DEMA 2009, Day 2: Page 1 of 5 (page controls at bottom of this post)

As we have done in previous years, a team from Wetpixel is roaming around the DEMA 2009 show floor covering the products we think might be interesting to our website's readers. We spent most of the day on the floor talking to friends and acquaintances in various underwater imaging booths. It has become incredibly difficult to cover DEMA because we are constantly running into people we know. Next year, I think I might wear a mask while en transit between booths...

The coverage team this year includes Eric Cheng (me), Matt Segal, and Richard Remski, and the Wetpixel Quarterly booth (#1068) team includes Michaela Brockstedt, Adam Lau, and Richard (doing double duty).

DEMA coverage posts:

• Day 1: Introduction
• Day 2: Booth coverage insanity! <-- you are here
• Days 3-4: More booth coverage, plus party photos

Booths covered in day 2 of Wetpixel's DEMA 2009 online coverage:

• Wetpixel #1068
• Aquatica #1077
• Backscatter #768
• Bigblue Dive Lights #1077
• Dyron #983
• Epoque World #727
• Fantasea Line #1075
• Gates Underwater Products #960
• INON
• Ikelite #1542
• Imaging Resource Center
• Keldan #1069
• Light & Motion #1463
• Nauticam #767
• REEFNET #672
• Reef Photo (Fisheye, Seatool, INON, Patima, Saga, and more) #767
• Seacam #768
• Subal #661
• UltraLight Control Systems #661
• Watershot #964
• XIT 404, LLC #977
• UltraLight Control Systems #661
• X-Ray Magazine #1071
• People Photos
• Pelican #1635
• Liquid Image #462
• Princeton Tec #1733
• Seashell (Zear Corporation Limited) #568
• The Manta Network #367

Let the coverage begin!

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Wetpixel #1068

Michaela writes:

The Diving Equipment & Marketing Association Show opened in Orlando, Florida, on November 4th, 2009, opening to a projected 10,000 dive and travel industry professionals ready to present -- and peruse -- goods from over 700 companies. Although some of the people who visited us at the Wetpixel booth over the course of the first two days claim it has been as much as twice the size in the past, traffic has been steady (at our booth) in spite of the reduction in scale. Hosting 185,000 square feet of exhibition space, there was plenty to see as Adam and Richard and I took turns manning the booth. Richard was working hard visiting neighboring exhibitors and covering product, while Adam and I walked retailers and resort owners through our latest issue and the new advertising section we have added to the back of the magazine, a quick-reference website directory focused on travel and gear. Among Wednesday and Thursday's visitors we met dive shop owners and their staff, resort operators, divemasters, photographers, travel agents and a number of Wetpixel fans from countries around the world including Australia, Germany, Spain, South Africa, Turkey and Switzerland. Needless to say it has been anything but dull, and so much fun reconnecting with folks from past shows who stopped by to chat. We've also had a great time with the reaction we're getting on the new T-shirt, designed by Wetpixel member Nicholas Samaras. People just love it. And of course if you find yourself running low on energy after walking the floor for a few hours be sure to stop by -- we brought tons of candy as usual (and you're welcome to take seconds.) We're looking forward to another day at the show, gearing up for the DEMA awards dinner and the Wetpixel party to follow.

Here are photos of friends in the Wetpixel booth and in other areas around the show floor:

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Imaging Resource Center

For the second year running, nearly all of the underwater photography and videography products are clustered around a central stage where interested DEMA attendees can attend hourly presentations on various topics. Berkley White of Backscatter was the original instigator of the Imaging Resource Center -- THANK YOU, Berkley. It makes so much sense to have everyone band together to provide a place where people can check out the latest and greatest products. It also makes our lives a lot easier because we no longer have to hike up and down the halls of DEMA looking for orphaned booths!

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Aquatica #1077

Aquatica's booth was broken out into video and still sections, with Blake, Norma and Jean manning the still housings and accessories, and Joe Bendahan on video.

Aquatica had on display their new underwater housing for the Nikon D300s, which is their first housing to feature fiber optic bulkheads. The new bulkheads are compatible with both INON and Sea & Sea fiber optic sync cords via removable retaining tip. Supporting optical sync is a great move because so many strobe manufactures not have optical sync capabilities in their strobes. Aside from supporting various forms of emulated flash TTL exposure, using optical sync also eliminates the possibility of flooding a housing through a bulkhead. Fiber optic cables are also much cheaper than are sync cords.

