Articles
ROV encounters sperm whale
The Nautilus Expedition has set out and is currently investigating the effects of natural gas seeps that occur in the Gulf of Mexico. The expedition is using ROVs to gather samples and data from the water column. During one of the vehicle’s dives, the ROV encountered a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) at 598m (1,962 ft). The animal was curious, circling the vehicle and its TMS a few times before moving off.
FIX ships the Neo 1500 DX SWR light
FIX has announced their new Neo 1500 DX SWR light’s specifications. Billed as a video, focus or macro light in one package, it features a 100° or 30° 1500 lumen beam that can be stepped in 25% or 1% increments and switched to a red mode. Its batteries can be swapped, or charged via external charging points as required.
World’s first eight armed underwater photographer
Meet “The Octographer”, an eight armed underwater photographer trained by Sony to photograph aquarium visitors to New Zealand’s SEA LIFE aquarium.
SharkBase seeks citizen shark scientists
SharkBase is soliciting help from citizen scientists to better understand “the distribution of sharks globally” and to “use this information to infer patterns of marine ecosystem health”.
Blackmagic Design announces new products
Blackmagic Design has announced a slew of new products. They have updated their URSA camera Mini version, offering 15 stops of dynamic range and 4.6K sensor options. Also new is the Micro Cinema camera, which is designed for “remote shooting”, for which I read underwater! The company are offering a monitoring/recording solution called the Blackmagic Video Assist and have updated Fusion and DaVinci Resolve.
RED announces 8K Weapon Vista Vision camera
RED Digital Cinema announced their 6K Weapon camera a few months ago and for the NAB show has now further upped the ante by offering an 8K version, known as the Weapon Vista Vision.
Nauticam releases housing for Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II
Nauticam is now shipping their housing for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera. It features one button access to the camera’s LV Super Control Panel, fiber optic strobe triggering and the option of attaching 45° or 180° viewfinders for use with the camera’s electronic viewfinder.
Review: Canon Powershot G7 X by Alex Tattersall
Wetpixel Industry member, Alex Tattersall of Nauticam UK presents a review of the performance of the Canon Powershot G7 X compact camera after a trip using it in Lembeh. He highlights the issues that the camera’s lens configuration presents for underwater use, but finds that it is capable of providing excellent image quality in a very small package