Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021
Articles
Rugged Coolpix may be a modern Nikonos
Nikon Rumors has postulated that the forthcoming rugged Coolpix, due for release at the end of August, may be a modern successor for the Nikonos series of underwater film cameras. In an interview last January, Mr. Tetsuro Goto (Director of Laboratory R&D at Nikon Japan) said:
“Personally I think the Nikonos reborn in the future.”
It is rumored that the new camera will have a depth rating of 33 feet (10 meters) and excellent low-light abilities.
Announcing the Monterey Shootout 2011
The 2011 Monterey Shootout has been announced. Running from September 9 through 11, the event will feature a film festival, educational seminars, demo gear for use, DUI DOG rally and a photo and video competition.
Wetpixel publisher Eric Cheng and Canon Explorer of Light Stephen Frink are listed among the speakers listed for the shootout’s seminars. The competition is a 32 hour shootout with video and still entries being accepted from beginner, intermediate and advanced shooters.
Nauticam releases housing for Panasonic GF2
Nauticam has released a housing for the Panasonic Lumix GF2 EVIL camera. The NA-GF2 has access to all of the important controls on the camera including shutter release, zoom, movie record, and the control dial. The Fn (function) button is placed to be used by the right thumb. The GF2 command dial requires turning and clicking so Nauticam has separated the dial function into two separate controls on the housing. It also features a removable fibre optic bulkhead to allow for optical sync and TTL with external strobes, or the use of the internal flash. Ports are available for Lumix 4/3 lenses, including 14-24mm, 14mm, 8mm fisheye, Leica 45mm macro, Olympus 14-42mm and 9-18mm.
The NA-GF2 is available from 20 August 2011 at a retail price of $1750.
Spaces available on Wetpixel Farnes seal trip
We have a few spaces available on the 2011 Wetpixel Farnes seal trip. We have booked skipper Paul Walker of Farne Island Divers for 5 and 6 September 2011; the late season being the best time for seal encounters. Paul has years of experience skippering and diving in the area, and many of the iconic seal images from the UK have been taken whilst diving with him. He runs a large RIB, which is the perfect platform for getting into the shallow areas that the seal prefer. Our aim is to get in the water for as long as possible with these amazing animals and to optimize the choice of dive sites to both our photographic needs and the prevailing conditions.
If you are interested, please contact Adam for more details or to book.
Sir Richard Branson swims with whale sharks
Wetpixel moderator, Shawn Heinrichs, has posted a film of the recent WildAid whale sharks trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico onto Vimeo. Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group, was one of the participants, and he makes a plea for the cessation of shark finning:
“Believe it or not, some people cut the fin off these beautiful, beautiful creatures to eat and throw the rest of the whale shark back into the water to die. It’s too sad for words.”
Study show success of Mexican marine reserve
Scripps News has reported on a 2009 study conducted in the Cabo Pulmo National Park in Mexico’s Gulf of California by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. It was carried out from 1999 to 2009 and that shows that the total number of fish in the reserve ecosystem increased over 460 percent within 10 years. The findings of the study are published in the Public Library of Science journal.
The survey also shows that fish biomass at the park has increased by 463 percent over the 1999 study, and that the biomass of top predators and carnivores increased by 11 and 4 times, respectively.
Shark week screens questionable footage
Shark Week on Discovery Channel, has thrown up some controversial footage. In the sequence, a tiger shark named Emma is baited and when she takes the bait, is pulled by the crew up towards the surface. The shark resists and the line holding the bait parts, causing the gantry arm to which it was attached to swing round and strike the crew. The film was shot by Guerney Productions as a segment called “How Sharks Hunt” with Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin as presenters.
This raised two question: Firstly, is this sort of activity really acceptable for people’s entertainment and secondly, does this do any good for shark or marine conservation? Wetpixel moderator Drew Wong has posted about this in the forum and please feel free to discuss what, if any, action should be taken to attempt to stop filming like this from taking place.
Dashwood announces 3D plug-in for FCP X
Dashwood Cinema Solutions has announced the Stereo3D Toolbox™ LE plug-in which provides the basic stereoscopic 3D post-production tools necessary to optimize stereoscopically acquired footage. The plug in will work within the latest versions of Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro X, Final Cut Express, and Motion in Mac OS X Lion or Snow Leopard. It allows H.264 3D files from the GoPro 3D and Panasonic AG-3DA1 cameras to be imported directly into FCP X, for convergence adjustment via horizontal image translation and also to eliminate vertical, rotational and zoom disparity.
The plug-in has a free trial and costs $99.