Pro Photographer's First Dives with a Mirrorless Camera

Impressions of the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera - From a Longtime DSLR Underwater Shooter When mirrorless cameras started to get some buzz in the underwater photography community around 10 years ago, I figured that it would be a long time before I would need to consider switching, so I stuck my head and the sand and ignored them. After all, I was shooting with one of the top DSLR cameras, the Nikon D850, as were a lot of photo professionals, and it was doing everything I needed it to do and more. In addition, before that, I used the Nauticam D800, Nikon D300, and Nikon D200 DSLR cameras so I was hoping that I could just ride this ‘fad’ out and it would go away. However, when these mirrorless cameras started to show up on my workshops and trips, the images from them on some really difficult subject matter started to impress me. I finally realized this was not a passing trend but the future of underwater photography. Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 100mm USM lens | Backscatter Mini Flash 2 | Optical Snoot OS-1 | 1/250 | ISO 400 | ƒ29The Future is Now!Time to consider upgrading to a Mirrorless Camera When Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo asked me if I would like to borrow the new Canon EOS R5 II in a Nauticam NA-R5II Underwater Housing equipped with a flash trigger, I jumped at the offer. I had used an Olympus E-M10 IV compact mirrorless on a few dives the year before and was pretty impressed so this would be a major step up. The only concern was that I was a Nikon DSLR shooter and had never really used a Canon camera, so learning could be a challenge on multiple fronts. Luckily, my wife Manomi is a diehard Canon shooter and currently has a Canon 5D IV DSLR. She was also eager to see what the new Canon EOS R5 II could do and agreed to help me out with the Canon menus and controls. As an added bonus, it came with a Canon EOS Mount Adapter, so we could use all of Manomi’s lenses from her Canon DSLR as well as her ports and extension rings on the Nauticam housing. The reusability of your current gear is something you should consider when looking to do any kind of upgrade because it can save you a lot of money. Nikon and Sony also have adaptors to allow you to use some of your DSLR-style lenses on their mirrorless systems and even some cross-brand lenses. With our new mirrorless setup in hand, we set out on our adventure to dive our favorite island in the Caribbean, Bonaire. Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/100 | ISO 400 | ƒ18First Impressions Anxious to try this new system out, I set up the Canon EOS R5 II and familiarized myself with the controls, took some test shots and Manomi gave me some helpful Canon tips. Although I highly recommend you read the camera manual and practice with a new camera a lot above water, my lack of preparation did give me a feel for just how intuitive this camera setup is for a Nikon DSLR shooter. My First Impressions:Wow! Damn! OMG! WTF? Despite being a Nikon shooter, I found the transition to the controls and menus on the Canon Mirrorless to be very intuitive. That focus tracking is magic! Ooooh – I like that big LCD screen. Why have I waited so long to upgrade? Who knew Canon’s are that good? So, that is what Focus Peaking is. Whoa, that electronic viewfinder is crisp! Nailed it! Nailed it (again)! I wonder if Backscatter will forget they loaned this to me… How hard can this camera be to use? We’ll Find out!Go Big or Go HomeWide-Angle Photography with the Canon EOS R5 II I first set up for wide-angle with a Canon 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye Lens, a Zen DP-100-N120CR 100mm Fisheye Dome Port, and a pair of Backscatter Hybrid Flash Underwater Strobe & Video Lights. Bonaire has some wonderful wide-angle spots like the Salt Pier, Klein Bonaire, and the wild East Coast to test out the Canon EOS R5 II. The first thing I appreciated about the Nauticam NA-R5II housing was a large knob that is hard to mistake on top of the Nauticam NA-R5II housing to turn on/off the camera. There are also separate dials for the exposure triad (aperture, shutter, and ISO) and no extra control to activate them, like on our Nikon and Canon DSLR Nauticam housing. There is an easy switch to toggle back and forth between the LCD screen on the back and the OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF). Overall, Nauticam has thought this housing out well, it is ergonomic, and the buttons and shutter felt good and sensitive to the touch. Canon EOS R5 II with Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens a Zen DP-100-N120CR 100mm Dome Port and pair of Backscatter Hybrid Flashes For wide-angle, I started off using the easy-to-see 3.2” LCD screen to lock on a focus point on the edge of a sponge, turtle eye, or other focal element and then moved