Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Canon 40D and 1Ds Mark III specs leaked
Amazon.com has unwittingly leaked specs for the Canon 40D and 1DsMkIII by putting test pages up at their online store. When will online retailers learn that you cannot fight the distributed power of fanboys around the world? The 40D (10.1 megapixels, 6.5 fps, 17 frame RAW buffer) was listed as shipping on September 20 at $1,299.99, and the 1Ds Mark III (21.1 megapixels, 5 fps, 15 frame RAW buffer) as shipping on December 10, priced at $7,999.99. Since the 1Ds Mk III should use the same body as the already-available 1D Mk III, housings should hopefully be ready by the time it ships. Rumor has it that the new Canon cameras will be announced on Monday.
Amazon has since taken down the offending pages, but luckily, a few sights have cached the data: [40D @ Gizmodo] [1DsMkIII @ Engadget].
It’s public now. See DPReview for more.
Radiator 3/2 Steamer wetsuit field test and review
Looking for a new wetsuit? Radiator, a company specializing in surf gear, recently released a 3/2mm wetsuit, lined with their 4-layer titanium material that promises to bring extra warmth and mobility without the bulk, specifically designed for scuba diving.
Wetpixel’s Drew Wong gives us his verdict after having spent 20 days in the waters of South Africa, braving the winter conditions with subtropical water temperatures to test the wetsuit against Radiator’s claims…
Review of X-View camera head for CSI X-Scooter
Wetpixel member James Flenner (fdog) received a pre-production version of the new X-View integrated camera head for the CSI X-Scooter, and has posted a review in the forums. While James used a Canon Elura 100 for underwater filming, the housing add-on accepts most smaller camcorders with A/V-in, including the Sony DCR-H96. He writes:
It is rather exciting to have tons of movement available at the touch of the trigger finger…this has me doing almost every dive with the X-View now, as it’s so easy to get video, and you never know when that shot of a lifetime will show up.
Continue to the discussion for James’ full review, which includes photos of assembly, the unit in use, and power consumption comparisons…
Underwater Journal Issue 4 available for download
Underwater Journal Issue 4 is now available for download.
The magazine is published by Wetpixel member Walt Sterns and this issue contains an articles about the Pacific’s Giant Octopus, Destin Jetties, Jupiter’s Hole-in-the-Wall, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the Suprema LED Target Light, the REEF Survey in the Exumas and much more.
Underwater Journal is a free PDF magazine, published bimonthly.
Todd Mintz, cover of Sport Diver Magazine
A photograph of a Caribbean reef shark by Wetpixel moderator Todd Mintz (yahsemtough) is featured on the cover of the August issue of Sport Diver magazine. In addition, Wetpixel member Marli Wakeling’s (scubamarli) image of a hawksbill turtle is on the cover of Scuba Diving Magazine’s September issue.
To congratulate Todd and Marli, or to find out about other successful publishings by Wetpixel members, continue to the Members in Media forum…
African Ocean Alliance’s petition against shark fishing tournament
A group of anglers in KwaZulu Natal are planning a shark fishing competition on August 18-19, 2007. Advertised in the Natal Deep Sea Rod and Reel Club newsletter, they will catch and kill the sharks, not tag and release them. Their motivation is that their catches are often taken by sharks and “a number of anglers have now got together to find out for themselves what is going on with regards to the shark numbers,” to quote from their newsletter. Please help by joining the African Ocean Alliance’s petition to stop this “charity” event from taking place.
Update (Aug. 16): The tournament has been postponed, possibly to be rescheduled as a catch-and-release event later this year.
James Wiseman to speak at Visions Conference
The 11th Visions In The Sea Conference will take place in central London (UK) on the weekend of the 20/21 October. Tom Peschak (RSA), Tony White (UK/RSA), Constantinos Petrinos (GR), Frederic Buyle (F) and Wetpixel’s James Wiseman (USA) have so far confirmed as speakers. It will be a great chance for UK and European based underwater photographers to meet James and, of course, hear one of his excellent technical talks about digital underwater photography. Visions In The Sea is an annual underwater photography conference organised by Ocean Optics in London.
Raja Ampat announces tourism entrance fee and tagging system
The Raja Ampat government and the CORAL Reef Alliance have announced a tourism entrance fee intended to generate funds for conservation and enforcement programs, community development, and tourism department projects. The system will use a tag with the Epaulette shark Hemiscyllium freycineti that is endemic to Indonesia, and will be required for visitors to the area at a cost of approximately $55 USD (valid for the calendar year).
The tagging system is part of a conservation and protection effort started earlier this year with the designation of seven protected marine areas, covering nearly “45% of Raja Ampat’s shallow reefs and coastal habitats.” Continue reading for the full press release and accompanying article from Conservation International and the Raja Ampat Community and Conservation Fund…