Four Thirds User has reported that Olympus working on new body for Top-Pro lenses: “Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging’s SLR planning department, confirmed today that the company is definitely working on a body to deliver the focusing performance expected by users of the Top Pro lens series like the ground breaking 90-250 f2.8 fixed aperture zoom.”

The article goes on to say that Watanabe has been delighted with the success of the OM-D but also acknowledged that it did not deliver great results with high-end lenses from the Olympus E-System. Details are still to be confirmed, but improved AF performance will be of merit for underwater use.

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Helmut Goerlitz has let us know that he has released a Blu-ray disc of 3D footage entitled “The Art of Diving 3D”. The film was shot with two Panasonic Z10000 cameras during a trip to Hurghada in the Egyptian Red Sea and the disc runs for 49 minutes.

It is available from Amazon world-wide and Helmut’s HGVT shop

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Discovery Channel has now started its annual Shark Week programming. Shark Savers has joined the channel as its conservation partner for the programs, and at 9PM e/p today (USA), Wendy Benchley is featured in “How Jaws Changed the World”. This examines the effect that the Jaws book and film, written by the late Peter Benchley, has had on the world. Initially, the unanticipated result was to shape a highly negative public perception of sharks, however the long-term result has been to contribute to a new generation of shark scientists and conservationists and has even led some key individuals to devote their lives to shark conservation.

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With both Nikon’s new cameras being “in the wild”, housing manufacturers are working around the clock to provide housings for them. Hugyfot has previously announced support for both cameras, with a priority being placed on preparing the D800 version, which they expect to have ready in May. At the recent London Dive Show, they were showing 3D renderings of the new housings. Pictures have been published on Facebook of a working prototype Nauticam’s new housing for the D4. Interestingly, this features fiber optic ports, so it seems likely that the housing will have some built-in device that will allow the D4 to trigger strobes optically.

Wetpixel are ready to dive the new Nikon cameras (and the Canon 5D Mark III) as soon as there are housing available for them. Please keep checking back for the latest updates. UPDATE Aquatica AD800 housing images added.

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At the end of the 2012 Olympics, photographer Michael Dalder reflects on the technical aspects of covering the events in the aquatics center from underwater. He writes in a post on the Reuters Photographers Blog that over the past two weeks he has spent almost 8 hours in the pool and carried out over 25 dives “to adjust, replace or rescue the remote-controlled underwater camera.” He also comments on the fact that, as access to the pool was tightly controlled, this resulted in very long work days. However he concludes that:

“Only a very small number of people get to watch such a great sport and swim in the same water as the athletes. I am very happy to be one of the privileged few and look forward to the next tournament.” (Image by Michael Dalder/Reuters)

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