Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
DEMA 2008: Seacam
Harald Hordosch, Stephen Frink, Liz Johnson, and Charles “Chuckie” Luzier (of Canon USA) were at the Seacam booth. Harald and Stephen took Matt Segal and me on a tour of Seacam’s new underwater housing for the Nikon D3—a revolutionary jump in Seacam housings design.
Although the new D3 housing still has a distinct Seacam shape, it is the first large Seacam housing to be machined from a solid block of aluminum…
DEMA 2008: Imaging Resource Center, Day 2
Day 2 at the Imaging Resource Center was an exciting one from Wetpixel members, in that it was pretty much given by us. Shawn Heinrichs talked about mastering white balance, Alex Mustard spoke about underwater filter photography, I showed how I took my favorite images, showing processed images next to RAW images, Dave Haas talked about sharing images as “edu-tainment,” and Peter Rowlands about about the good ol’ days.
DEMA 2008: Wetpixel / DivePhotoGuide Cocktail Party
For the past few years, Wetpixel has been throwing happy hours at DEMA, which have been supported by some of our sponsors.
Last year, we held our party in a roped-off alcove at the host hotel in Orlando and had about a hundred people show up; it was pretty much the perfect place to throw a little happy hour. Las Vegas didn’t have an obvious place to throw such a party, so Jason Heller and I decided to rent a suite at the Hilton for the party. Being a destination event, we assumed that we would lose a good percentage of people to Las Vegas evening events, and planned for the arrival of about 40 people…
DEMA 2008: People Pictures, Day 2
DEMA is a fantastic place for meeting up with old friends from the dive industry. In fact, there are probably a few dozen people I have *only* ever seen at DEMA. And each year, I get to meet in person a handful of people with whom I have corresponded with frequently. It was particularly exciting this year because I got to meet up with Steve Douglas, who certified me as a SCUBA diver, and John Foxhall, who crossed me over to PADI and official made me an “Advanced” diver (heh).
DEMA 2008: Gates (with interview)
John Ellerbrock at Gates Underwater Products had two large housings on display, including a housing for the Sony PMW-EX1 camera and a prototype housing for the RED ONE (due in Q1 2009). The EX1 housing had a Seal Check valve installed on it—the best way to ensure a watertight seal on a housing.
Also on display were Sony HC9, FX7/V1u, and FX1/Z1u housings with Fathom Imaging lenses on the front, which are high-quality wide-angle lenses that feature full zoom-through.
DEMA 2008: Sea & Sea (with interview)
Andy Sallmon hosted Matt Segal and me at the Sea & Sea booth, which was one of the few photo/video booths not housed within the Imaging Resource Center this year. Sea & Sea was showing a few new products this year including the DX-2G compact underwater digital camera system, YS-110a (alpha) strobe, DX-1200HD compact camera, YS TTL Converter, and RDX digital SLR housing for Canon Rebel XSi.
The DX-2G is an update to the well-received DX-1G. It features a 12-megapixel sensor, slightly larger LCD screen (2.7”), 5-image RAW buffer, and new fiber-optic port insert (no more velcro!)...
DEMA 2008: Patima
Jae Lee was at the Patima booth (along with Reef Photo & Video) showing underwater housings for video and still cameras. I looked at housings for the Canon G9, Sanyo Xacti HD1010 video camera, and Canon 450D (Rebel XSi).
Patima’s underwater housing for the Canon G9 is really impressive. It is as fully-featured as any DSLR housing, but managed to keep a small size and price (retails for $995). I picked up the housing, and it felt great in my right hand—all of the controls were easily accessible…
DEMA 2008: Fisheye and Seatool (with interview)
Kenji Ohmura of Fisheye and Seatool was stationed at the Reef Photo & Video booth. Both he and Ryan Canon took me on a tour of their new products, including a the new FIX LED1000DX modeling/focus light, the FIX VMT-3W, a 3” widescreen LCD monitor, various Seatool video and still-camera housings, and a Fisheye underwater housing for the Sony EX1.
The FIX LED1000DX is a fantastic upgrade from their older halogen and LED-based lights. It produces 1000 lumens, has a 120-meter depth rating