Don't worry -- the D300s also has the option for wired bulkheads for those of us who are still shooting wired strobes.

On the video front, Aquatica was showing their existing mechanical-only housing, the Sony HDR-XR500V, and also a prototype of a new housing for the Canon HF-S11/S11/100, which features hybrid mechanical / electronic control of the camera. Through infrared remote control, all of the features of the camera can now be accessed through a bank of buttons near the housing's left handle. The housing features a standard 68° wide-angle lens (zoom through), flip filter, and hydrophone, and is scheduled for release by the end of the year at $2995. In its standard configuration, the new Aquatica is 300 grams negative in the water.

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Backscatter #768

Since last year, Backscatter has merged with Underwater Photo Tech, which is now simply known as "Backscatter East." Backscatter's expansive booth featured all sorts of lust-worthy goodies, including their new line of scooter / dropcams called Bluewater.

Bluewater includes a Scootercam, Dropcam (similar to the scooter, but with no blades or cowling), a monitor remote, and a 3-button remote called the Remora. Bluewater is innovative because a variety of SLRs and camcorders actually fit inside the scooter, which has an Aquatica-compatible port mount at its front. This means that you can drop in a Canon 5d Mark II behind an Aquatica dome port, mount lights, and go zooming off while shooting video. Internal circuitry also allows for focus, fire, and time lapse control with almost any camera. The internal circuitry is software controlled and can be programmed for custom configurations. All controls are powered by either a monitor remote (with buttons) or the 3-button Remora remote. The Dropcam is priced at $5500 including Remora remote, and the Scootercam is $6500. An upgrade to the monitor remote is $1499, and timelapse / custom control upgrade is $399.

Backscatter is also a dealer for too many product lines to list, but they had on display INON, Fishseye, STIX floats, XIT 404 accessories (exclusive dealer), and more. Backscatter is also now a Seacam dealer.

INON 45 and 180 degree viewfinders are available for Sea & Sea, Subal, Aquatica and Ikelite housings; if you shoot an SLR and are not yet using a large viewfinder, I highly recommend looking into one. In my opinion, it is absolutely essential for proper framing and critical focus.

A Fisheye G11 prototype housing was on display ($1099, when it ships). The Fisheye G10 housing was Backscatter's most popular housing last year, and G11 looks like a great upgrade. The rear control dial and the housing latch have both been improved. A Fisheye housing for the Canon S90 is coming soon ($600-700 retail).

DEMA 2009, Day 2: Page 2 of 5 (page controls at bottom of this post)

Bigblue Dive Lights #1077

Bigblue were showing a variety of dive and video lights, including a 1000-lumen light available in both canister and stand-alone configurations (85 degree beam, 1-1.4 hours on a charge, single-chip LED). The stand-alone light is nearly neutral in the water and is available in all sorts of fancy colors. It uses a Nalgene-like material. Matt was really excited about the colors, and made comments about it several times (someone get him one!).

They also were showing the CF250 dive light, which is 250 lumens and has adjustable focus (from spot to tighter spot).

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Dyron #983

Dyron is a new attendee to DEMA this year, providing “made in France” underwater photography and lighting accessories. Representative Christel Delmas had on display their 45-degree, swiveling viewfinder which can be fitted onto Ikelite housings and is completely wet-removable. New to the product lineup this year are the Fisheye Pro HD lens, which utilizes fully coated, low dispersion glass optical elements and is compatible with Ikelite housings, a stackable (male/female) 67mm macro lens, and the new smaller diameter “Luxe” line of carbon-fiber strobe arms

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Epoque World #727

Frank Fennell at the Epoque booth walked us through a new housing for the Canon Rebel dSLR series (versions available for XSi, XS, and XTi). The housing has a 6-pin Canon TTL connector, sufficient internal spacing to allow the internal flash to be extended, and integrated diffuser (which also accepts accessory attachments for fiberoptics syncing). The housing has six available ports (three each dome and flat) for a range of lenses.

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Fantasea Line #1075

Fantasea was showing off their Remora strobe, which was recently selected by Fujifilm to be used as their underwater strobe package.

They were also showing a wide-angle air lens ("air lenses" seem to be all the rage at DEMA this year), which is a wide-angle adapter with good optics. Fantasea's version mates with a Fuji housing, and with the Canon G10/G11 and G7/G9.

Also new is a 9-watt LED light. Like other Fantasea lights, this one turns off when it sees a flash. This a great feature, but it could be frustrating at night if you're traveling with other photographers!

