The official thread for the 2012 Wetpixel Ultimate Whale Sharks Expedition is now open in the forums. The group has spent a day on the water and trip leader Alex Mustard reports:

“Unbelievable. I see why people go on and on about this place. First morning. Straight out of port into sharks. Captain reckoned 300-400 whale sharks in flat calm, blue seas. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The trip will be running over the next two weeks, so you can expect lots of whale shark “action.” Please be sure to check back on the forum thread for updates and more stunning images.

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Blackmagic Design has announced the release of a public beta of its Resolve 9 color grading software. The new version features a radically overhauled user interface, automatic 3D eye matching, multi layering timelines and XML support as well as support for additional cameras and file types.

DaVinci Resolve 9 public beta for Mac, Windows and Linux is now available for download from the Blackmagic Design website free of charge for all existing full feature DaVinci Resolve customers. DaVinci Resolve Lite public beta is available for both Mac OS X and Windows and is free to all users.

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Our colleagues at Shark Savers are running a trip to the “fabled” Palmyra Atoll, part of the Northern Line Islands (Kiribati) in the Pacific. The Atoll, a US Fish and Wildlife protected area, is very closely preserved, with a limited number of permits being issued for people to visit. National Geographic has described the area as one of only a handful of reefs worldwide that has not seen some form of degradation due to human impact. It features an inverted pyramid of biomass: Hordes of apex predators; gray and whitetip reef sharks, red snappers and rapid turnover of prey which denotes the healthiest of marine ecosystems.

The trip is being run by Pangaea Exploration and will run from 14 August to 4 September, from Honolulu to Kiritimati. For more details, or to book, please visit the expedition’s webpage, but please do so soon as the number of places available is very limited. This trip represents a true “once in a lifetime” experience as it is so hard to get permits to visit the area. (Image by courtesy of National Geographic)

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After being widely trailed on social media, Sony has announced the release of the PMW-200 XDCAM. The new camera has three 1/2” CMOS sensors and outputs full HD 4:2:2 50Mbps footage. It features a wide range of recording formats, including MXF 50Mbps/35Mbps, MP4 35Mbps/25Mbps and DVCAM and has a “Slow & Quick” motion function which enables capture at 1 fps to 60 fps in 720p mode, and from 1 fps to 30 fps in 1080p mode, enabling some creative opportunities. Lastly, it records onto Sony’s SxS memory cards as well as other media such as SD, Memory Stick and XQD cards (with an adaptor required).

The PMW-200 will be available from September, prices are still to be confirmed.

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A census of the number of rays that frequent the Cayman Islands iconic Stingray City has showed a sharp decline in their numbers.  Personnel from the Guy Harvey Research Institute collaborated with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment to carry out the count. In addition, three researchers from the Georgia Aquarium undertook a health survey of the stingrays.The decline had been witnessed by anecdotal reports for as far back as 2010, but the 2012 survey shows a 38% drop in numbers compared to 2008. Investigations are being carried out as to potential causes for this. (Image by Alex Mustard)

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