Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Milky Forest – Testing the New Canon EOS Ra Astrophotography Camera

After many years of shooting with my trusted Canon EOS 60Da, I finally upgraded to the Canon EOS Ra — and this image is one of my very first real-world tests. So far, the camera has exceeded my expectations in every way.

This photograph was taken near Bethel Woods, New York. The light pollution is noticeably lower than in New York City, but still present — a good test environment for seeing how well the Ra handles faint details in the Milky Way’s dense center.

Thanks to the EOS Ra’s enhanced hydrogen-alpha (Hα) sensitivity and modern full-frame sensor, the structure of the Milky Way remains beautifully visible even under moderate sky glow. The difference compared to the 60Da is immediately noticeable: stronger reds, more detail in the galactic core, and much cleaner high-ISO performance.

Milky Forest - Testing new Canon EOS Ra astrophotography camera

Milky Forest - Testing new camera Canon Ra

Camera Settings & Performance

Canon EOS Ra
Lens: Canon EF 16–35mm f/2.8L II USM
Exposure: 6 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 20,000
Processing: Minimum Photoshop adjustments — this is almost straight out of camera.

The Ra's sensor allows much shorter exposures than the 60Da (which typically required 10–15 seconds for a similar sky brightness). Despite the short shutter time, the Milky Way’s core is sharp, detailed, and clean. High-ISO noise levels are dramatically lower, making the Canon EOS Ra a superb tool for night-sky photography.