The race for the winning virtual reality headset crown has been hotting up over recent months. We've seen HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and more besides, but now Japanese giant Canon is in the running with its VR headset. And we got to use one at the Canon Expo in Paris.

Not that this VR is conventional like its competitors: the Canon VR has two handles so it can be hand-held up against the face, not strapped-on like all of its rivals. Thing is, that might make it only practical for fewer tasks; we could imagine one in, say, a museum setting but it's impractical for something like gaming.

Plus, and unlike the Samsung Gear VR, the Canon VR is a tethered system, with cords running from software to the device. At the Canon Expo we needed an assistant to hold things into place so our hands were free to grapple those VR handles and enter the virtual world.

But where the Canon VR can show off above and beyond many of its competitors is with tech specs. Two 5.5-inch panels deliver a 2560 x 2880 pixel resolution, ensuring a crisp view onto its virtual three-dimensional world.

Although, given the way the optics are positioned somewhat precariously by your own hands, there's some blur to the clarity from those lenses. And the Canon VR is far heavier than we'd expect, which makes it feel like more of a chore than a pleasure.

So there we have it: the Canon VR might get some of the specs right thanks to high-resolution playback, but with its weight and the practicality issues with holding this tethered system it feels like a concept without a final destination just yet.