Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Sony trails NEX-EA50 NEXCAM
Sony has expended their line of NEXCAM camcorders with the NEX-EA50EH. The new camera featured a large format APS-C Exmoor sensor, the Sony E-mount lens system and a new form factor that incorporates both shoulder and held positions. Sony claims that the sensor “produces high quality, creative movie images with low noise and high sensitivity in low light conditions. It also enables 1080 progressive and interlace recording with 60/50Hz selection (50p/25p/50i or 60p/30p/24p/60i)”
The NEX-EA50EH will be available from October and will retail at around $4,500.
Trip report: Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks and Dolphins 2012
Jason Bradley writes a full report of the 2012 Wetpixel Bahamas Sharks and Dolphins expedition. The trip spent 5 days aboard the Shearwater diving and photographing sharks and dolphins before being forced back into port by tropical storm Debby. He describes an encounter with Emma:
“In fact, one time, she opened her huge jaw and started mouthing my housing. As per the boat crew’s instruction, I gave her my housing. The camera almost immediately fell to the sand, as she wasn’t too interested beyond an initial feel. But, she continued to swim forward and over me. I was almost lying on the sandy bottom as I watched the 15-foot tiger shark swim right over me with my heart aflutter.”
Confirmation that Olympus is working on a new camera body
Four Thirds User has reported that Olympus working on new body for Top-Pro lenses: “Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging’s SLR planning department, confirmed today that the company is definitely working on a body to deliver the focusing performance expected by users of the Top Pro lens series like the ground breaking 90-250 f2.8 fixed aperture zoom.”
The article goes on to say that Watanabe has been delighted with the success of the OM-D but also acknowledged that it did not deliver great results with high-end lenses from the Olympus E-System. Details are still to be confirmed, but improved AF performance will be of merit for underwater use.
Wetpixel 2013 Raja Ampat tag contest opens for voting
The 2013 Wetpixel Raja Ampat Entry Tag contest is now open for public voting. The winning entry will be worn on every diver’s BCD that visits Raja Ampat in 2013 and the designer stands to win some great prizes too. The shortlisted entries are now up for the public vote on the contest’s voting page. The quality of the entries is, as always, very high, and the 61 images and tag designs that have been selected are all worthy winners. Voting ends on 15 September so please make your way over to the contest page and make your choices soon.
3D Underwater video on Blu-ray from the Red Sea
Helmut Goerlitz has let us know that he has released a Blu-ray disc of 3D footage entitled “The Art of Diving 3D”. The film was shot with two Panasonic Z10000 cameras during a trip to Hurghada in the Egyptian Red Sea and the disc runs for 49 minutes.
It is available from Amazon world-wide and Helmut’s HGVT shop
Nauticam unveils housings for the Sony RX100
Nauticam has announced the release of the NA-RX100 and NA-RX100V housings. Both are designed for the Sony RX100 compact camera. The housing features access to both front and rear command dials, and a 67mm thread on the fixed lens port. This allows the camera to be used with wet wide-angle lenses like those from Inon, or wet macro diopters, including Nauticam’s own new flip diopter system. Fiber optic strobe triggering is standard. The NA-RX100 is designed for still shooters, whilst the NA-RX100V has the option of adding a HDMI bulkhead for use with the NA-DP4 external monitor, primarily for video use.
Both versions will be available from 31 August, with the NA-RX100 retailing at $950, and the NA-RX100V at $1250.
The Jaws effect on Discovery tonight
Discovery Channel has now started its annual Shark Week programming. Shark Savers has joined the channel as its conservation partner for the programs, and at 9PM e/p today (USA), Wendy Benchley is featured in “How Jaws Changed the World”. This examines the effect that the Jaws book and film, written by the late Peter Benchley, has had on the world. Initially, the unanticipated result was to shape a highly negative public perception of sharks, however the long-term result has been to contribute to a new generation of shark scientists and conservationists and has even led some key individuals to devote their lives to shark conservation.
Panasonic releases the AG-AC90 AVCCAM
Panasonic UK has announced the release of the AG-AC90 memory card AVCCAM. Designed for professional use, the camera has three 3MOS sensors with an effective pixel count of 2,190,000 pixels, which the manufacturer claims will give it superior definition and color reproduction even in low light. It has three manual control rings on the lens for focus, iris and zoom, will shots 1080/60i(50i) or 60p(50p) and records to dual SD card slots.
The AG-AC90 will be available from October at a UK retail price €1800 ($2,217.82).