I'm interested in using Nauticam wet lenses with the Sony full-frame gear I already own (I just need the housing), but I also looked into Nauticam's Canon R50 setup.  With a fixed flat port, it looks like you'd really want to use it with additional wet lenses.  The potential appeal to me is that I suspect the Canon R50's autofocus will be better than my A7Riii.

 

Does anyone have experience or thoughts on the Nauticam Canon R50 setup?

I own this set up and also have the nauticam wide angle lens

nauticam cmc and  smc attached by bayonet

very happy with it, that being said not being able to change  ports could be an issue for some(not me)

Can I ask you a bunch of questions about it?

 

1. You're able to raise and lower the pop up flash, right?
2. How is the autofocus with your additional lenses?  For context, I'm diving in pretty green cold water, but could use a focus light if needed.  My wish is to use this with the WWL and MWL, primarily for static reef scenes.
3. How is battery life using the flash?

Yes the flash pops up

l have no issues with the autofocus and much faster than the olympus epl10 i previously had

i usually do a single dive of about 1;45 minutes in shallow water and never had an issue

that being said i really dont ask 4 much

Curious on your experience with the CMC - 1 (?) and the R50 setup.  Have you used it much and like the results ?  Thanks.

I used R50 with CMC-1 and I'd say I like the combination. Image quality is quite good and you have enough room for cropping at 24MP. Following is the image I got from R50 and CMC-1 from my latest dive in Thailand. 

 

null

I sort of like this concept for the new Canon R50 and the new little Nikon. Fixed port with water contact optics. But I do wish it had BBF and an additional auxiliary bulkhead port so it might be possible to have both a vacuum system and onboard charging. 

 

What is the flash sync speed for this R50?

 

Looks like a nice outfit, hope it does good for you.

Owned the Canon R50 for a few months and still exploring if one rear button can be mapped to back button focus start. Personally I don't find the "feel" of the Nauticam NA-R50 housing trigger and spring tension difficult to 1/2 lock and then shoot.

 

Flash synch speed is 1/250. Nice........

 

As to having a port for vacuum AND another to rig a data transfer / charging USB-C not likely.... Only one M16 port and my housing has the vacuum system in it. Works fine and popping the camera in an out is a breeze anyway.

 

The housing fixed port hasn't been limiting since numerous macro 67mm choices out via Nauticam's 67mm / bayonet t adapter. For wide shooting a WWL-B, WWL-C lenses (likely a WWL-1 too just not sure of any fdifferences in corners, vignetting, etc.

 

Possibly less expensive wet WA choices with less wide to zoom in full focus coverage, some vignetting, etc. depending what lens you try with the 67mm / bayonet ring. I'm realistic and don't expect WWL-B or WWL-C total quality in this silly experiments.

 

I'll try various ideas mid-April in North Florida's clear freshwater springs and share some pics 🙂

 

David Haas

 

 

  

David, cannot wait to see your new outfit at SD.

 

JFYI and please anyone correct me if wrong. The only difference between the Nauticam WWL-1 and the Nauticam WWL-1B is the removable foam float collar on the WWL-1 and the integral aluminum float collar on the WWL-1B. Optically and in all dimensions not affected by the float collar, they are the same lens. The WWL-C is a different lens, more compact and is not the same optically. The WWL-1 lens assumes a 28mm and the WWL-C assumes a 24mm lens and both have zoom through capability. The WWL-C may not be as wide with some camera/lens combos?

10 hours ago, Nemrod said:

David, cannot wait to see your new outfit at SD.

 

JFYI and please anyone correct me if wrong. The only difference between the Nauticam WWL-1 and the Nauticam WWL-1B is the removable foam float collar on the WWL-1 and the integral aluminum float collar on the WWL-1B. Optically and in all dimensions not affected by the float collar, they are the same lens. The WWL-C is a different lens, more compact and is not the same optically. The WWL-1 lens assumes a 28mm and the WWL-C assumes a 24mm lens and both have zoom through capability. The WWL-C may not be as wide with some camera/lens combos?

I believe the WWL-1 is m67 attachment while the WWL-1B has a built in Nauticam boyonet.

19 hours ago, Nemrod said:

I sort of like this concept for the new Canon R50 and the new little Nikon. Fixed port with water contact optics. But I do wish it had BBF and an additional auxiliary bulkhead port so it might be possible to have both a vacuum system and onboard charging. 

 

What is the flash sync speed for this R50?

 

Looks like a nice outfit, hope it does good for you.