the camera around to recompose while the camera maintained the original focal point. This is super easy, and even after I started to use the bright and crisp viewfinder to compose and focus, I still liked the LCD screen when shooting close-focus wide-angle, requiring me to position the camera in a difficult spot for me to look through the EVF. It also makes it a lot easier when shooting from the hip and not necessarily having the camera up to your face. All of the camera settings are displayed on the screen that I need or are easy to navigate to. I did find that in bright swallow water situations, it could be difficult to see the screen clearly. For a traditional DSLR shooter, the bright viewfinder will be much appreciated, and it will be easy to see all corners. Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/200 | ISO 200 | ƒ16 The only area I struggled with was getting a good tight sun ball with it like I do on my DSLR, but conditions weren’t optimal with a lot of cloudy days and intermittent sun, so I didn’t get a lot of opportunities. We also thought the dynamic range would have been a little better based on what I had read, but Manomi thought it was about the same as her Canon 5D IV, based on the limited dives she got to shoot with it (I hogged it most of the time). The following Images were taken with Canon EOS R5 II with an Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens and two Backscatter Hybrid Flashes: Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/200 | ISO 200 | ƒ11Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/80 | ISO 400 | ƒ22Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/60 | ISO 200 | ƒ16Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/250 | ISO 200 | ƒ18Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Hybrid Flash | 1/200 | ISO 400 | ƒ16Focus is the Focus of the Canon EOS R5 II For the macro setup, we used the Canon 100mm USM f/2.8L lens and dual Backscatter Mini Flash 2 strobes. We also used the optical snoot and a SubSee Plus 5 diopter for super macro. Bonaire has no shortage of macro critters, but since we only had a few dives left, we headed straight to Something Special and a few of our favorite macro sites. For me, macro photography with the advanced AF System, including Eye Detection AF and subject-tracking, is where the Canon EOS R5 II really excels over my current DSLR setup. Once the eye-control focus locks on, it seems that no matter how erratic the critter is moving around, it is able to maintain focus. Even as a small fish swam behind strands of coral and all around the reef, the AF maintains focus when panning with the camera. I found that unless the fish completely left the frame, it rarely lost focus. I looked through both the EVF and the LCD, but the LCD is sometimes hard to see the focus-point until you take the photo and review it (but it usually nailed the focus). The Canon EOS R5 II also has focus peaking, which displays exactly the areas of the photo that is in focus. Can they make it any easier? Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 100mm USM lens | Backscatter Mini Flash 2 | 1/160 | ISO 400 | ƒ13 I did use the SubSee Plus 5 Diopter for super macro to photograph some shrimp, Christmas tree worms, fish eggs, a juvenile smooth trunkfish, and a tiny spineyhead blenny. On my DSLR, the autofocus struggles at times with my Nikon 105mm VR lens, particularly when trying to focus on a small blenny eye, so it takes a lot of patience. I was pleasantly surprised with the Canon EOS R5 II’s ability to do eye tracking, even on that little eye. This allows me to concentrate more on composition and pose of the blenny after I lock on to the eye. Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 100mm USM lens | Backscatter Mini Flash 2 | 1/250 | ISO 400 | ƒ16 I noticed that the battery drained after only two dives probably because it was tracking and focusing a lot on those long dives, but I was purposely tracking moving subjects most of the time. Battery life on mirrorless cameras is a known issue when compared to the life of a DSLR, so with either wide or macro, I would plan to change it out every couple of dives just in case. If you are good about switching off the camera or LCD when not in use and not relying so much on the AF tracking, you could maybe sneak in another dive, but why risk it? To me, the AF capability is well worth the battery tradeoff and I think with practice and fine-tuning of the settings, I could extend the battery life a little more. Editor Note: The Backscatter team regularly finds the battery down to 40% after active photography dives, thus we swap batteries every dive just in case our next dive is epic. The following Images were taken with Canon EOS R5 II with Canon 100mm USM lens and Backscatter Mini Flash 2 Strobes: Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 8-15mm lens | Backscatter Mini Flash 2 | 1/1250 | ISO 400 | ƒ11Canon EOS R5 II | Canon 100mm USM lens | Backscatter Mini Flash 2 | 1/125 | ISO 250 | ƒ18Size Matters One other advantage that you hear mentioned a lot with mirrorless cameras is that they are smaller and more compact. The camera in many cases, is, but the native RF lenses may not be, and once you put everything in the Nauticam NA-R5II housing, it is not that much smaller. I lined up the Full Frame Nikon D850, Canon 5D IV, and Canon EOS R5 II in their housings, and you can see them for yourself. The housed Canon EOS R5 II is smaller overall but is a bit thicker in size. When it is set up for macro with the Mini Flash 2 strobes, it is super easy to maneuver in and out of the water. I don’t think I would upgrade just for the smaller size, but it is a positive thing to consider. The following images are of the three Nauticam Housings for comparison of size:Nauticam NA-D850 for Nikon D850 — Nauticam NA-R5II for Canon EOS R5 II — Nauticam NA-5DIV for Canon 5D IVNauticam NA-D850 for Nikon D850 — Nauticam NA-R5II for Canon EOS R5 II — Nauticam NA-5DIV for Canon 5D IVCONCLUSION As a seasoned full-frame DSLR photographer, I would recommend considering an upgrade. For most serious photographers, especially those who are already using Canon, the transition is straightforward. If you already own lenses that are compatible with the Canon EOS Mount Adapter, upgrading becomes an easy decision. This system would definitely enable me to capture a higher number of quality images compared to the DSLR system I am currently using. The key benefits of the Canon EOS R5 II for me are the following: The ease of using the AF System with Eye Detection AF and subject-tracking. I captured a much higher amount of in-focus keepers. Auto focus also tracked well with super macro too!The crisp, bright OLED electronic viewfinder is so easy to see through and displays information clearly visible.Super sharp detail images on that 45-megapixel CMOS full-frame sensor, even when zoomed in 100%The impressive “up to 30 frames-per-second” would be amazing for shooting ambient light photography of fast-moving subjects like marlins, sharks, or dolphins. Above water, this is why bird photographers love this camera, too.Low noise or manageable noise when I increased the ISO to higher levels. Although I didn’t try to learn the video capabilities, this is one of the strong selling points of this camera with the ability to capture 8K RAW footageFamiliarity with Canon menu and controls for Canon DSLR usersRelatively little smaller size of the camera and housingI would also pair the camera with the ergonomics and soft, responsive touch of the Nauticam housing. It felt natural in my hands, and even though it was my first time using it, it was a low learning curve. The only issues, if you can call them that, were the following: I would like to use this camera more, but my first impressions of the dynamic range were that it was good but not as great as I had expected when compared to our DSLRs.I also did not use my external Nauticam 45 Degree 0.8:1 Viewfinder on the setup, but I think it would have come in handy when looking through the electronic viewfinder, even though it was a lot easier to see everything on the LCD screen clearly compared to my Nikon D850. If you are considering an upgrade, do your research and seriously consider the Canon EOS R5 II as it is an amazing mirrorless camera ready to replace your old DSLR. And if you are just starting out and looking for a great mirrorless camera, I highly recommend reading Backscatters’ “Best Underwater Cameras of 2025: Mirrorless Cameras” article, which will teach you about all of the mirrorless features to consider in your selection. WHY BUY FROM BACKSCATTER?Free lifetime tech support with every purchase. We will beat any advertised price. 20+ years of in-house warranty service and repair. Free shipping to USA and Canada and low-cost international shipping.Learn more!Ron Watkins is a professional photographer, writer, explorer, trip leader and photography instructor specializing in underwater and topside nature photography. Through his imagery, Ron is committed to raising awareness of the challenges facing our fragile ecosystems and threatened marine life in hopes of promoting conservation. Ron is known as an adventurer who is passionate about sharing his knowledge of photography techniques and helping his clients capture images of unique subjects and behavior. Join Ron as he leads our Nov 2026 trip to Wakatobi. Learn More Here.CANON R5 II CAMERA & HOUSINGSCanon EOS R5 II Mirrorless CameraORDER NOWAquatica AR5II HousingORDER NOWIkelite Canon R5 II HousingORDER NOWIsotta Canon R5 II HousingORDER NOWNauticam NA-R5II HousingORDER NOWSea and Sea MDX-R5II HousingORDER NOWSeacam Canon R5 II HousingORDER NOW

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Pro Photographer's First Dives with a Mirrorless Camera