Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
New books about Guam, Yap and Palau released
Author Tim Rock has released three new books about Guam, Palau and Yap. The first is a photographic book documenting Guam’s underwater scenery entitled Hidden Treasures, Guam’s Marine Preserves. The second is part of a regional guidebook series and is called the Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and the third is also part of the guidebook series and is the `Diving & Snorkeling Guide to Palau and Yap*.
The first two are available in both print and eBook versions, whilst the third is available as an eBook only.
Review: Nauticam NA-600D
A review of the Nauticam NA-600D housing for the Canon 600D SLR by Paul Duxfield. Overall, he is impressed by the small and compact size of the housing, its ergonomic controls and build quality. He expresses concerns that the very precision of the housing may also make it also prone to failure, but is reassured by the access to servicing by Nauticam distributers. He says:
“As I tend to use a lot of different camera and housing combinations, I can be confused confusion at times, since even within a particular brand the menu structure and control functions of individual cameras can differ widely. The upside to this is that I can often tell fairly quickly if a manufacturer has got it right: If I can intuitively work my way round a new and unfamiliar camera.”
“The 600D gave me no major headaches and I never once had to resort to the instruction book to carry out anything within the usual underwater photography parameters.”
RED Epic M and Gates Deep Epic in the house
Wetpixel member David Cheung (CheungyDiver) has posted in the forum about his new camera and housing: A RED EPIC M in a Gates Deep Epic housing. It has a choice of RED PL or Canon EF lenses and is exactly the same size as the Scarlet so “double happiness” as far as the housing goes. The actual housing is a prototype Deep Epic as the ordered one is getting final assembly and fine tuning still at Gates. David has commented on the easiness of installing the camera and its zoom and focus gears for the EF mount lenses.
The set-up is now away at Truk Lagoon for a shoot, but on its return David has promised to write us a review. Please stay posted for more details.
Atlantis Light Systems releases the MKI video light
Atlantis Light Systems has announced the release of the MKI self-contained LED video lighting system. The lights feature an output over 4,000 lumens, a burn time of over an hour at full power and oversized control dials and status indicators on the rear of the lights.
The MKI is available now at a retail price of $1,850 including a charger and neoprene floatation tube.
Liveaboard Mandarin Siren sinks
The liveaboard Mandarin Siren, part of the Worldwide Dive and Sail group, has caught fire and subsequently sunk. The vessel was based around Raja Ampat, Indonesia, and it si suspected that an electrical fault caused the fire. The guests were diving at the time of the incident and no one was hurt with the group being picked up by the S/Y Indo Siren and subsequently repatriated.
Worldwide Dive and Sail have endeavoured to contact all those who had been booked on the vessel for trips in the future, but if anyone has any queries, they ask that you email them, or contact your agent.
New study shows inter-species hybridization in sharks
A new study published in the journal “Conservation Genetics” has shown that two species of black-tip whaler shark (Australian, Carcharhinus tilstoni; Common, C. limbatus) have been breeding to create a third hybrid species. This was shown to have occurred by studying the mitochondrial DNA sequences and the hybrids were found at five locations on the eastern Australian coastline, a distance of some 2000km.
The practical significance of this is that if hybrids are less healthy but are common, then fishery studies may be overestimated and the numbers of black-tip sharks may be well below that needed to support commercial exploitation.
Video review of RED Scarlet X
Cinema 5D has presented a two-part video review of RED Scarlet X. Part one deals with the camera and RED accessories, whilst part two looks at basic accessories for 15mm and 19mm support, switching to PL mount and Atomos Samurai disk recorders.
Elsewhere on their site, they have comparison low-light footage from Scarlet and the Canon C300 cams. RED Scarlet produces 4096 x 2160-pixel 4K footage and is now shipping at a basic US retail price of $9,750.
The Dark Room
Wetpixel Moderator Shawn Heinrichs has written an eloquent personal account of his feelings when confronting those who carry on the shark finning trade on his blog. Entitled “The Dark Room”, it is accompanied by some graphic and distressing images. He starts:
“My soul was blackened. Where once I had seen light at the end of the tunnel, now there was only darkness engulfing me. How had mankind gone so far off the track, engaging in such barbaric acts, willful cruelty and reckless destruction? Nature has given us so many incredible gifts, but rather than cherish and protect them, we have set out to systematically eradicate them.”