The BBC reports on the passing of the High Seas Treaty by the United Nations last week. The agreement aims to add 30% of the planet’s high seas into marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2030. The new MPAs will only allow activities within these areas but only “provided they are consistent with the conservation objectives.”
Issue 131 of Underwater Photography (UwP) magazine is available to download. It has articles about the UPY 2023 and Wetpixel/DPG Masters winners and reviews of the Marelux SOFT Pro snoot by Kate Jonker and Sony strobe triggers. Great White sharks and Hanifaru e are featured, along with Baja and Sulawesi.
The San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition (SDUFEX) is calling for entries to the festival, which will be held on 6 and 7 October 2023 at the San Diego Qualcomm Auditorium. Full details of rules and procedures are available from the contest’s website, and the submission deadline is 15 June.
The transition of full frame mirrorless cameras from SLR has reduced the number of lens options available to photographers, and given the tiny number of those using them underwater, there are some gaps in appropriate lenses for using with them. Alex and Adam discuss some of the older lenses, including Nikonos, and how some of these may work with the new cameras, while others currently will not.
The results of the 2023 Underwater Photographer of the Year contest have been announced. The winning image is a split shot of an Amazonian River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) or bota, by Kate Zhou, which was also awarded as the best image from an up-and-coming photographer. Congratulations to her and to everyone that was placed among the winners.
Marelux Ambassador and underwater photographer Kate Jonker kindly provides a report of her experiences using the Marelux SOFT Pro snoot. It is profusely illustrated with wonderful images of the native macro subjects of her home dive sites at Gordon’s Bay near Cape Town.
OM Systems has announced the M.Zuiko digital ED 90mm F3.5 macro IS pro lens. A Micro 4/3s lens, it offers 2 x magnification and in-lens image stabilization.
Canon has announced the EOS R8 full frame and EOS R50 APS-C mirrorless cameras. The R50 has a 24.2MP with uncrossed 4K video capture and Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus. The R8 also has a 24.2MP sensor combined with the DIGIC X processor. It can record 4K video at up to 60p oversampled from the camera sensor’s 6K data.