Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Tony Wu blogs from Tonga: Week Six with Humpbacks
Tony Wu has written his sixth and final installment to his weekly chronicles of Tonga humpback whales encounters and other experiences in the kingdom, and has compiled a photo summary of all 16 humpback whale calves :
And finally, as we headed back to port after swimming with mom and calf on our last day on the water, we came upon eight resting whales in shallow water.
Being near one whale is inspiring enough, but being in the midst of eight humongous whales is absolutely amazing! We swam among the whales for 20 minutes or so as the competitive males circled the female and surfaced from time to time for air, until the female finally left the bottom and started to swim again, with all the males in hot pursuit…
Canon UK and WWF “Freeze Frame…Living on Thin Ice” lecture
Cameras Underwater is pleased to offer the chance to see extreme wildlife photographers Doug Allan and Sue Flood talk about their experiences, up close and personal with polar bears, as they present personal videos and images during the Canon and World Wildlife Fund-sponsored presentation “Freeze Frame…Living on Thin Ice.”
The lecture, to be held at the prestigious IMAX cinema near Waterloo Station on September 24, 2008, will “provide an opportunity to view unique footage of life in the Arctic…[and hear] about the effects of climate change on the plight of the polar bear.” All proceeds from the event will go directly to the WWF - read on for all the details…
Ikonoskop A-Cam DII, the new RAW HD video camera
Ikonoskop, a Swedish maker of cinematic film cameras, has just announced its latest offering, the A-Cam dII. This 1.5kg compact camera uses Leica, PL, IMS and C Mount lenses, shooting 1080p at 1-60fps in RAW mode to a 80GB memory cartridge, also developed by Ikonoskop. The cartridge can record at 240MB/s and holds 12 minutes of images at 25fps.
With its compact size and weight, this camera signals the exciting possibilities for the future of underwater filmmaking - join the ongoing discussion in the forums for the latest news…
Nikon D3 Field Review in the East Pacific. PART 3
Wetpixel’s Alex Mustard has recently returned from an extended shoot with the Nikon D3 in a Subal ND3 housing the East Pacific, diving in Canada, USA and Mexico. This three part field review discusses what the DX to FX change means to a Nikon shooter underwater and explores the capabilities of the Nikon D3.
Part 3 is now available covering wide angle, dome performance, rectilinear and fisheye lenses, high ISO, dynamic range, summary and conclusions.
Canon announces EOS 5D Mark II SLR
Today, Canon finally announced the successor to the 5D, the EOS 5D Mark II. The 5D Mk II is a full-frame digital SLR featuring a 21-megapixel CMOS sensor, full 1080p HD video recording (H.264, with sound), and DIGIC IV processor. It shoots at 3.9 fps continuous, and has a buffer of 13 RAW frames or up to 310 Fine JPG frames. It doesn’t look like the 5D Mk II is fully weather sealed. Underwater photographers are hopeful that the camera will fit into existing 5D housings.
The 5D Mk II is priced at US$ 2,699 / € 2,499 / £ 2,299.
Canon also announced a new 24mm f1.4L USM lens (a ground-up redesign) that is weather-sealed.
Nikon D3 Field Review in the East Pacific. PART 2
Wetpixel’s Alex Mustard has recently returned from an extended shoot with the Nikon D3 in a Subal ND3 housing the East Pacific, diving in Canada, USA and Mexico. This three part field review discusses what the DX to FX change means to a Nikon shooter underwater and explores the capabilities of the Nikon D3. Part 2 is now available covering macro, macro lenses, image quality, diffraction and underwater autofocus performance, coverage and modes.
The Mystery of RAW Converters, Take Two
Four years ago, I wrote a RAW converter comparison article called The Mystery of RAW Converters. In the 2004 article, I concluded that I prefer Canon’s Digital Photo Professional for RAW conversions when the image contains an underwater sunball. That conclusion still holds.
Sunballs are still a disaster when images are converted with Aperture or Lightroom. Underwater, I would rather shoot sunball images in JPG mode than use Aperture or Lightroom to convert RAW files—and believe me, it takes a lot to convince me to shoot JPG over RAW.
Continue reading for a one-image update to the article…
Nikon D3 Field Review in the East Pacific. PART 1
Wetpixel’s Alex Mustard has recently returned from an extended shoot with the Nikon D3 in a Subal ND3 housing the East Pacific, diving in Canada, USA and Mexico. This three part field review discusses what the DX to FX change means to a Nikon shooter underwater and explores the capabilities of the Nikon D3.
The three part review covers general housing and camera handling, macro, wide angle, lens selection, dome performance, diffraction, autofocus performance and modes, high ISO, dynamic range and image quality. This is Part One, Part Two tomorrow.