There has been a slue of high-powered, full-frame cameras hitting the market this fall. As camera nerds, we’re excited to have the flexibility that another 20+ megapixels provide. As pragmatists, we can’t help but wonder who the heck needs this much detail? Wanting it is one thing, but requiring it for your livelihood is quite another. We finally got our answer with the new Canon EOS Ra, the company’s first full-frame camera made specifically for astrophotography.
Canon EOS Ra Specs & Features
Is the astrophotography angle a gimmick?
Short answer: no. Canon does not recommend this camera for casual, terrestrial use. In fact, internal modifications were made to customize it for sky-based photography.
Brace yourself, friends, we’re about to talk about science.
Compared to the Canon EOS R, the EOS Ra’s infrared-cutting filter is modified to let in about 4x as many hydrogen-alpha rays at the 656nm wavelength. Now, if you’re anything like us, the first thing you thought after reading that sentence was, excuse me, what?
Basically, that means the Canon Ra facilitates a higher transmission of the deep red infrared rays commonly emitted by nebulae. Think of it as a built-in aid that automatically increases contrast and ruby red luminance without the help of other special accessories.
Magnification Ratio
As you might imagine, focusing on a small star 4.3 light-years away can be a bit challenging. As a result, the Canon Ra is the first-ever Canon EOS model with a 30x magnification ratio—it’s viewable through the electronic viewfinder and LCD screen for Live View operation.
You can also choose standard, full-frame, or 5x viewing if 30x is a bit much for your astrophotography needs.
Sensor Size
The sensor technically isn’t astro-fitted. However, 30.3 effective megapixels and a Digic 8 processor definitely won’t hurt. The Ra’s 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor combined with the power of its processor facilitates a fast, efficient performance that results in image quality that’s out of this world (sorry we had to).
An overview of the specs is as follows:
- Full-frame 30.3MP CMOS image sensor
- DIGIC 8 image processor
- Dual pixel CMOS AF with 5,655 manually selectable AF positions
- 4K 30p with Canon Log and 10-bit 4:2:2 HDMI output
- Built-in EVF with 3.69 million dots
- Vari-angle touchscreen LCD and Dot-matrix LCD panel
- Lightweight, compact size
- High magnification ratio of 30x in Live View
- Silent shutter
- USB charge compatible
Pricing & Availablity
The Canon Ra costs $2,499.00 and is currently available for pre-order. Sadly, we don’t have a ship-date yet but will certainly keep you posted.
We can’t wait to see what our stargazing friends create with this new beast of a full-frame! In the meantime, you can pre-order your own here.
our closest star is Alpha Centauri A; it’s about 4.4 light years away and one light year is 5.88 trillion miles so
about 26 trillion miles. A little further than several hundred thousand miles.
I own the 60Da and a slew of lovely, Korean-made, manual focus, very fast, very sharp, economical Rokinon lenses. The 60Da has, of course, a cropped-image sensor.
Will my manual-focus Rokinon lenses cover this full-frame EOS Ra sensor?
Will I need all new astrophotography lenses?
Hi Michael, thank you for your question!
You don’t have to buy new astrophotography-friendly lenses if you’re using EF-S mount Rokinon lenses. The EOS Ra automatically crops to reflect the APC-C sized sensor EF-S lenses are designed for. However, you will need a mount adapter.
This is the direct quote from Canon’s website regarding compatibility:
“The EOS Ra camera is designed to integrate smoothly into existing EOS systems. Engineered to work seamlessly with RF lenses, it maintains complete compatibility with EF and EF-S lenses by using one of three optional Mount Adapters. When using EF-S lenses, the EOS Ra even crops automatically to reflect the APS-C sized sensor the lenses are designed for.”
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
This will actually depend on who made the lens and how. Canon’s own EF-S lenses DO require an adapter, but, for example, Sigma’s lenses designed for crop bodies don’t have the same physical limitation that Canon’s EF-S lenses have, and thus they will attach just fine to a full-frame body without that adapter.