Sunday, May 20th, 2012

30 minute limit for SLR video may be lifted

dpreview.com reports that the mandatory 30 minute recording time on digital cameras may be changed is the scope of the World Trade Organization’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA) is expanded. Currently, the cut-off is used to avoid digital cameras being re-classified as video cameras which have a higher rate of duty. The changes may well be “a slow and highly politicized process”, but it would seem that the proposal to discuss changing the ITA’s frames of reference has been broadly welcomed. With many cameras, the recording time limits imposed are actually due to the FAT 32 file size limit of 4Gb or to control camera overheating issues, rather than to avoid customs classification.

Sunday, May 20th, 2012

IWC meeting unlikely to produce agreement

The BBC reports that the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), scheduled to be held in six weeks time in Panama, has the potential to be marred by politics. A new ruling means that countries must table their proposed motions at least 60 days prior to the meeting, and this gives a view into the meeting ahead. The South American group called for a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic at the last meeting, which was postponed due to a walk-out by Japan. They have thus reserved their right to put this to a vote as the first order of business. Japan has countered with a motion to re-open coastal whaling. Monaco’s Frederic Briand, with the support of many other anti-whaling countries, has also tabled a motion that would see whale conservation “sent upstairs” to the UN.

“We have a moratorium on commercial whaling that’s been in place for at least 25 years, but we see it’s business as usual for the whaling countries,” he said. “Despite the moratorium, about 35,000 whales have keen killed by three countries. So there’s a failure of the IWC to enforce its own resolutions.”

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Wetpixel SLR video light review

The advent of LED lighting over the past 4 to 5 years, and the steep increase in both the LED’s performance and the battery technology required to drive them, has resulted in a wide range of video lighting in very compact units. Performance in terms of output power and longevity is possible now in units that are a fraction of the size that comparable units were even a few years ago. This has coincided with a growth in both the quality and performance of video that can be captured on SLR cameras.

This review cover two potential 4000 lumen output options for SLR video users: The Keldan LUNA 4V and the Mangrove VC-4L6.

Thursday, May 17th, 2012

Nauticam announces NA-5DMKIII housing

Nauticam has announced the imminent release of its housing for the new Canon 5D MkIII SLR. The NA-5DMKIII features a double paddle lever for the right thumb that activates AF-On and Record. The housing uses “piano key” controls for the Set and Quick Control functions, and a multi controller pad for the camera’s joystick. Lastly, ISO, Live View/Movie and Focus point selector controls are all available from the right hand handle. Initially, the housing will be supplied with a Nikonos sync port, although other bulkheads are available. Nauticam are hinting that they will be providing a fiber optic solution for the housing and camera in the future, and have added fiber optic ports for this.

The housing will be available from 1 June and will retail at $3600.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

DAN announces winners of Ocean Views 2012

DAN has announced the winners of the 2012 Ocean Views competition on their Alert Diver online site. Deano Cook took first place with his split level image of a lemon shark in the Bahamas. He says of the image:

“As the sun was setting, I wanted to capture a quiet moment with one of the lemon sharks we had been photographing that afternoon. This particular shark was just as curious as I was, and what an amazing moment I was able to capture! His eye above the surface stares back at me, as if to show me he’s watching, too. Below the surface his mouth was just slightly open, showing off his sharp teeth.”

There is a full slide show of all the winning images, as well as a “bonus gallery” of other images from the contest. Hearty congratulations to all the photographers in the results, and especially to the many Wetpixel members featured.

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

Backscatter announces filter solution for GoPro

GoPro has recently announced the release of an underwater housing with a flat lens for its HERO POV cams. One of the issues that has been identified with this is that it is unable to take filters for color correction. Backscatter has announced that they have a product due for imminent release that will address this. The Flip-Up Color Correction Filter can be user installed and does not vignette in any camera lens angle mode. In changeable light conditions, the filter can be raised to allow more ambient light, and lowered to get the color correction.

It is due to ship in late June and the price is still to be confirmed.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Paul Watson arrested

Paul Watson, founder of the environmental organization Sea Shepherd, was arrested at Frankfurt Airport, Germany on 12 May, pending extradition to Costa Rica. This was carried out due to a warrant that had been issued in Costa Rica relating to events in Guatemalan waters in 2002 when Watson’s boat, the Farley Mowat, encountered an illegal shark-finning operation run by a Costa Rican ship, the Varadero. Crew on the Varadero accused Watson of attempting to ram their boat and Watson was charged by Costa Rican authorities with attempted murder. The events were captured on video, and subsequently formed a part of the film Sharkwater.

This video evidence led to the charges being dropped, however it would seem that they have been re-investigated by a newly appointed prosecutor, and this has led to the arrest. Support for the campaigner has flooding in, and an online petition has been set up to call for his release. UPDATE. It looks like Germany will extradite Paul Watson to Costa Rica. Sea Shepherd are calling for people to contact the German authorities and ask them not to do so.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Illinois bans shark fin

stltoday.com reports that Bill HB4119 was passed today by the Illinois state legislature. This will make the possession or distribution of shark fins illegal in the state. State Sen. Antonio Munoz said the bill’s purpose is to prevent shark finning, which is the removal of the shark’s fin followed by releasing the shark back into the water. Although shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, the possession of shark fins is only prohibited in several coastal states. The bill passed both the House and Senate by a large margin and will be sent to the governor’s desk for ratification.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Color grading report from NAB

Dennis Kutchera has presented a review of the color grading options that were available at NAB this year in the Creative Cow magazine. He looks at Dream Systems, DaVinci Resolve, Smoke for Mac, Avid (DS and Symphony), Assimilate Scratch and Adobe Speedgrade. He notes in his conclusion:

“It is a far bigger challenge to fake your way through complex color grading than it is to pose as an editor. This is not just art, it is also science, so you need a deep understanding of video processing and calibration. You also need a very high-end monitor and external scopes in a room that is color neutral. And of course you need the magic eyes for color grading.”

Monday, May 14th, 2012

May issue of Pacific Northwest Diver available

The May issue of Pacific Northwest Diver magazine is now available for download. In the magazine this month are portfolios from Vancouver BC videographer Roy Mulder, free diver Dennis Howie from Anacortes, and Laura Tesler from Portland while the featured photographer is Jens Tröger with his macro/super-macro images.

In addition, dive travel to Grand Bahama, La Paz and aboard the Nautilus Swell are featured as well as a round-up of new features in Lightroom 4 and Adobe CS6. Pacific Northwest Diver is free to download in a pdf format.

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