Steve Douglas reviews CrumplePop’s ToneGrade plug-in for Final Cut Pro X. This color correction app uses a processing technique similar to that used in high dynamic range photography, allowing the user to add tone mapping to the image, increasing or maintaining details in both shadows and highlights.
The plug-in is specifically designed to work with Apple’s Final Cut Pro X.
Nauticam has announced details of their housing for the Sony NEX-7 EVIL camera including renderings of the design. The company state that the NA-NEX7 will support all the new controls on the NEX-7, including the triple command wheels. The housing controls are designed to be operated by the users right thumb, without moving hands on the housing. The camera’s focus lock is accessible and a lever has been added to allow the user to switch between the electronic viewfinder and the LCD screen. The housing allows the LCD to be angled for easier viewing.
The NA-NEX-7 housing will be available from 15 January, 2012 at a retail price of $1,850.
Plongeur’s Fabrice Charleux has posted a test video using the GoPro HERO2 underwater in Tahiti complete with a bit part played by Wetpixel Publisher Eric Cheng. He summarizes his findings thus:
“The HD Hero 2 is more efficient for underwater purposes and at the end of the day, compared to original HD Hero. Having a 170° wide angle mode is very useful in R7, and for sure, the sequences are a bit sharper than before. For underwater usage, you absolutely need a modification to get sharp and clear images. The BlurFix may be the best housing modification for GoPro (HD 1 or 2) and offers the way to get several different filters for creativity or depending on conditions.
Compared to HD 1, the new Hero 2 has a different white balance for underwater videos. I had to correct the white balance in post production for some images.
GoPro HD Hero 2 definitely rocks!”
Guy Harvey, Wyland, Jim Abernethy and Sylvia Earle narrate in an alternative trailer for the shark conservation documentary “This is Your Ocean: Sharks”. This year, the film was the winner of the McGillivray-Freeman Films Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking. To quote Wyland:
“I think this is the greatest time in history to be alive because this is the time when we decide once and for all that we are going to protect the oceans, we’re going to protect the planet, we’re going to be a voice for animals like sharks.”
Recsea has announced the release of a housing for the Canon S100 compact camera. Featuring an aluminum construction, the housing has access to the camera’s front control dial via an external control ring around the housing’s fixed port. It also has a rear command dial, mirroring that on the camera and an external mount for fiber optic strobe triggering.
The housing is available now with a retail price of around $880.
Wetpixel Senior Moderator Mike Veitch presents a review of the recently announced tutorial DVD, Lightroom 3 for the Underwater Photographer. Lightroom is increasingly the tool of choice for photographers in general, and although there is a lot of information available on it, there is little specific to using it with underwater photography. Mike comments:
“With general Lightroom tutorials, there are no examples of getting rid of unsightly backscatter or dealing with blue tints and hues that are common in underwater photography. By showing samples of both macro and wide-angle scenes, Doug really brings to light what we can do with this program in conjunction with our very specialized field.”
The Globe and Mail has reported that Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have informed the World Trade Organization they will no longer import or export “raw, tanned and dressed fur skin of harp seals and their pups”, with supporting documents saying that the ban was effective from August 2011. Fur industry officials were quoted in 2006 as saying 90 per cent of Canadian pelts go to Russia and China, so if the trade is banned by them, many environmental groups feel the trade is commercially finished.
Aditech has released a type III Mangrove housing for Sony camcorders. Constructed of aluminum and Delrin, it features the LANC control produced by HGTV Underwater Development Group, which give access to almost all camcorder controls including manual white balance. The MVHS-L and MVHS-XL housing are compatible with almost all Sony camcorders, including the XR160, CX series and PJ10/30/50.
It is available now at $2,327 for the “L” version and $2,365 for the XL version.
Beneath The Sea has put out a final call for entries for their 2012 competition. The contest has categories for still photography, videography, photographic art and humor. The winners will be announced at the Film Festival held over the weekend of Beneath The Sea’s Oceans, Dive and Travel Exposition, 23-25 March, 2012, at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Full details of entry categories and procedures are available on the Beneath The Sea website and the final deadline for entries is 31 December 2011.
Wishing the Wetpixel community happiness and joy over the Holiday season. We hope that you are doing the things that you enjoy, with people who you care for over the next few weeks. May Santa bring all those underwater imaging items that you really want!