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The Canon Ra is no longer available. What now?

Canon EOS Ra DSLR Buying Advice
Canon Ra •4 replies•62 views
Charles Pevsner avatar
Charles Pevsner avatar
Well, I was contemplating buying a Canon Ra, when abruptly it was discontinued by Canon, and now is not available anywhere.
 I am wondering what would be a decent substitute.  I would be using the camera for Milky Way and other night sky work, and occasional deep-sky shots (with a telephoto lens and star tracker), and maybe even something like a Williams Optics CAT.
 Would others recommend a modded Canon R (and modded with what, exactly)?  Are any there other general-purpose DSLR cameras out there with special features for astro?
 Thanks, Charles
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Peter Robertson avatar
Peter Robertson avatar
That is a shame. However it is relatively straightforward to buy a modded camera or have one modified. The 6Dii is good but can’t handle clip in filters, so probably a cropped sensor canon with a flip screen or canon R is best. I had a rebel modified by my local canon dealer. They often do this for police work to increase ir sensitivity. They remove the entire IR cut filter ( full spectrum mod) and you need to put in a ir-uv cut filter. If you live in the US there are agents who modify and sell cameras. 
shame about the Ra , but in time they will probably bring out a replacement for next gen R.
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Peter Robertson avatar
Peter Robertson avatar
According to Petapixel though discontinued stock is still available through canon and adorama

here is the link to canon USA showing availability 
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/products/details/cameras/eos-dslr-and-mirrorless-cameras/mirrorless/eos-r
Charles Pevsner avatar
Charles Pevsner avatar
Hi Peter -

Thanks for your thoughts.  The link you provided above is for the EOS R.  If you search the Canon site for the Ra, it is listed as "Discontinued" and no longer for sale.  (They also provide a "buy here" link to pictureline.com, but if you follow that link it's listed on pictureline as not available.)

I hope Canon will bring out a next generation R, but I'm not holding my breath – they seem to be greatly lagging other manufacturers, like Sony, in introduction of new models.  In the meantime, I see that LifePixel.com does offer brand new modded EOS R's with different options (H-alpha, infrared, etc).  I think for now that's the way to go.

Regards,

Charles
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Peter Robertson avatar
Peter Robertson avatar
Quite right, my mistake, apologies. Yes I think lifepixel is a good option.  Good luck I look forward to seeing the results