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Gates Underwater Products #960

This year Gates is featuring housings that support some of biggest -- and smallest -- camcorders in use in underwater video. In the pint size category, Gates has housings for the Sony's flagship consumer cam, the XR520. Likewise a new housing is ready for the Canon HF-S11. A unique feature of the Canon housing the clever placement of the remote control in the housing ceiling, with external buttons providing access to important camera features.

In the "big" category, the Red housing is back, but this year as a tested full production model. The housing supports numerous lens configurations and provides great access to all camera features. Internal and external weight tracks enable customers to perfectly trim and balance their housing. In addition, internal machined cooling ridges have significantly reduced the heating issues associated with the Red video capture drive.

Also featured in "big" category is the new housing for the Panasonic Varicam 3700. Port extenders and adjustable lens gears again support a variety of lens options. A dome option with "corrective optic" is available to enable certain lenses to perform to spec underwater. Finally, an 8 inch external monitor housing offers camera operators incredible composition and refinement capabilities underwater.

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INON

INON's products were being displayed at both the Backscatter booth and the Reef Photo and Video booth. They were nice enough to send in high-resolution product shots, so we're including them here.

DEMA 2009, Day 2: Page 3 of 5 (page controls at bottom of this post)

Ikelite #1542

A few days ago, Ikelite announced their brand-new DS161 Movie Substrobe. Although it looks very similar to their venerable DS160 Substrobe, which looks similar to their older DS125, the DS161 Movie packs three high-power LEDs and can throw 500 lumens of continous lighting for 5 hours. It is quite possibly the first real hybrid strobe / video light on the market, and we applaud Ikelite for getting to market first.

The continuous lighting is adjustable in power. At the moment, the lowest power setting is 50%. At full power, the light will burn for 5 hours. Ikelite stresses that leaving the light on will not affect the number of strobe flashes very much. Shooting one shot every 20-30 seconds, Ikelite only noticed a 15% reduction in the number of still flashes on a charge before the battery drained.

Ikelite was also showing their new 4-port lock system for SLR housings (now standard; old housings can be upgraded).

New Canon G11 and Canon S90 housings were also on display.

On the video front, Jean Brigham noted that their compact video housings have been very popular (FLIP and JVC Picsio housings).

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Keldan #1069

Keldan slimmed down their booth this year to showcase their newest product, the LUNA 8 LA-V, a 5-power level (10W-40W) adjustable LED video light. Daniel Keller walked us through the design process behind the product, explaining how multiple high-efficiency, color-boosted LEDs were integrated to achieve measured CRI of 96 at 5000K while maintaining a battery life of 80 minutes on high power. The light maintains a 90-degree beam angle in and out of water through use of a polycarbonate dome, and adjusts from 750-2100 lumens.

Daniel targeted those who care about CRI and quality of build, and the technical data was very impressive, including CRI measurements at various water travel distances and comparisons with standardized D50/D55/D65 light sources. Tested to 200 meters and weighing only 0.1 kg in water, the aluminum LUNA 8 LA-V is expected to retail at $1990. This is the first of Keldan's lights to be designed specifically for video, and we feel it has one of the most even, clean beams of any light at the show.

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Light & Motion #1463

Light & Motion's booth was much smaller than it had been in previous years, but it was (as before) clean and slick. Light & Motion was showing off a suite of LED video lights as well as redesigned Bluefin Pro and Stingray+ housings, which are sleek and highly-ergonomic due to electronic controls.

The Stingray+ video housing starts at $1999 and features a high-quality Sony LCD on the back (the same one used by Sony for the HC3 camcorder). New infrared controls allow full menu control and true one-button white balance (upgrade to $3299). We have a video of the macro-based one-button white balance in our media gallery just below here -- check it out!

The Bluefin Pro upgrade gets full menu control, one-button white balance, a flip macro filter, and a gorgeous OLED screen. Did I mention that the OLED screen is gorgeous? If you're looking for a bright, sharp, colorful screen, it will be worth the upgrade from the stock LCD.

Smaller, brighter, lighter! On the lighting front, Light & Motion was showing revamped Sunray LED video lights. The Sunray 1200 upgrades the 1000 and now features absolutely tiny light heads throwing 1200 lumens of light. The Sunray 2000x is much smaller and lighter than was its predecessor due to a standardization of battery pod size (smaller -- same as Sunray 1200). Beam pattern has also been improved to be wider and less spotty.

