By: Todd Winner
The EOS R is Canon’s first full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. It is built around a 30.3 MP Full Frame CMOS sensor similar to the 5DMKIV. The EOS-R uses the new RF lens mount. It features the same large 54mm diameter as EF lenses but the rear lens elements are much closer to the sensor, allowing increased corner and outer edge sharpness. The new RF lenses can also be more compact than equivalent coverage area EF-mount lenses. Canon also added more communication pins for expanded lens functionality. In addition to the native RF lenses, EF and EF-S lenses can be used with the Canon EF-EOS R adaptor or the EF-EOS R adaptor with control ring. The customizable adapter control ring can be assigned to various exposure settings including ISO. This control is accessible in the housing with an optional control ring gear (19561).
EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and SMC-1, 1/200. f/18, ISO 100
EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM, 15mm, 1/200. f/10, ISO 100
The EOS R uses Canon’s proven Duel Pixel Auto Focus system. I found it to be one of the best performing mirrorless cameras for auto focus that I have used. The 4K video uses a 1.8 crop from the sensor, similar to the 5DMKIV. This often gets a lot of criticism in reviews but in actual shooting situations the video looks quite good. Unlike the 5DMKIV the EOS R is capable of using the EF-S lenses with an adapter so this opens up a lot of wide angle video options with the 1.8 crop. The EOS R can also output a 10 bit 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) 30p video signal over HDMI to an external recorder.
EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/200. f/11, ISO 100
The Nauticam NA-R underwater housing embodies Nauticam's drive for innovation. You have access to all essential controls and it is extremely ergonomic. I really appreciated the easy to use lever for switching between the EVF and LCD, a crucial and much used control with mirrorless systems underwater. For many, the EOS R is a move from a full-frame Canon DSLR. To support both the legacy and native lenses, Nauticam has integrated the NA-R into the N120 port system. Canon's EF to RF mount adapters can be affixed to the camera before insertion into the housing. When using the EOS R inside the housing with the adapter and a supported EF lens, the port and extension ring arrangement will be identical to the same setup on a Nauticam Canon N120 DSLR. As the RF lens lineup emerges, dedicated port and extension ring combinations will be listed on the Port Chart. Two lens release buttons, one for RF and one for EF lenses used with the optional Canon adapter, are located on the front of the housing to make lens removal through the port opening simple.
EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and SMC-1, 1/200. f/14, ISO 100
Flash triggering is achieved via one of two optional Flash Triggers, a manual LED trigger (PN 26301) or a TTL Flash Trigger (PN 26321) that use the built-in fiber optic bulkheads with optional fiber-optic cables to trigger supported strobes. For controlling strobes that do not support fiber optic flash triggering, a variety of legacy hot-shoe flash control bulkheads are available. When using a manual trigger most cameras don't recognize that a flash is connected. Make sure not to increase your shutter past the maximum sync speed of 1/200 on the EOS R. Another control you may want to disable when using a manual flash trigger and shooting macro is exposure simulation, it is in camera menu 3. This will allow you to still see the image with typical macro settings but it will no longer give you an exposure simulation.
EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM, 15mm, 1/100. f/9.0, ISO 100
EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM, 15mm, 1/80. f/11, ISO 100
EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM, 15mm, 1/60. f/6.3, ISO 640