Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Sony announces wide angle E-mount lenses
Sony has announced two new E-mount full frame wide angle lenses. The FE 16-35mm f2.8 is a G Master lens, with 5 aspherical elements, of which 2 are XA (extreme aspherical), reducing aberration and enhancing resolution. The FE 12-24mm f4 is light and compact with 4 elements with Nano AR coatings.
Olympus announces the TG-5 Tough compact camera
Olympus has announced the latest version of their Tough series compact camera. The TG-5 is waterproof to 50 feet (15m) and features a new backlit 12MP sensor and TruePic VIII image processor. The TG-4’s amazing microscope macro mode is retained, and there is the addition of manual focus and peaking, along with “Pro” mode that enables pre-capture of images. Video has been enhanced to Ultra HD.
Planet Earth II wins BAFTA Awards
The wildlife documentary, Planet Earth II won the Best TV Moment of the Year and Best Specialist Factual program at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) ceremony yesterday. The scene shot of newly hatched iguanas trying to avoid being predated upon by racing snakes, shot on Isla Fernandina, Galapagos was voted the Best TV Moment of Year. Hearty congratulation to the BBC’s Natural History Unit and to all the contributors to this amazing series.
Drone footage uncovers the function of the famous Narwhal tusk
Scientists with the World Wildlife Fund studying Narwhals in the Canadian Arctic may have just uncovered the mystery surrounding the function of the narwhal tusk. Narwhals are famous for the ivory tusk that juts out from its mouth, up to nine feet long, but the function was never proven until now. Researchers using a drone to film Narwhals recorded never before seen behavior of the whales stunning fish by smacking them with the tusk in order to more easily eat them. Image from Shutterstock.
Monterey Shootout is open for registrations
The Monterey Shootout is open for registrations. Co-hosted by NCUPS and Backscatter, the event will be held from 25 to 27 August and features a full schedule of seminars, a cocktail party and the competition itself. Registration for the whole event costs $25 and is available now.
Paper describes AquaMaps global distribution maps
A paper in the journal PLOS ONE details the work being carried out by the team at AquaMaps. This provides searchable “standardized distribution maps for over 25,000 species of fishes, marine mammals and invertebrates.” For those seeking definitive indications of a species’ distribution, the maps provide “color-coded likelihood of a species to occur in a half-degree cell, with about 50 km side length near the equator.”
Sea&Sea announces SA8 Series Ball Clamp II
Sea&Sea has announced their new SA8 Series Ball Clamp II. It can be configured in 2 ways, one providing a “solid and stable” joint with a 10° lateral movement or by being reversed, it offers up to 60° of lateral movement. Sea&Sea state that in the second position, its stability is the same as that of their Ball Clamp I.
Reef ID Books publishes Maldives reef guide
Reef ID Books has published a print version of their “Coral Reefs Maldives” marine life photo guide. It illustrates and identifies over 1200 species commonly found in the reefs and atolls of the Maldives in an easy to use graphical format. It now available in print, Kindle and iBook formats.