Jean Bruneau, Wetpixel’s unofficial Aquatica representative, has posted three prototype renderings of Aquatica’s upcoming underwater viewfinder. He reports that “it rates with the best on the market,” and we are excited to see it in the wild when it comes out. Prospective users are pushing for a removable design to simplify packing and transport. ETA is still pending; hopefully we’ll get a glimpse at this year’s DEMA Show.
Issue 32 of Underwater Photography Magazine (UWP) has just been published. As usual there is a lot of input from Wetpixel members, including a tutorial about composite photos by Alex Mustard (Alex_Mustard), a review of the Subal ND20 and Nikon D200 by Mark Webster (Photec), and an article about Bikini Atoll by Tim Priest (Tim_Priest). UWP Magazine is a free PDF magazine, published every two months.
Good morning, underwater videographers. I’ve just enabled the embedding of videos from YouTube, Google Videos, and Veoh Videos into community forum posts. If you’ve got something you’re proud of, hop over to our video sharing forum and show us your work!
UPDATE: WMV, AVI, MPG and MOV videos can now be embedded as well.
For the second time in as many years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has put on display a young Great White Shark (GWS) captured off the coast of southern California. The male shark is 5 feet, 8 inches long and weighs roughly 104 pounds, and joined the Outer Bay exhibit on August 31st after spending two weeks in a holding tank near Malibu. The aquarium is the only one to have successfully kept a GWS in captivity for any significant length of time (198 days) and hopes to use the opportunity to educate the public about the species.
Daily viewing of the exhibit is from 10AM to 6PM. If you are unable to make it to Monterey, there is a streaming webcam available on the aquarium’s website from 7AM to 7PM (PST). The press release can be viewed in the full article, and Wetpixel members have already started a discussion - join in with your thoughts.
After a postive reception in 2006, the British Underwater Image Festival (BUIF) returns for another year and is currently accepting entries! The festival is managed by DIVE Magazine, and sponsors include Suunto, PADI, and Apeks. This year there are a number of different categories. For photo; Open, Digital compact camera, and Portfolio, with prints as the entry format (no digital files or slides) and for video; Professional, Liveaboard, and Amateur. Each competitor can enter up to 6 images free of charge. The entry deadline is January 31, 2007 - continue reading for more details…
Just over a week ago, the Wetpixel forums area was compromised by a hacker and shut down. We’ve just managed to get things back online, but we’ve lost all posts since the morning of Saturday, August 20. The software we’re running has been updated to the newest version (with security hole plugged), and all administrator and moderator passwords have been changed.
In addition to a few days of lost posts, the look-and-feel in the new forums area will take some time to settle; my first priority was to get the forums functioning normally and securely. Please let us know if you notice anything strange.
Because of the method of attack, if you are a user who registered on or before May 10, 2005, you should seriously consider changing your password as soon as possible. Although we do not store your passwords in plain text, the hacker may have gained access to the encrypted passwords. In some cases, the password can be recovered via readily-accessible web tools.
If you are being logged out by the main Wetpixel area and POTW area after you successfully log into the forums, you probably need to delete your browser cookies. Users have reported that it solves this specific logout issue.
The not-often-used forums gallery and blog areas have been updated as well, and I’ve also enabled a new, live chat feature so you can chat in real time with your fellow underwater photographers!
Wetpixel is conducting a poll on which video housing brands are popular among our video shooting community. If you are a video shooter, hop on over and let us know. Thank you!
Canon formally announced the successor to the popular Digital Rebel series today - the Digital Rebel XTi (400D). The camera features a 10.1 megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor, a 2.5” LCD monitor, 3FPS shooting for up to 27 JPEG or 10 RAW, a 9-point autofocus, and, new to the Canon lineup, a self-cleaning sensor unit. Similar to some Olympus dSLR cameras, the cleaning unit uses ultrasonic vibrations to remove dust from the sensor. The camera is only 1mm thicker than the previous Digital Rebel XT (350D), so underwater housings should become available quickly. Best of all, the Digital Rebel XTi will retail with a tentative list price of $799 USD.
Continue reading for the full press release…
Wetpixel’s Dr. Alex Mustard is pleased to announce the launch of a new filter - the Auto-Magic, which is made specifically for underwater photography with digital compact cameras. The filter is designed to make the great colors of Magic filter images simple for everybody to produce. This filter works with the camera’s automatic settings, so all you need to do is to turn off your flash and point and shoot for vibrant and colorful images. For more details and sample photos see www.magic-filters.com.
Unlike the camera’s white balance feature - which alters the mix of light already collected by the sensor - the Magic Filter alters the mix of light before it enters the lens. Since reds and oranges disappear from the underwater spectrum quickly, the Magic Filter provides a better mix of light for the camera’s white balance function to utilize.
Following the combined efforts of many conservationists and fishing industry personnel, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) decided on Tuesday to ban or restrict any fishing or taking of game along nearly 18% of the Central California coast, including areas of Monterey. The size and location of the protected areas were based upon a proposal by the fishers and from divers and environmentalists; protecting 5% and 13% of Central California’s coastal waters, respectively. The DFG also took into account a wide-range of testimony presented Tuesday, with the reasoning that it would be wise to adapt stronger protections at the present time so as to be able to relax them at a later date if the fish stocks showed a quick recovery.
Wetpixel thanks the efforts of all individuals who worked to help protect these areas, with a nod to Backscatter’s Berkley White for his call to action to attend the DFG meeting.