Friday, August 31st, 2012

Project update: Nikonos RS lenses on a digital SLR

Andrej Belic has written previously here on Wetpixel about his project to adapt Nikonos RS lenses for use with housed digital SLR cameras. After reading the conclusions in the Wetpixel Nikon D800 review, and the stress on getting quality optics to use with it, he has provided an update about his project. He now has working waterproof adaptors that allow Nikonos lenses to be fitted onto Subal and Nauticam housings. These have been tested in Croatia, and Andrej reports that the corner sharpness of the 13m lens with a Nikon D3s is acceptable at smaller apertures, even on FX. He is planning to start production of the adaptors in mid-September.

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Inon releases new products for Olympus E-mount

Inon has released a series of new products for the Olympus PT-EP08 housing for the OM-D E-M5 EVIL camera. These include rubber bushes to enable the use of L mount type fiber optic cables, a lens port and adaptor that allows the use of the Inon UCL-165 and UCL-330 M67 threaded “wet” macro lenses, and an adaptor, port adaptor, and extension which allow the use of Inon’s E-system dome port with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 8mm F3.5 Fisheye and ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50mm F2.0 Macro. In addition, for the latter lens, there is also the MRS Olympus 50 flat port which can be fitted with a manual focus ring using the MRS magnetic system. Inon has also released the LE700-W, an updated wider beam and more powerful version of its LE550-W LED focus/video light.

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Watershot launches iPhone housing

Watershot has launched an underwater housing for the Apple iPhone 4 and 4S. Waterproof to 50 meters (165 feet), the polycarbonate housing is designed to be use in conjunction with the Watershot App, available on the App store, and the combination gives access to additional features including rapid fire, front and back camera use, GPS overlays and social media sharing while the phone is in the housing. The housing is equipped with a GoPro mount compatible mounting and a line of accessories is planned including an ultra wide-angle fisheye lens, dive computer module, macro lens, colored filters and lighting kits.

The housing is available for purchase now at a retail price of $99. A similar unit is planned for the forthcoming iPhone 5, with an expected release date of mid-December.

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Wildlife Photographer of the Year entries shortlisted

The Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPOTY) competition has published a slideshow of 50 of its 100 shortlisted entries for the 2012 contest. These entries have been culled from over 48,000 images and all are in with a chance of winning the prestigious award. The actual winners will be announced on 17 October 2012 at the awards ceremony and an exhibition of the images opens to the public at the Natural History Museum on 19 October.

There are two versions of the slideshow, one on the Natural History Museum’s website, and a version narrated by one of the judges, Roz Kidman Cox, on the BBC Nature website. It is so good to see so many familiar names amongst the shortlist, congratulations to all the Wetpixel members in the running for WPOTY. (Image by Jean Tresfon.)

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

Eric Cheng on LIFE through the Lens

Wetpixel Publisher, Eric Cheng, has been the subject of an episode of “LIFE through the Lens”. This is a Google + Hangout that is put out as a bi-weekly vidcast. Eric talks about his “early musical background, the role cello plays in his life today, his stunning underwater photography and the groundbreaking Lytro camera.”

The complete Hangout session can now be viewed on YouTube.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Sony unveils the NEX-5R EVIL camera

Widely leaked around the web, Sony has released the specifications of its NEX-5R EVIL camera. Its form factor and controls are very similar to the NEX-5N, and the camera appears to feature the same 16.1 megapixel 23.5-by-15.6mm APS-C CMOS sensor and BIONZ image processing engine. New specifications include a combination phase and contrast detection AF system, which increase focus speed and accuracy and in-built Wi-Fi capabilities.

The NEX-5R, in silver, black, or white will be available in mid-October at $650 for the camera body only.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Canon announces two new EOS digital cinema cameras

Canon has added two new cameras to its EOS digital cinema range. The EOS C500 captures 4K, 2K or HD image quality and can output 4K as a 10-bit uncompressed raw data stream or 2K as a 12-bit RGB 4:4:4 signal to an external recorder. Whilst doing so, it can simultaneously record a 50 Mbps HD file onto two in-camera CF cards. There will be two versions, one for for PL mount lenses and another for EF/EF-S and EF Cinema. The camera will be available from October at $30,000.

The EOS C100 is a smaller camera, outputting individual R, G, and B channels for each full HD 1920 x 1080 frame. It records in an AVCHD format featuring a maximum recording bit rate of 24Mbps in a 4:2:0 color space. It records to two SD cards or can output uncompressed HD via an HDMI connection. This output includes superimposed time code and 2:3 pull-down marker information. The EOS C100 will also be released in October and retails at $7,999.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Wetpixel D800 camera review

Nikon announced the D800 SLR on 6 February 2012, with a shipping date of 20 March. Long-term speculation gave way to disbelief as the specifications of the camera were announced. It features the highest resolution of any current “35mm” camera, and this immediately gave rise to much discussion as to whether this would be useful for underwater use. With this in mind, Wetpixel purchased a camera body, and sought out the earliest possible opportunity to get the camera underwater.

This review is not intended to be exhaustive, and will focus primarily on camera performance underwater. The D800 shares many features with the D4 for which Wetpixel Associate Editor Alex Mustard has already written an excellent review which this review will frequently refer to. In addition, we plan to add updates to it in the future as we dive the camera in differing conditions so please keep checking back regularly for updates. Links to topics covered in this review so far: Introduction; The Nikon D800 body, controls and overview, Resolution, ISO and tonal range,Image size and “shooting to crop.”, Autofocus, teleconverters and built-in processing and Conclusion.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Winners of 2012 Cairns Underwater Film Festival announced

The winners of the 2012 Cairns Underwater Film Festival (CUFF) have been announced. The event, now in its sixth year, was held on 25 August at the Cairns Civic Theatre, Cairns, Australia and hosted a sellout crowd. The film category was won by Briony Benjamin with “The truth about minke whales” and the overall winner of the associated photography contest was Enrico Zanzareli with his image of a wrasse in a sunburst. Many congratulations to all the winners and runners-up.

For full details of the contest and to view the winning entries, please check out the CUFF website.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

SDUFEX publishes its program

The San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition (SDUFEX) has announced its program for the 2012 event. 32 films have been selected to be shown using the state of the art digital projection system at the Qualcomm Hall, Sorrento Valley Area, San Diego. Somewhat uniquely, there are no prizes on offer for the films, the reward for entering is the prestige of having your film selected and shown at the event. Congratulations are therefore due to all those selected, and especially to the many Wetpixel members represented in the selections.

The exhibition is being run over the evenings of 5 and 6 October and tickets are available now.

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