Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Shark Men blamed for shark attack
The crew filming an episode of “Shark Men” for National Geographic have been blamed for the fatal shark attack that occurred at Kogel Bay, near Cape Town, South Africa, iafrica.com reports. US-based documentary-maker Chris Fischer was apparently planning to use up to 5000kg (11023.11lb) of chum to attract sharks into the area, and there was a wide-spread feeling even before the attack that this may cause problems. Posts on social media sites are now accusing the Shark Men team of contributing to the cause of the attack. However, the South African Department of Environmental Affairs dismissed these concerns in a statement issued on Monday, prior to the attack, calling them “alarmist”, “misleading and inappropriate statements” and creating “unnecessary public concern”.
Nikon announces the D3200 SLR camera
Nikon has announced the realease of the D3200 DX format SLR camera. It features a a new CMOS image sensor with an effective pixel count of 24.2-million pixels and the same EXPEED 3 image-processing engine built into Nikon’s D4 and D800/800e models. Native ISO will range from 100 to 6400 and the camera is equipped with video recording at 1920 x 1080/30p. Lastly, with the additional Wireless Mobile Adapter WU-1a, the camera can be used with Android equipped phones or tablets, both for transferring images or to use the phone/tablet as a remore monitor. This will probably not work underwater!
Prices and the shipping date for the new model have not been released yet.
Apple updates video products
Apple has released an update to its Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4 video products. Final Cut Pro version 10.0.4 adds: Improved image quality and responsiveness of broadcast monitoring with compatible third-party PCIe and Thunderbolt I/O devices, improved performance of multicam syncing and editing, adds language support for Simplified Chinese and adds a Share option for 1080p video on compatible iOS devices. It also fixes bugs in the previous releases. Motion 5.0.3 is largely a bug fix update whilst Compressor 4.0.3 adds the ability to run Compressor on a Mac without a monitor, improves performance when encoding MP4 and AVI files and also adds an export setting for 1080p video on compatible iOS devices.
Third-party app 7toX also updates to version 1.0.5, and consists of additional XML support and bug fixes. All the updates are available via the Mac app store.
University of Miami Underwater Photo contest results
The results of the 2012 Underwater Photography Contest, hosted by the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, have been announced. The overall winner was Ximena Olds of Florida with her macro shot of a headshield sea slug from St. Thomas, USVI. The contest featured a public vote this year, and this was won by Todd Aki of California with his image of a jellyfish in a sunburst.
The contest attracted over 700 entries and, as always, it great to see so many Wetpixel members among the placings. Congratulations go out to all the winners.
Atomos launches Ninja 2 at NAB
Another new product launched at the NAB Show this week is the Ninja 2 recorder/monitor. The updated version allows the capture and export of HDMI feeds, allowing it to record directly from the sensors of the Nikon D4 and D800 as well as that of the iPad 3. The touchscreen has also been updated, now featuring an 800x480 pixel display. It has firmware AtomOS3.0, which features SmartLog, allowing users to mark in and out points and tag clips using XML metadata, as well as monitoring aids such as Focus Peaking, Zebra, False Color and Blue-Only.
The Ninja 2 will be available from quarter 2 2012 at a retail price of $995. There will be an upgrade path for Ninja 1 owners, and the OS upgrade will be available from the end of April.
ADEX Singapore 2012 Report
The annual Asia Dive EXposition was held over last weekend at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Center in Singapore. With a brand new venue, ADEX 2012 proved to be a success with new invitees like Stephen Frink and quite a few conservation booths like Manta Trust and Shark Savers. Join Drew Wong as he sauntered around ADEX and reports on new housings like the Subal GF3 and Nauticam D800 and NEX7… oh and he also co-hosted the Wetpixel/Scubacam party on Friday the 13th!
GoPro HERO2 to get CineStyle color profile
At the NAB show, GoPro and CineStyle have announced the forthcoming release of a CineStyle color profile for the GoPro HERO2. This will be available via a free firmware update called the Protune and will include the following features: 24fps frame rate, 35Mbps data rate, neutral color profile, log curve encoding and reduced sharpening and noise reduction. This new firmware is intended to allow the HERO2 to integrate into professional workflows which will typically use material from a variety of sources.
The Protune update will be available “in the summer” and will be free for HERO2 owners.
Late availability: Wetpixel Ultimate Whale Sharks 2012
Due to cancellations, we have a few spaces open up on the Wetpixel Ultimate Whale sharks trips in July and August 2012. The trips are running from 30 July to 5 August, and then from 5 to 11 August at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. This is an amazing opportunity to witness and document the world’s largest gathering of the world’s largest fish. Alex Mustard is leading both charters for Wetpixel. There is no lack of superlatives being used to describe this trip. Perhaps better are Eric’s own matter of fact words after the first day of Wetpixel’s first expedition here:
“our first day… was absolutely epic. Within an hour of leaving port, we found a group of over 300 whale sharks.”
These last-minute slots will go very fast, so please contact Dan Baldocchi soon for more information or to book.