Tim Rock, Chris Bangs, and Wetpixel moderator Mike Veitch are running two digital photography seminars in Yap and Bali in 2006. The Yap seminar focuses on photographing manta rays (July 12-19), and the Bali seminar focuses on macro photography (October 8-14).
Konica Minolta has announced withdrawal plans for both its camera and photo businesses. They will withdraw from the film and digital camera business by March 31, 2006, film and paper by March 31, 2007, and all photo businesses by September 30, 2007. Konica Minolta’s will jointly develop digital SLRs with Sony “in order to continue to have [their] customers use Maxxum/Dynax lenses, and to maximize possibilities of the optical, mechanical and electronics technologies accumulated through development of SLR cameras in the years to come.” (thanks, Paul)
This is a call for entries for the 7th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition, scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings, October 20 & 21, 2006 at the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park. Each evening will feature a different program consisting of 14 to 16 short underwater films from locations all over the world. Here is your chance to see your work in a large-format, state-of-the art, digital theater, and to share your adventures with others. Submission deadline is August 15, 2006.
Zeiss today announced two new lenses designed to be fully compatible with Nikon F mount cameras. The 50mm f1.4 and the 85mm f1.4 will be available starting Spring 2006. Digital SLR’s with their extremely high resolution sensors have placed quite a demand upon lenses and lens design and manufacture, and apparently Zeiss plans to meet this demand. The company also announced a universal mount lens variant which when used with an adapter will be compatible with Canon and other lens mounts, however these lenses will likely not support autofocus and camera-based aperture control.
Fantasea Line, distributor of popular and affordable underwater photographic products, announces the release of the F350D waterproof camera housing for the Digital Canon Rebel XT/350D. The Fantasea F350D is a compact, lightweight, injection molded polycarbonate housing with ergonomically designed handles, making it easy to hold and use. The F350D’s interchangeable port system accommodates a wide variety of SLR lenses, allowing photographers to capture the widest variety of superior underwater images…
TTL. It’s just three letters. But, boy, has it caused some trouble in these digital days. Underwater photographers, unlike our land-loving counterparts, invariably use flash in almost all our shots and this makes us very demanding when it comes to flash performance. Ever since TTL strobe control was introduced with the Nikonos V in 1984 the vast majority of images have relied on it.
A few years ago I looked into buying a new dive light and decided it’d be time for an HID light. I’ve had a few lights before—from a DIY “bomb” made from a huge plastic tube to a sweet 50W Halogen light that illuminated half a reef. I also used some smaller backup lights over time. I had some money to spend, so price wasn’t too much of an issue and I wanted to get something that would last a long time and be of high quality. Plus, I really don’t like the “toy-lights” that run on AA or C batteries…
The Sealife Reefmaster DC500 is a well designed compact underwater entry-level system. When purchased as a package, the housing and strobe setup is easy to put together and use. The image quality is acceptable, and the built-in camera modes make the system adaptable and useful for both above and underwater photography. I would not hesitate to recommend this system to scuba-diving friends who have never used a camera underwater before, and to photographers who are not interested in comparing camera specifications and making complex purchasing decisions.
Berkley White, James Wiseman and I are partnering up to give two workshops at this year’s Boston Sea Rovers Clinic, which will be held at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston during the weekend of March 4/5, 2006. Our workshops are entitled Digital Underwater Photography: Gear and Techniques (Mar 4) and Photoshop CS/CS2 for Underwater Photographers (Mar 5). If you haven’t been to a Sea Rovers Clinic, it’s definitely worth a visit. The Saturday evening film festival always showcases some amazing work.
Past clinics: [2005 report] [2004 report (personal)]
Our sponsors and good friends over at Backscatter are seeking applicants for a full-time Salesperson position. Preferred start date is February 1, 2006. Backscatter is an equal opportunity employer and is thrilled to teach underwater equipment and technique to applicants with a positive attitude and a passion for personal creative output.
For a complete job description, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).