Also very exciting: a successor to the ModLight! The Compact Imaging Light is a 600-lumen, fully-sealed underwater light. It features a no-penetration design, which means that it cannot be flooded. 3 power levels, 70-minute burn time, tiny and light design, and a switchable red LED make this new light unique. The design reminds me of a bike light -- not surprising, given Light & Motion's history and product line. Check out the video in the gallery of the Compact Imaging Light prototype switching from white to red LEDs.

Price will be $569, shipping on February 15, 2009.

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Nauticam / Nauticam USA #767

Nauticam has absolutely exploded from out of nowhere with a line of well-designed underwater housings. Edward Lai and his daughter, Jacqueline, were at the booth to show off the NA-D90 housing for Nikon D90, a Nikon D700 housing, and CAD drawings of a Canon 7D housing (coming in December).

Nauticam's philosophy is to "reinvent the wheel whenever necessary." Indeed, there are very nice touches all over the product line. The straight external viewfinder has large optics, which make it bright and sharp, with comfortable eye relief. A patented knob allows for external diopter control to allow for in-water adjustments. The finder is also available with adapters for Sea & Sea, Nexus, Aquatica and Ikelite housings -- they are totally user-installable with no custom work required.

The housings have been designed with ergonomics in mind, and I found all of the controls to be right where I expected them to be.

The port lock is totally cool. You pop the port on (no twisting) and lock it. An internal bayonet mechanism rotates into place! When you release the port, it just comes right off.

Port adapters are available for Nexus, Ikelite, Aquatica, Subal and Sea & Sea ports. All port adapters are designed so that existing extensions work as they did on previous housings -- all distances remain the same, which means that fisheye lenses continue to function even with adapted third-party dome ports.

The extension rings also LOCK into place, which is a first. A large port and gear diameter ensure support for big lenses that might be released in the future.

Also on display was the white-balance port, which was shown in rough form at DEMA last year. The design has been improved; the entire white-balance mechanism now pushed forward before closing, which means that it now supports fisheye lenses. Last year's post sparked heated debate about the usefulness of such a device, but with video coming standard in all new dSLRs, we're going to need a way to white balance while using wide-angle lenses. Most of the arguments against such a thing came from film shooters, anyway. They just don't understand.

DEMA 2009, Day 2: Page 4 of 5 (page controls at bottom of this post)

ReefNet #672

Keri and Les Wilk manned the ReefNet booth this year, and Keri was very excited to show off the revised SubSee Magnifier, a larger, 52mm diameter multi-element lens with 67mm mounting thread compatible with full-frame DSLR cameras without vignetting. Available in multiple power options (+5 or +10 diopter versions) and with anti-reflective coatings on all surfaces, these lenses look to be extremely popular with the macro and super-macro crowd. Keri mentioned an overwhelming amount of pre-order interest, and hopes to receive the lenses in stock shortly.

To use the SubSee Magnifier with your housing, ReefNet produces the made-to-order SubSee Adapter, a lens holder manufactured through rapid prototyping of durable, lightweight ABS plastic to accomodate ports by Aquatica, Ikelite, Subal, Sea & Sea, Seatool, Olympus, Light & Motion, Hugyfot, Seacam, and more. The Adapter allows the Magnifier to be swung into or out of place quickly, without having to unscrew lenses or attachments.

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Reef Photo (Fisheye, Seatool, INON, Patima and more) #767

Ryan Canon at Reef Photo & Video hosted a large booth including representatives from Fisheye, INON and Patima.

INON products in display included a Canon 50D/40D underwater housing with the "Insect Eye" port attached. The official name for the insect eye is "INON Underwater Micro Semi-Fisheye Relay Lens UFL-MR130 EFS60". Say that fast 3 times in a row. Although this lens made a splash at last year's DEMA, images from it have still not quite made it into popular magazines outside of Japan, perhaps due to the difficulty of obtaining a unit overseas. Eric Cheng be diving one of them in November and December, and he is quite excited to give it a try! Also from INON were their suite of popular strobes, and a new light called the LE250, a small modeling / video light at 250 lumens.

Jae Lee took me through Patima products, including a new 2700-lumen video light (!). The large sensor on new dSLRs like the Canon 5D Mark II need quite a bit of light to record good underwater video, so lights like this are a welcome addition to the consumer and prosumer underwater market (they have been long available to pros). The PL-2700W features three separate LED bulbs, each powered by its own battery. Each one can be turned on in succession, for a total of 3 power levels. The charger looks convenient, but only charges 2 batteries at a time, so you might have to get 2 chargers to charge the 3 necessary batteries at the same time. A removable diffuser is also available, which gives the light 100 degree coverage.