There is a solution to this to have the vacuum valve and bulkhead on the same m16 port, and offset extension valve from Nauticam, here, but sit down before you click on the link:

 

https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-M16-Offset-Extension-with-Dual-Activation

2 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

I believe the WWL-1 is m67 attachment while the WWL-1B has a built in Nauticam boyonet.

 

Thanks, I had forgotten that. My WWL-1 has a Nauticam bayonet mount. I think it was added on, do not remember. It should zip right on the Z50 I would think.

 

 

Edited March 26Mar 26 by Nemrod

I've been wanting to down size for a while and decided to go with the R50 about a month back.  I bought the "Pro" housing package from BlueWater Photo and was really happy with the transaction.

 

I've not been diving with the unit yet, but I am really pleased with the housing / package.  That said, I have a few nit picky comments.  First, yes you can implement back button autofocus, BUT only as a reprogram on the "*" button (which is * / magnify button on the housing).  I don't see where Canon provided the alternative on the other buttons (although there is a lot of other remapping available on the other buttons).  I too found the trigger to have no "feel" to it and, if you reprogram the * / magnify you can't reach the reprogrammed button and trigger at the same time.  My solution is to remove the add-on trigger.  Once removed you can comfortably hold the back focus and click the shutter release.  Removing the add-on trigger eliminates the soggy feel it gives and, with the reprogrammed button gives the desired function.

 

Another weird issue is the functionality of the housing AF/MF button.  Yes, pressing it lets you switch from AF to MF, but there is no way to MF once you do this!!  Nauticam did not externalize the manual focus ring on the lens.  The knob labeled as Zoom/Focus is really just a zoom knob.  I wrote Nauticam about this and they mentioned that the user manual will someday be corrected.  Of course, all their other housings allow the alternatives based on one's gear selection, but no such option exists for this rig.  As noted above, the AF/MF button has an extensive set of Canon alternative functions so I guess I'll eventually find something I want for the button.

 

The housing flash ON/OFF works beautifully and it's a nice feature.  I was always wishing for an easy way to do this on my A7RV and never found it.

 

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has a way to get to an effective 100mm (full frame) lens.  The existing is effectively 76mm.  For fish portraits I'd like a bit more telephoto.  I already have the CMC-2, so I'm OK for getting in very close but, of course, you pay a DOF penalty when the CMC and similar are used.

 

Overall, seems like a nice alternative if you can manage the limitations.

 

Gary

 

 

Edited March 30Mar 30 by Proteus

5 hours ago, Proteus said:

I'd be interested in knowing if anyone has a way to get to an effective 100mm (full frame) lens.  The existing is effectively 76mm.  For fish portraits I'd like a bit more telephoto.  I already have the CMC-2, so I'm OK for getting in very close but, of course, you pay a DOF penalty when the CMC and similar are used.

 

Overall, seems like a nice alternative if you can manage the limitations.

 

Gary

 

 

The only way I could see to achieve that would be to use a different lens, which is quite restrictive with the R50 housing.  I think the only one that would fit is the 50mm f1.8 which would give you a fraction more reach at 80mm equivalent.

There's a feature built into the Canon R50 I have yet to play with on mine in the Nauticam NA-R50 housing. 

 

In Canon RED Menu tab there is  Digital TeleConvertor feature of 2.0X and 4.0X. I have barely played with the 2.0X on the 45mm zoom end of the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens.

 

I'm pretty sure this only works in JPEG mode (have to find details in the 814 page Canon R50 PDF manual, LOL)  to be sure. 

 

Still, if shooting through the NA-R50 flat port it could be what I call  a "poor man's semi-close up" lens option.

 

With today's software including sharpening, uprezzing, backscatter removal, etc. I contend shooting any photo is 50% capture / 50% editing to make photos  shine 🙂

 

I'll try it while diving some Florida freshwater springs next week 🙂

 

David Haas

 

 

Can't wait for your pictures and feedback David. I just purchased NA-R50 and my learning starts...

Edited April 10Apr 10 by Ivan

Back from Florida and being almost exclusively a wide angle shooter I tried 3 different wet lenses.

Day one I used a friend's Inon UWL-H100 (designed for 28mm focal length, close the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lens through the Nauticam NA-50 flat port.

I also shot another friend's Nauticacm WWL-B lens. As expected with great results.

Last day I used my El Cheapo' Sea and Sea .67X wide angle wet lens.

Like the Inon UWL-H100 in the Bayonet to 67mm adapter those less expensive wide angle optics vignette a bit and aren't as wide as a Nauticam WWL-B / WWL-C / WWL-1.

