Articles
Canon EOS C300 available for pre-order
Engadget reports that Canon’s latest cinema video camera, the EOS C300 is now available for pre-order. The camera has a Super 35mm CMOS 4K sensor but captures in HD 1080p. The original pricing was in the region of $20,000 for the body, however the price is now confirmed at $16,000.
The camera will begin shipping “after January 30”. Engadget published a “hands on” review of the C300 back in November.
Underwater Journal issue 23 available
Issue 23 of Underwater Journal is now available to download. This edition features Walt Sterns talking about wreck diving in South Florida, Michael Salvarezza & Christopher P. Weaver on “Diving the Antarctic Peninsula”, Mike Bartick on muck diving and Walt Sterns also writes about black and white conversions.
Underwater Journal is free to download in pdf or iPad format.
Wetpixel is back after anti-SOPA blackout
Wetpixel is back after a 12-hour strike in support of anti-SOPA efforts. Wetpixel joined Wikipedia, Mozilla and Wordpress, and other sites in a site blackout against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA). It is clear that anti-piracy efforts are necessary, but the two bills resting in the U.S. Senate and House are clearly not the right way to go about it. If you don’t know much about SOPA, please educate yourself about it and sign the petition before January 24, 2012.
Wetpixel joins action against SOPA
Wetpixel will be joining a group of sites including Wikipedia, Mozilla and Wordpress in a strike against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) on Wednesday 18 January. SOPA is an act that is currently on its way through the US House of Representatives and has potentially far-reaching negative consequences for all internet users worldwide. The bill has been delayed in a vote last weekend, but is not yet defeated.
In order to show our dismay at this legislation, Wetpixel will be “off-air” or “go dark” from 8am to 8pm PST (- 8 hours GMT) on 18 January. Normal access to the site will be available outside of those hours, but to repeat, the site will be unavailable from 8 till 8. We hope that you will understand and support the reason for this inconvenience: If a bill like SOPA is allowed to pass, it will severely restrict the freedom that we all enjoy, even on sites like Wetpixel.
Sea & Sea announces release of YS-D1 strobe
Sea & Sea USA has announced the release of the YS-D1 strobe. Originally previewed at DEMA, it features DS-TTLII exposure control with a compensation adjustment, slave triggering, an LED target light and a guide number of 32 to 20. The strobe has a native coverage of 80°, but this can be modified by using the (supplied) diffusers, which in turn results in the loss of some output. Hence with an 120° diffuser, the guide number is 20. The new strobe is powered by 4 AA batteries, and can be triggered via Nikonos or fiber optic methods.
It will be available from February 2012 at a retail price of $750.
Semporna shark sanctuary petition
Signatures are being asked for to help create a shark sanctuary in Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. The Sabah government has recently announced heavy penalties for people hunting sharks, including a mandatory jail sentence for up to three years and a fine of at least RM30,000 or both under the Fisheries Act so it would seem to be an ideal opportunity to further enhance the protection of sharks in the area by creating a sanctuary.
The Semporna Shark Sanctuary petition is online and available now. It will only be running until the end of January, so please take a moment to sign it now.
Adobe offers special upgrade offer for CS3 and 4 users
Possibly in response to the criticism of its proposed upgrade policy for users wishing to upgrade to Creative Suite (CS) 6 when it is released later in 2012, Adobe has announced that it will offer a special upgrade offer for licensed owners of CS3 and CS4 until 31 December. The details of the offer will be confirmed when the new version is released. Adobe’s announcement suggests that this will take place in the first half of 2012.
Call for entries: Our World Underwater 2012
The 2012 Our World Underwater (OWU) contest is calling for video and photo entries. Run in conjunction with DEEP Indonesia by Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide, the contest offers over $60,000 in prizes. This year, OWU has an earlier deadline for entries, so please make sure you get your entries in by 23 January.
Full details of the competition, as well as rules and entry procedures are available on the UnderwaterCompetition.com website.