ZEN domes were on display en force, with 230mm, 200mm and 100mm domes as well as wide-angle adapters for Canon G10/G11 housings on display. ZEN domes are coated carefully, and Ryan assures me that internal reflections are virtually eliminated by the coating process. The 230mm port is $1899.95 and the 200mm dome is $1399.95 (and shipping now).

The 100mm dome port is especially interesting, and is designed for fisheye lenses (similar to a Nexus port that has been around for a long time). The little fisheye port is compatible with the Nikon 10.5 fisheye and the Tokina 10-17 fisheye zoom. The Canon and Sigma fisheye lenses are not supported because they have a metal shade that cannot be removed. Dome works with Subal, Sea & Sea, and Nauticam. Seacam and others coming soon.

Fisheye Canon G10 and G11 housings were on display. These things are beautiful, and people are buying a ton of them. Also on display were Fisheye FIX lights, which are tiny and nicely-designed. FIX lights now have flip filters for red, 6000K and 4800K color temperatures.

There was also a Seatool housing for a Sony lipstick cam. A receiver can be optionally housed for underwater use or simply hung around one's neck during polecamming. The unit records AVCHD to Memory Stick, and has optional wide-angle lenses.

Seatool also has a housing for the Panasonic GF1 micro four thirds camera. This could be really interesting, but I'm told that current distribution arrangements make it impossible to sell in the States for a reasonable retail price.

UPDATE: Ryan called me over later on to show me two new products by a Spanish company called Saga. One is an adapter for the INON Underwater Micro Semi-Fisheye Relay Lens UFL-MR130 EFS60, AKA "Insect Eye" AKA "WAM" (Wide-angle Macro, coined by Douglas Seifert -- I like it!). The Saga insect eye adapter is an adapter that allows the use of the port with Subal, Sea & Sea and Seacam housings. Others may also be available. The second product from Saga is a telescoping macro port, which can be unscrewed to lengthen, supporting everything from a 50mm to 100/105mm macro lens.

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Seacam / Canon #768

Eric Cheng and Matt Segal visited the tandem Seacam and Canon booth to find Stephen Frink and Liz Johnson showing off the recently released Seacam 5D Mark II housing, and Canon CPS Representative Chuckie Luzier holding the brand new Canon 1D Mark IV dSLR and Canon 100mm IS Macro lens. The 1D IV maintains the same body shape as the 1D/1Ds III cameras, and Stephen was excited to show us that the existing Seacam housing for that line fits the new camera (Canon users rejoice!).

The 1D Mark IV currently uses the FEL button to start/stop video recording, potentially requiring adjustments to the housing lever throws for perfect video integration, but otherwise a very painless progression. Filling out the display was the range of Seacam products: the Seaflash 150 strobe, glass ports, adjustable length strobe arms and tripods, and remote triggers and view screens.

UPDATE: We were so distracted by the Canon 1D Mark IV that we totally forgot to mention that Seacam was showing their new underwater housing for the Nikon D300s SLR. We've added a bunch of product shots of the new housing to the slideshow, so check them out, if you're interested. The photos look typical for Seacam, which is to say that the housing looks beautiful and well-designed.

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Subal #661

Subal was showing off their high-quality, popular housings for digital SLRs. Subal's design hasn't changed in awhile, but they were one of the first manufactures to nearly perfect their housing design, so they haven't had to make many changes. All housings are typical "Subal style," which Rolf Sempert defined as emphasizing small size and ergonomics.

On display were:

• ND300s for Nikon D300s
• CD500 for Canon Digital Rebel 500D
• Canon 7D housing prototype

The video button on the prototype will be moved to be more easily reachable for improved ergonomics.

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Watershot #964

Jonathan Lorenzen and photographer Tim Calver were at Watershot's booth showing off their new baseline housing for the Canon Digital Rebel T1i / 500D, and a high-end housing for the Canon 5D Mark II.

The Rebel T1i housing features a new latch (one-handed), new base, and new handles. Wetpixel reviewed the 450D housing earlier this year.

The Canon 5D Mark II housing is ergonomic for video, and is $3300, including housing, base, handles, flat port, 1 bulkhead (+1 optional).

The following ports are available: flat port for 50mm, extension for 100mm, 6" dome port. Coming soon are 8" and 9" dome ports, which use the same glass as Seacam ports.

