Canon has announced the release of two new pro camcorders. The XA25 and XA20 are designed to be ultra compact and offer the ability to record two different formats simultaneously onto two SD cards. The cameras have a wide-angle zoom lens with a close focus of 60cm (24”), a 2.91-megapixel 1/2.84-inch HD CMOS image sensor and DIGIC DV 4 image processor. The XA25 has a BNC fitting that outputs HD/SDI, and both cameras feature dual-band wireless support.
CJ Crooks has produced a short film entitled “Sharks of Bimini”. It features a selection of clips from the day-to day-work at the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, aka “Sharklab”, in the Bahamas.
In its pre-NAB press releases, Canon has announced that it plans to develop a 35mm Cinema Prime lens. The EF-mount lens will deliver 4K optical performance and will be designed to suit professional level applications. It is expected to start shipping later this year.
MantaWatch has published a series of guidelines for responsible interactions with manta rays. The organization aims to use people’s images of the markings on mantas to identify specific individual animals and hence to record sightings of them over time. This information will be databased and used to extend knowledge of manta migration and habitat preferences.
We have a few spaces available for the Wetpixel Whale Sharks trips this year. These represent the ultimate opportunity to get up close and personal with amazing numbers of the largest fish in the sea. Trip members from previous years have encountered over 300 whale sharks per day! The trips are all based in a comfortable hotel in Isla Mujeres, Yucatan, Mexico and are suitable for divers and non-divers.
The Ocean Artists Society has made a new film entitled “Artists United for Water: Water Drives Nature”. It is designed to inform and raise awareness about the issues of water conservation and features a public service announcement by Wyland followed by imagery and words from the Society’s members.
Wetpixel will be visiting the pristine reefs of South Komodo, Indonesia in 2014. We will be running two back-to-back trips, the first from 5 to 16 February and the second from 18 February to 1 March. Both trips are on board the luxury liveaboard dive vessel, The Seven Seas. The area hosts an amazing variety of underwater life, and February and March give the clearest water conditions. The trip is designed to be photographically productive, with a flexible itinerary that will allow us to concentrate on sites where conditions are excellent.
Businessman Mike Luzansky was the owner of the now defunct California-based supplier H20 Photo Pros. The company ceased trading in December 2010 and at that time, Mike made no attempt to speak about the events leading to the company’s demise. This lack of communication may have caused the large number and ongoing nature of complaints about H20 Photo Pros and their conduct that have been posted in a thread on the Wetpixel forum. In an exclusive interview, Mike gives his side of the events that occurred.
As reported in the Wetpixel forum, images of Nauticam’s housing for the Panasonic DMC-GH3 camera have been added to the Nauticam China website. Details of the housing are still to be released, but it seems that the exposure compensation, ISO and white balance controls are all located close to the shutter release, with the buttons at different heights to allow for tactile feedback. A back plate will be available for use with Nauticam’s magnifying viewfinders if required. Prices and release dates are to be confirmed.
Wetpixel member Richard Bowes (wizbowes) has just released an application that allows users to convert Lightroom presets in Adobe Camera Raw. ACR Preset Manager also allows presets to be organized into logical groups and for switching between presets without leaving Bridge. The new software costs £24.99 and is currently only for Windows, with a possibility of a version for Mac later. It is available now.