I let another friend shoot his WWL-1 with buoyancy "donut" and bayonet mount on his. Mated perfectly on the Nauticam NA-R50. He rwas impressed with the Nauticam NA-R50 and I had the * button set up to BBF for him too :)

All in all the Nauticam NA-R50 is an impressive camera and package in a small size. The Canon R50 pop up flash synchs to 1/250 and the LCD screen is bright and easy to maneuver around. The 18-45mm Canon lens designed to be used exclusively with the housing delivers fine results. It's a great choice if you'll never go full frame.

I also got some great shots of Phil Rudin, my dear friend and fellow UW shooter since 1990 !!! Using his Marelux rigs he's a master of his gear. He let me try an Apollo S strobe as I only shot one strobe. The first few days a single Inon S220 and the last day the Marelux Apollo S.

I have to say if "Buy Once, Cry Once" the Apollo S price of $840.00 is in your budget get one !!!! It does Manual, Manual Rapid mode flash (MTL I think it's called) super accurate TTL from my Canon R50's pop up flash, HSS (High Speed Synch if your cameras does that) and more........It only requires two Lion 18650 batteries lightening your travel load for hundreds of flashes per charged set.

Hope this helps potential UW shooters in the price point of a fabulous housing / camera combination :)

David Haas

Great photos and review David, Thanks for sharing.

I got to use David's NA-R50 camera rigged with my old single D2000 and my Nauticam WWL-1 (not B). Any question that the WWL-1 with the foam collar will not fit, it does perfectly. I am mightily impressed with this little rig. For a nearly compact camera size outfit using water contact optics, it is very capable and svelte in the water and should be travel friendly.

Sorry for not being more photogenic myself but the NA-R50 is quite cumly. (photo by DHaas)

Edited April 21Apr 21 by Nemrod

On 3/25/2025 at 2:53 PM, dhaas said:

Owned the Canon R50 for a few months and still exploring if one rear button can be mapped to back button focus start. Personally I don't find the "feel" of the Nauticam NA-R50 housing trigger and spring tension difficult to 1/2 lock and then shoot.

 

Flash synch speed is 1/250. Nice........

 

As to having a port for vacuum AND another to rig a data transfer / charging USB-C not likely.... Only one M16 port and my housing has the vacuum system in it. Works fine and popping the camera in an out is a breeze anyway.

 

The housing fixed port hasn't been limiting since numerous macro 67mm choices out via Nauticam's 67mm / bayonet t adapter. For wide shooting a WWL-B, WWL-C lenses (likely a WWL-1 too just not sure of any fdifferences in corners, vignetting, etc.

 

Possibly less expensive wet WA choices with less wide to zoom in full focus coverage, some vignetting, etc. depending what lens you try with the 67mm / bayonet ring. I'm realistic and don't expect WWL-B or WWL-C total quality in this silly experiments.

 

I'll try various ideas mid-April in North Florida's clear freshwater springs and share some pics 🙂

 

David Haas

 

 

  

Looking at getting this housing/set-up or perhaps the Nikon version z50ii. I only miss a fish-eye alternative. And also need to adapt to using a the screen instead of an optical viewfinder….

2 hours ago, Christian K said:

Looking at getting this housing/set-up or perhaps the Nikon version z50ii. I only miss a fish-eye alternative. And also need to adapt to using a the screen instead of an optical viewfinder….

My new NA-R50 is loaded for Cozumel in a few days. I still have my NA-A6400 Sony but it is staying home due to concerns over Mexico "import" fees. My NA-R50 came from another forum member and I purchased the Pro Kit options and brackets through Reef because I like two strobes

I really like the outfit. I already have the CMC lenses and the WWL-1 and these are what I used most of the time for my Sony rig despite having other options. I do wish that Nauticam would provide a corrective air lens, a (semi-affordable) fisheye water contact lens and a bayonet flip holder. Maybe they will at least address the flip holder. I had a (used) VF for my Sony and sold it off. I just prefer the screen for WA and CFWA and fish shots and that is what I mostly do. A VF is nice for macro but I can do without for my purposes. I may purchase the extended VF for the NA-R50, maybe.

The R50 shoots great and the housing is exactly what you expect of Nauticam. And the rig packs up nicely. The Nikon rig might have been what I went with had the opportunity to purchase the R50 had not come along. But that reasoning was mostly based on the independent controls for the Nikon vs the Command dial for the Canon. It turns out that in use, the Command dial for ISO, f stop and shutter speed is fine, better than fine and is not an impediment. I also set the AF/MF button to shortcut so I can rapidly shift between manual strobes and TTL strobes.

Edited June 15Jun 15 by Nemrod

A few sample shots from Cozumel. Just straight from camera jpegs.

Edited July 22Jul 22 by Nemrod

A few more. Shooting dual S220 strobes, WWL-1.