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Articles
Bite-Back releases The Horror
UK-based environmental charity Bite-Back has released a hard-hitting short video with some very graphic footage of shark finning entitled “FIN-Help End the Horror”. The charity aims to make Britain’s restaurants shark fin-free as currently more than 80 restaurants in the UK sell shark fin soup. Bite-Back plans to expose these establishments and encourage them to remove shark fin soup from their menus. The film was created by London advertising agency, Ogilvy & Mather, with the help of Afrioceans Conservation Alliance, Greenpeace, Lesley Rochat, Pretoma.org, Scubazoo, Shark Project International and WildAid.
BBC discovers polar bear sanctuary
In a new BBC documentary charting the life of and on an iceberg, the film crew has found a colony of polar bears that spent the summer months on the berg. This challenges the conventional wisdom that polar bears move from the melting sea ice to land during the summer months. 20 bears were discovered living on the Peterman Iceberg in Baffin Bay, 50km (31 miles) off the Canadian coast. The program makers speculate that these icebergs may provide protection from hunters and os may help safeguard the species’ survival.
BBC Operation Iceberg is available to watch internationally via the BBC iPlayer app.
Sony releases digital cinema cameras
Sony has announced two new CineAlta™ 4K digital cinema cameras. The PMW-F55 and PMW-F5 cameras feature a super 35mm 4K sensor and a 14 stop exposure latitude with high sensitivity and low noise. The F55 offers HD/2K/QFHD/4K whilst the F5 offers HD/2K recording, with both using a new XAVC MPEG-4/H264 codec. The cameras have an adaptor for use with PL mount lenses, including new ones to be offered by Sony, and a native FZ mount for still camera lenses. They also offer new monitoring options with a new 4K monitor and OLED and LCD viewfinders. Lastly, Sony has unveiled the AXSM™ Access Memory System RAW recording system.
The new cameras will be available from February 2013, with prices to be confirmed.
Show Report: The Dive Show 2012
Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon presents a report of the Dive show 2012. This annual show was held at the National Exhibition Center (NEC), Birmingham, UK over the weekend of 27 and 28 October. It featured the Photozone area, which had booths displaying imaging gear, as well as those of organizations and clubs. It also has a small seminar area which hosts a series of free talks about underwater photography throughout the weekend.
Amongst the major features this year, Wetpixel Associate Editor Alex Mustard and Martin Edge presented a lecture on photographic composition. Wetpixel has filmed this, and will post it here soon.
Wetpixel sends thoughts and prayers to New York
Hurricane Sandy is due to land in New York city around now. Forecasters are predicting that 90mph winds and a storm surge of 6 to 8 feet will arrive over the next few hours, resulting in severe local flooding. The city has been forced to shut down its subway service and close both the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnels. Bus and subway services are also not operating.
Many New York residents have moved to safety, and we fervently hope that those members of the Wetpixel community that are caught up in the storm are, together with their loved ones, in a place of safety and that any property or business loss will be limited. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Inon releases new products
Inon has released a series of new accessory products for compact housings. The UWL-S100 wide-angle conversion lens is designed for use with compact cameras with 28m or greater lenses. There are adaptors available to allow the lens to be attached via M67 or Inon bayonet fittings. The company has also released a series of adaptors that allow wet lenses to be attached to Canon, Sony and Panasonic housings. Lastly, there is a modified Shoe Base available that can be used on Canon housings.
Review: Dive and See DNC-5 underwater monitor
Steve Douglas presents a review of the Dive and See DNC 5” underwater monitor. This is not a housed land monitor, but rather a self-contained waterproof monitor and has a port for charging. Steve feels that this makes for a more reliable seal. It has a display resolution of 800x480 and offers a reported 5 hours of use per charge.
Steve also reports that routing the HDMI cable inside his housing was a fiddly job
Call for entries: Beneath the Sea 2013
The annual Beneath the Sea international imaging contest is now calling for entries. It has three categories: The David Doubilet award for underwater photography, the Stan Waterman award for underwater video and the Jim Church award for creative underwater photography. The winners will be announced at the Beneath the Sea’s Ocean Adventure Exposition and Dive Travel Show, March 22, 23rd, and 24th, 2013, to be held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Full entry details area available on the Beneath the Sea imaging contest’s webpage. The deadline for entries is 31 December 2012.