Monday, March 17th, 2008

Sea & Sea MDX-PRO Mark III underwater housing review

The Sea & Sea MDX-PRO Mark III is Sea & Sea’s flagship underwater housing designed for Canon 1D and 1Ds Mark III digital SLRs. Don Kehoe and I reviewed the housing during a week in Florida photographing manatees in Crystal River and small critters underneath the Blue Heron Bridge.

Continue reading for a detailed description of the housing, including nearly 30 photos, notes about ergonomics, and information about our custom INON viewfinder installation by Backscatter.

UPDATED: see a video of the camera firing at 10 fps… with strobes!

Sunday, March 16th, 2008

Diverwire news feed for scuba divers

Check out Diverwire, a scuba-diving news feed from our friends over at DiveNewswire Networks. Diverwire presents regular updates on dive travel, scuba products, photography and videography, and more—all targeted at scuba divers.

Diverwire is free, and is perfect for divers who want breaking news across the entire industry sent via email or RSS. Sign up here, if you’re interested!

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

UWP Magazine Issue #41 available for download

Underwater Photography Magazine Issue 41 is now available for download. The issue contains articles, reviews, and profiles involving Carol Grant, Mark Baine, Dave Harasti, Mark Webster, Berkley White, Rob Spray, Karin Brussaard, Alex Kirkbride, Aengus Moran, Don Silcock, Joseph Dovala, Martin Edge, and more on topics including the discovery of new species, shark understanding and conservation, equipment reviews, and macro and black and white techniques.

UWP Magazine is a free PDF magazine, published every two months.

Saturday, March 15th, 2008

Sea & Sea announces YS-17 TTL strobe, compact camera accessories

Sea & Sea has announced the YS-17 TTL slave strobe and five accessory products for use with the Sony MPK-WD MarinePack underwater housings (and other compact digital systems). The YS-17 features a 14 GN, 70-degree beam angle, and 3-second recycle time on 2AA batteries.

The new compact camera accessories include a universal grip, a lighting package (with the YS-17), a 0.6x wide-angle conversion lens for the Sony MPK-WD, and a close-up lens and adapter. Continue reading for the full press release…

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Wetpixel Photo of the Week now on Facebook and WordPress

Every week dozens of photographers take part in the Wetpixel Photo of the Week contest. It’s generating some amazing photos right from our own community - sharing these images with a larger audience has now been made even easier! Wetpixel’s Cor Bosman has created a Facebook application and a WordPress widget that allows you to add this imagery to your own Facebook profile or WordPress journal.

Both applications will automatically update once a new winner has been announced. In addition, the WordPress widget can be styled to fit your personal website. For examples of these applications, check out Cor’s facebook profile and the side of his WordPress journal.

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Seatool details compact close-up lenses and C40D for Canon 40D dSLR

After its availability in Japan was discussed in the forums, Seatool has posted an English version of the product release for the Seatool C40D housing for the Canon 40D digital SLR. The aluminum housing weighs only 6oz underwater using a 60mm macro lens, is compatible with the Inon 45-degree viewfinder, and is rated to 200 ft.

In addition, Seatool has detailed their close-up lenses made specifically for use with the Olympus digicam housings. The lenses are held in mounts from 40.5mm to 67mm diameter in two and three-element lens sets.

Friday, March 14th, 2008

RSMAS 2008 Underwater Photography Contest

The RSMAS (Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science) is running a photo contest with dive travel and cash prizes with a deadline for submission of March 31, 2008. Only amateur photographers can enter (defined as those who make less than 20% of their income through photography), and no photos that have been accepted for publication will be accepted.

Many Wetpixel members placed in last year’s competition (including Patrick Weir taking the grand prize). You can submit up to three entries in each category (Wide Angle, Macro, Portrait), and entry is free.

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Nikon D3 underwater housing compatibility list

Wetpixel member Liz Hanks has compiled a list of the announced and available underwater housings for the Nikon D3 digital SLR. The list details the major features of each housing, the control accessibility, price, weight, buoyancy, dimensions, maximum depth, and availability. Remember that you may be able to buy the housings from our sponsors, and doing so supports Wetpixel!

Liz has indicated that this is very much a work in progress, and to expect updates as reviews or relevant forum threads begin to appear. If you’re considering a housing for the D3 (or, perhaps the rumored D3x), check out the forum thread on the topic.

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Former dolphin hunter starts dolphin watching tours in Japan

The descendant of dolphin hunters, Izumi Ishii carried on the tradition in the town of Futo, Japan until 1996. That year, after being ignored by the Japanese National Fishery Agency and the Fisheries Section of Shizuoka Prefecture, he denounced the dolphin hunt and, in 2002, decided to launch a dolphin and whale watching boat out of Futo harbor. Ishii said at the time, “the value I now see in dolphins is not the value of their meat, but of the wonder they incite in us.”

This story is a few years old, but it’s still heartening to see an individual pushing for change. Read the entire story at Blue Voice...

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

Brian Skerry: Japan’s ocean wilderness

Follow Brian Skerry as he shoots his upcoming Japan ocean wilderness story for National Geographic! Brian’s journey starts as he packs up to go to Japan, and you can follow the ongoing story from there. Mauricio Handler and my friend, Hiro Drogin, are with Brian, helping with photography, logistics, and translation.

I couldn’t find an easy way to only read Brian’s entries on the blog, so you’ll have to poke around a bit to find things. Still, it’s a fascinating glimpse into his work, and is worth a visit.

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