Nauticam NA-R50 Underwater Housing
For the Canon EOS R50 (with RF-S 18-45mm lens)
The NA-R50 takes Canon's compact, award-winning EOS R50 underwater in an entirely new category for Nauticam — the most compact and lightweight APS-C housing they've built, with compact-camera simplicity but interchangeable-grade results. A fixed flat port built around the RF-S 18-45mm lens carries a bayonet mount for switching between wide-angle and macro wet optics on the same dive. It ships with vacuum and leak monitoring as standard.
Consider the NA-R50 if you:
- Want the most compact, travel-friendly APS-C rig — smaller and lighter than any previous Canon APS-C housing, hand-holdable without a tray
- Shoot the RF-S 18-45mm with switchable WWL wide-angle and CMC macro wet optics on one dive
- Want best-in-class Canon autofocus with compact-camera simplicity (zoom gear included; the port needs no maintenance)
- Need reliable safety monitoring for demanding dives
At a Glance
| Dimensions | 238 × 150 × 115 mm (W × H × D) |
| Depth Rating | 100 m |
| Weight in air | 1.3 kg |
| Weight in water | Negative 0.1 kg (incl. camera, battery and lens) |
| Port | Fixed flat port with bayonet mount for wet optics |
| Compatible cameras | Canon EOS R50 (with RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM) |
The Camera: Canon EOS R50
New to the R50? Here's the context. Already know it well — skip to the housing below.
The Canon EOS R50 is a remarkably compact, award-winning APS-C mirrorless body offering best-in-class autofocus in an entry-friendly package — an ideal step up from a compact camera, or a downsize from a DSLR, without giving up much performance. Its Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with intelligent subject detection, oversampled 4K video and lightweight body make it a natural fit for a small, travel-friendly underwater system.
Key camera specifications
- 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor with DIGIC X processor
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with subject detection (people, animals, vehicles)
- Oversampled UHD 4K up to 30p; Full HD up to 120p
- Up to 12fps mechanical / 15fps electronic continuous shooting
- Vari-angle touchscreen LCD
- Built-in pop-up flash
- Single UHS-II SD card slot
The Housing
Optical design: fixed port with wet-optic bayonet
The NA-R50 is engineered around the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM — by far the most versatile and practical RF APS-C lens for underwater use. The port is integral to the housing and needs no additional maintenance, much like Nauticam's compact camera systems, and the zoom gear is included. The lens covers a useful wide-to-fish-portrait range on its own, and the pre-installed bayonet mount lets you add wet optics:
- WWL-1B (most recommended) — 130° to 60° converted field of view across the 18-45mm zoom, with focus down to the glass; an all-glass optic sharper than any wide-angle lens behind a dome.
- WWL-C — a more compact all-glass option, 116° to 52°, every bit as sharp.
- CMC-1 / CMC-2 — lightweight macro converters for ultimate image quality and autofocus; maximum magnification at 45mm (CMC-1 stronger, CMC-2 more forgiving at 0.6×).
- MWL-1 — 150° to 130° wide macro converter.
Compact and versatile
Constructed from rugged aluminium, the NA-R50 is lighter and more compact than any previous Canon APS-C system — just 238mm wide, 150mm high and 115mm deep — small enough to hand-hold without a tray for ultimate freedom when you want it.
Flash triggering
Flash triggering uses the EOS R50's pop-up flash, making fiber-optic strobe connections a seamless integration. Strobes that offer S-TTL over fiber optics provide full TTL compatibility with the R50.
Vacuum check and leak detection — standard
Nauticam's vacuum check and leak detection electronics ship with the NA-R50 as standard. Combined with the optional 25625 M16 Vacuum Valve II, the system continuously reports the housing's watertight, safe-to-dive status through a color-coded LED: solid vacuum, or vacuum loss. Leak detection runs on the same circuit, so any water intrusion triggers an audible and visual alarm.
The system is temperature-compensated, so it won't throw false alarms from a change in water temperature or from the camera heating up on an action-packed dive.
What's in the Box
- NA-R50 Underwater Housing with integrated flat port (bayonet mount)
- Spare silicone rubber housing O-ring (#90131)
- O-ring remover and lubricant
- 2× Plugs for optical fiber cable mount
- CR-2032 battery (for moisture alarm and leak detector)
- Padded housing bag
- Set of Allen keys
- Manual instruction card
(Zoom gear for the RF-S 18-45mm is included.)
Also available: the NA-R50 Pro Package (SKU 17340P) bundles this housing with a Flexitray and both handles, two mounting balls, an M16 vacuum valve and a shutter extension — see the separate Pro Package listing.
Optional Accessories
Vacuum valves
- 25625 M16 Vacuum Valve II (pushbutton release)
Wet optics
- 83202 Wet Wide Lens 1B (WWL-1B) — 130-60° converted FOV (most recommended)
- 83203 Wet Wide Lens Compact (WWL-C) — 116-52° converted FOV
- 81301 Compact Macro Converter 1 (CMC-1) — 0.8× magnification
- 81302 Compact Macro Converter 2 (CMC-2) — 0.6× magnification
- 86201 Macro Wide Lens 1 (MWL-1) — 150-130° converted FOV
- 83214 Bayonet Mount Adaptor for SMC/CMC (required for CMC-1/CMC-2)
LCD magnifier
Triggering and cables
- 26216 Universal Optical Fiber Cable
Housing tray and hand strap
- 71206 Easitray II with left handle
- 71207 Flexitray II with left handle
- 71208 Adjustable right handle II (for Easitray II & Flexitray II)
- 71209 Flexitray plate II W with left handle (2 tripod holes)
- 36316 Hand strap for mirrorless / compact camera housing (standard)
- 36323 Long hand strap for mirrorless / compact camera housing
Mounting Accessories
- 25221 M10 strobe mounting ball for housing
- 25311 Strobe mounting ball for cold shoe
- 25321 Long strobe mounting ball for cold shoe
- 25312 Light mounting stem for cold shoe
- 25322 Long light mounting stem for cold shoe
HDMI Configurations
HDMI 1.4 cable system
- 25033 Standard HDMI bulkhead with M16 thread
- 25627 M16 Offset Connector with Vacuum Valve II (pushbutton release)
- 25076 HDMI (D-D) cable, 200mm (from HDMI bulkhead to camera; included in 17923 / 17925)
Compatible HDMI 1.4 monitor housings
- 17922 Nauticam Atomos Ninja V Housing (requires 25082 cable)
- 17923 NA-Shinobi-H Housing for Atomos Shinobi 5.2" 4K HDMI Monitor
- 17925 NA-503-H Housing for SmallHD 503 UltraBright On-Camera Monitor
Resources
- NA-R50 PDF Manual — link TBC (published on Nauticam's page; direct link to be confirmed)
Fixed-port housing — no port chart applies; the system is built around the Canon RF-S 18-45mm lens with WWL and CMC wet optics.