DEMA 2009, Day 2: Page 5 of 5 (page controls at bottom of this post)

XIT 404, LLC #977

XIT 404 is a new company by Mike and Jody Elliot, started to provide ergonomic accessories for underwater photographers. They produce larger control knobs, tripods, fiber optic sync accessories, and much more. Because it is a custom design shop, you never know what new products they have up their sleeves. Best of all Jody and Mike are fun to chat with about new product ideas; if you want something built, get in touch with them!

Their camera and video accessories are distributed exclusively by Backscatter, but their dive products (like improved dive slates and pencils) are available to dive shops and other distributors.

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UltraLight Control Systems #661

The success of UltraLight Control Systems comes not only from the ubiquitousness of their products, but also from their constant innovation and variation on an accepted design. New for this year's DEMA was the TR-V video tray, designed to support flip-out LCD camcorder housings for the Canon WP-VI and Epoque and Patima Sanyo Xacti housings. The tray has an integrated tripod socket, converts to a double handle tray, and has versatile mounting slots to allow mounting of smaller SLR housings if desired.

ULCS is also happy to introduce a new adapter for the Ikelite Pro-V8 LED video light, now with a longer extension to move the light farther above the top of the housing (if in use as a focus light).

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X-Ray Magazine #1071

X-Ray, an excellent (and free) online magazine oriented towards diving and underwater photography was promoting a new underwater/diving related discount card Underwater Card. Underwater Card retails for $30, but offers over 300 dive discounts in Australia and Asia (pays for itself after the first trip!), and discounts up to 50% for a variety of books, DVDs, T-shirts, and more.

X-Ray is proud to announce an upgraded website and is always searching for diverse, new content to feature in the publication, and people to act as sales representatives and interns to help expand North American coverage.

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Pelican #1635

There aren't too many divers who haven't heard of Pelican's waterproof equipment cases for camera and other gear, and their booth this year was staffed by Nora Wainwright, Director of Diving Products. A recent development is that the 'standby' underwater photographer's size case, the Pelican 1650, is now 6 pounds lighter thanks to new plastic formulations (the acquisition of Stormcase may have been a contributing factor, as well). They are also introducing the 1170, a new smaller case size, alongside water and impact-resistant cases for CF and SD memory cards. Perhaps less well known to divers is Pelican's Nemo series of dive lights, including the new Nemo 2410 which takes four AA batteries and emits 85 lumens.

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Liquid Image #462

Kent and Melanie Pearson at Liquid Image introduced their new "Scuba Series" of digital camera masks this year, launching the HD320. The mask takes AAA batteries, comes with a 2 GB microSD card, and can use either a standard or larger silicone skirt to fit a wide range of faces. It shoots 720p video and stills at the flick of a switch. Unlike earlier offerings, which were primarily intended for snorkeling depths, this series of masks is rated to 35m (115ft) depths for diving applications.

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Princeton Tec #1733

Kalen Pascal at the Princeton Tec booth discussed new initiatives for 2009, including the 'Island Pack' of two dive lights and a tank marker for the retailer, and the "Dive Pink" initiative. The Dive Pink package contains three of the most commonly purchased dive lights in a new pink color, and a portion of the sales proceeds goes towards breast cancer research.

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Seashell (Zear Corporation Limited) #568

Seashell is a new entrant to the underwater housing market, but their generic housing is reputed to accommodate over 500 compact camera models. Utilizing a semi-contoured design, the Seashell housing provides two button actions (power and shutter) and ships with multiple rubber spacing blocks to be placed inside and conform to the exact dimensions of the compact camera (Intova style and similarly sized) in use. Expected to retail around $130, the housing should be very convenient for the casual vacation shooter - generic, inexpensive housing that works with over 500 compact camera models - configurable cushions for customized housing placement

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The Manta Network #367

The Executive Director of The Manta Network - a nonprofit, global species conservancy effort - has spun off a side operation named Ocean Presence Technologies (OPT). OPT is producing the OceanCam OPT-10, the world's first underwater-housed, 720p HD, remotely pan-tilt-zoomable internet camera. The unit can be placed on the ocean floor to monitor a wide area and uploads H.264-compressed 30 fps video. A portion of the proceeds received from selling these emplacements is fed directly back to The Manta Network. Interested parties are invited to register at http://www.oceanpresence.net/ to receive updates as additional live feed webcams are placed in various locations around the world's oceans.

Still reading? Come to our party on Friday night!