Why is it so exciting when a new camera is produced for a very small and specific market? Canon has just announced its highly specialized Canon EOS Ra camera—the company’s first full-frame mirrorless camera dedicated to deep sky and astrophotography. Following in the footsteps of the Canon EOS 20Da, EOS 60Da, and EOS 6Da, the new mirrorless R system EOS Ra camera packs some impressive stargazing features.
The EOS Ra is filtered for approximately 4x more transmission sensitivity of hydrogen alpha (Hα) rays (656nm) for more vivid images of the deep red hue of some nebulae. To verify focus, the camera offers 30x magnification in live view to help ensure tack-sharp stars. The sensor is familiar as the 30.3MP CMOS from the EOS R, along with its high-precision 3.69M-dot electronic viewfinder (EVF) and Dual Pixel CMOS AF with 5,655 manually selectable AF positions for locking onto distant stars. The Vari-angle touchscreen LCD is especially helpful when the camera is mounted at odd angles while connected to telescopes or other lenses pointed skyward at awkward angles for EVF viewing.
The EOS Ra also features 4K time-lapse, high ISO performance, and 4K 30p video with Canon Log and 10-bit 4:2:2 HDMI output.
Unfortunately for many photographers, this camera, being designed specifically for astrophotography, will not give good results for general photography due to the built-in color filtration.
For some amazing examples of what this camera is capable of, please see the images below—some of which were taken with Canon EOS R-series lenses.
