as JPEG images containing depth information captured with the Canon EOS R8 Mark II, into 3D images including depth information and 3D models (OBJ/GLB file formats), which can then be edited in standard applications.
Controls within the app enable users to fine-tune the degree of depth, increasing it for a more pronounced 3D effect or reducing it for a subtler, flatter appearance, according to their creative preferences. The main subject can also be isolated easily, with the background either removed or replaced before outputting a 3D model or stereographic photograph.
Two photodiodes
Dual Pixel 3D leverages the design of the Dual Pixel CMOS sensor, where each pixel features two photodiodes that can be read independently for phase-detection autofocus or combined to create a conventional image. Dual Pixel RAW files and supported Canon EOS R8 Mark II JPEGs contain depth information derived from the slightly different views captured by the two photodiodes. Using proprietary algorithms, this phase-difference information is then converted into 3D shape data, which is combined with high-quality image data captured by selected EOS cameras as surface textures to create realistic and detailed 3D models.
These capabilities are said by Canon to open up new practical and creative possibilities, and the software will be available to download from October 3, 2026.
Estudio EA