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Seacam Seaflash 250 strobe, underwater TTL test
Underwater photographer and Wetpixel friend Stephen Frink has posted an underwater TTL test from his most recent Digital Master class in Key Largo, Florida.
Basim Nasr showed up with a brand new Seacam housing for a Canon 1DMKIII and a pair of Seacam Seaflash 250 strobes… If TTL works, then the light on the exposure slate should be the same. As an aside, I have rarely seen a digtial TTL test that truly worked underwater. This one did.”
Check out the test. It’s pretty impressive—the slate retains the same exposure while the background gets darker and darker (as expected when working with a proper TTL system).
LAUPS 2008 International Competition announced
The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS) has announced a call for entries for their 2008 International Photo Competition, and will be posting the competition guidelines, rules, and entry form on their website shortly. Past prizes have included trips from Bilikiki Cruises, Lagoon Resort Fiji, Lembeh Resort, Mike Ball Diving, Nai’a Fiji, and Nautilus Explorer, among others.
The deadline for entry is midnight on September 19, 2008 - many Wetpixel members have found their names among the list of winners, so don’t forget to enter! Continue reading for the full press release…
Bonaire Digital Shootout 2008 Winners
The Digital Shootout Bonaire 2008 and Wetpixel.com are proud to announce the winners of this year’s shootout photo and video contest. 58 participants competed in four still categories and a single video category, and winners won a variety of prizes from our generous sponsors, including dive travel, underwater camera housings, and more.
We’d like to congratulate all of the winners and contestants this year. And as Berkley White says each year before announcing the winners, “We’re all winnes here. Some of us are just prize-challenged.”
Nikon D700 announced: full frame, 12 megapixels
Nikon has announced the D700 SLR, a 12-megapixel full-frame camera that uses the same sensor as does the D3. The D700 also has a built-in flash, a sensor cleaning feature, and can shoot up to ISO 25,600. It shoots at 5 frames a second, but can be boosted to 8 frames a second with the use of an external battery pack.
DPReview hosts a visual comparison of the D300, D700 and D3. Underwater photographers in our forums are already speculating as to whether the D700 will drop into D300 housings. Many are also excited by the D700’s large viewfinder.
The D700 retails at $2,999.
Ikelite Substrobe DS-160 announced
Ikelite has informally announced the Ikelite SubStrobe DS-160, which replaces the DS-125 in their product line. The DS-160 features 160 watt-seconds of power, a built-in 5-watt LED modeling light, TTL plus 10 power levels, 1.5-second recycle time, and 225 full-power flashes per charge. It uses the same battery pack, charger, sync connection, and mounting system as the current SubStrobe DS-125. The DS-125 will continue to be available while supplies last.
The DS-160 is available for pre-order and will begin shipping in limited quantities in late July. Full specs and photos are available on Ikelite’s website.
Wetpixel sardine run updates from the field
Be sure to follow Drew Wong and team, who are posting almost-daily updates from the annual sardine run / ocean safari in South Africa!
I popped up for a breather and then the skipper dropped me back onto the action… literally! I landed on a 2.5m bronze whaler which swam right between my legs (shrinkage and crapping are words that described my immediate reaction) and then I saw gannets and sharks chasing a football size baitball of mackerel from all sides. I’d never seen such incredible pandemonium before.
Related: Wetpixel’s photos from Sardine Run 2006.
Happy Birthday to Matt Segal
Please join me and the rest of the Wetpixel team in wishing a happy birthday to Matt Segal! For those of you who don’t know Matt, he’s the young administrator (and underwater photographer) that keeps Wetpixel running behind the scenes. Anyone who has sent a support request into Wetpixel has probably (eventually) gotten a reply back from Matt, and he’s been an absolutely invaluable part of the Wetpixel team.
We’re glad that Matt has added another candle to his birthday cake. Maybe this year, he won’t get carded while trying to get into DEMA.
Shooting with compact cameras
Professional underwater photographer and good friend Tony Wu has written a post on his personal blog about shooting underwater with compact cameras. Tony took a Sony W300 down for some dives and set it on underwater white-balance mode. He managed to get some fantastic images!
... whatever the camera is doing, it clearly works. What this means in practical terms is that with just your compact digital camera and a normal housing, you can take nice, colourful photos. There’s no need to get fancy or invest in anything else.