Canon EOS R6 Underwater Housing by Nauticam

The Canon EOS R5 is attractive to underwater image makers for a variety of reasons. It is a 45MP full frame mirrorless camera that shoots full width 8K video, utilizes Canon's new RF lens mount, and also has next generation Dual Pixel autofocus.

The Canon EOS R6 Camera

The Canon EOS R6 is one of the latest in Canon's full-frame mirrorless camera lineup which has gained unprecedented demand.  It features the RF lens mount which has the same large 54mm diameter but the ability to have larger rear lens elements that are closer to the sensor gives increased corner and outer edge sharpness. 

The R6 uses an 20MP CMOS sensor which is closely related to the one used in the Canon 1D X Mark III flagship camera.  It offers in-body image stabilization rated at up to 8 stops of correction.  The camera's Dual Pixel autofocus system uses 1053 autofocus points across the entire frame.   It is also capable of recording 4K video at up to 60p and 1080 at up to 120p.  

The EOS R6 can also use the large EF-mount lens lineup via three optional adapters, a simple EF to R adapter, one which supports the customizable control ring and another that features a drop-in filter mount.

Key Camera Specifications

• 20MP full-frame Dual Pixel CMOS sensor
• UHD 4K shooting up to 60p, 1080 at up to 120p,
• 10-bit 4:2:2 internal recording in C-Log or HDR PQ
• 100% coverage Dual Pixel II AF system
• 12 fps / 20 fps burst (mechanical / electronic shutter)
• 3.68M-dot EVF
• 1.62M-dot fully-articulated rear touchscreen
• 10-bit HDR photos in HEIF format
• Dual UHS-II SD slots

The Nauticam Underwater Housing for the Canon EOS R6 Camera

The NA-R6 underwater housing follows suit with Nauticam's drive for innovation. Both the Canon EOS R5 and EOS R6 present shooters with the ability to use both the available legacy EF lenses via an adapter in addition to their native RF optics.  To support both the legacy and native lenses, Nauticam has integrated the NA-R6 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 R6 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.

Mission Control

Nauticam engineers are obsessed with getting the underwater image maker unfettered access to all the necessary controls, with as many within easy reach of the ergonomic rubberized handles. This Mission Control philosophy extends to the NA-R6 where a dual thumb lever and dual sub-lever are placed by the right handle. The upper thumb lever activates the "AF-On" and the lower the "Q" buttons while the sub-lever corresponds to the "M-Fn" and "Record" buttons. Near the left handle is a thumb lever for "Playback" as well as a dedicated switch to change from using LCD to the EVF.

Large knurled and rubberized control dials access the camera's "main" and "sub" command dials. The two-stage trigger allows for smooth focus and firing activation. Additional buttons for "Menu", "Focus Point Selection" and others are also easily reached from the handles.

An additional control wheel is located on the left side of the housing and will interface with the control ring on the supported EF to EOS R Mount Adapter with Control Ring using the optional gear (NA19561).

Flash Triggering

Flash triggering is achieved via one of two optional Flash Triggers, a manual LED trigger (NA26301) or a TTL Flash Trigger (NA26321) 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.

Integrated Vacuum Check and Leak Detection System

The Nauticam vacuum check and leak detection electronics are shipped with the NA-R6 as standard equipment. Combined with an accessory vacuum valve (NA25625) this monitoring system provides constant updates on the water tight and safe-to-dive status of the housing. A simple color coded LED lighting system lets the user know that the vacuum is solid, or that the housing is losing vacuum. Leak detection is built into the same circuit, so if there is water intrusion, an audible and visual indication will occur.

The Nauticam system is temperature compensated, eliminating false alarms caused by a change in outside temperature, or from a camera heating up on an action packed dive.