A mini review of Lightroom Plugins SoftProof plug-in. Soft proofing is a process that allows you to view images on your computer screen, with the same profile applied to them that will be used during printing. The idea is that in a color-managed workflow, this should give the user a pretty clear idea of how the image will eventually look printed on paper using an ICC profile. This plug-in allows the soft proofing of images from within Adobe Lightroom.
Ultralight Control Systems (ULCS) has released two new mounting options for the GoPro HD camera housing. Initially debuted at DEMA, the GoPro HD Ball mount cage, fits over the GoPro HD camera housing. It serves to prevent loss of the camera if the housings plastic mounting tab breaks. The ball attachment allows for the housing to be attached to a still camera housing, for example, giving the option of recording on video what you are shooting.
The other new attachment option is the AD-GO, which allows the GoPro housing to attach to a tripod or other mounting with a ball fitting. However, It does not offer the protection that the mount cage does.
Hugyfot has released some early CAD renderings of their new housing for the Nikon D7000 camera. In common with all other Hugyfot housings, it will be equipped with the HugyCheck leak detection system. New features on this housing will include a sled camera mounting system, fiber optic connections for TTL strobe control, a dovetails handle mounting system and a built-in HDMI in/out connection. The latter will allow for the use of a large external monitor.
The company plans to have working prototypes in early January, and have committed to providing a housing for the forthcoming Wetpixel D7000 housing review.
Apple has released RAW update 3.5, which adds support for several new cameras. Included in these are the Nikon D7000 SLR, COOLPIX P7000, Canon PowerShot G12 and Panasonic LUMIX GF2 and GH2. Apple has also published a full list of RAW formats supported by OSX v10.6.
The RAW update is available via software update or by direct download.
FishTales has released an iPhone/iPod/iPad App to help identify Nudibranchs. Nudibranch Wizard for iPhone and iPod Touch and Nudibranch Wizard HD for iPad are both available for immediate download. The App has been written by Wetpixel member Steve Fish with help from several Wetpixel members who beta tested and offered valuable suggestions. It has a built-in database of 100 Indo-Pacific Nudis with more to be added later as free updates. It also has two different search methods and even Nudibranch games.
The iPhone/iPod Touch version and the iPad version are both available as paid Apps on iTunes.
Canon has released firmware version 1.0.8 for the EOS 60D SLR. This aims to fix exposure problems when using internal or external flash with the following lenses: EF300/4 L IS USM, EF28-135/3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF75-300/4-5.6 IS USM and EF100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM.
The update is available for download from Canon’s site.
As of 15 December 410 MEPs have now signed the Written Declaration on shark finning. This is well over the 369 signatures we needed for a simple majority and the Written Declaration will be announced in the next plenary session of the European Parliament. All of you who wrote to the MEPs did make a difference. It is important to point out how much of an impact this legislation can make: one in three of shark fins in the trade are from EU registered boats. This may, in effect, stop this and potentially reduce the supply by one-third.
It is also unfortunately necessary to sound a note of caution on two fronts. Firstly, this means that the we still have a long road to go until we have legislation that forces boats to land the full shark (and makes the trade uneconomic). We need to keep the motivation and pressure up to make this happen. We have proved that we can make a difference with the legislators in Europe, so let’s keep doing so. Secondly, cutting supply is only one part. The hardest task is to cut demand, and this ultimately is where the survival of sharks will rest. Please add your support campaigns like Sharksavers’ “I pledge”.
Against all this, this is possibly the best Christmas present possible: A potential to reduce this heinous trade. Thank you all!
The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS) has announced the results of its forty-eighth International Underwater Photographic Competition. The 2010 competition was judged by Eric Cheng, Jason Bradley and Berkeley White and the overall winner was Todd Winner with his portfolio of cage diving images.
Once again, Wetpixel members were well represented in the placings and many congratulations to all the winners. LAUPS has hosted a gallery with all the winning images.
Sharksavers reports that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Senate has voted to outlaw the shark fin trade. The original bill was introduced by Representative Diego Tenorio Benavente into the CNMI House of Representatives, where it was approved on November 17th. The bill need to be reconciled and a slightly different version approved by the House before being signed into law by Governor Benigno R. Fitial.
The landmark bill recognizes sharks to be “an essential element of the ocean’s ecosystem” because of their role as apex predator of the sea. It seeks to stop the severe over-fishing of sharks that occurs worldwide to feed the demand for shark fin soup. The bill makes it “unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute shark fins in the CNMI”. The bill is similar to that recently passed in the State of Hawaii. If signed into law, the CNMI will join another Pacific island nation, Palau, which has also taken a legislative stance to protect sharks.
The new Panasonic LUMIX GH2 does not allow users to shoot 3D video with the LUMIX 3D lens. However, videos have been posted on YouTube (Red/Cyan glasses necessary), showing the GH2 shooting 3D video. The work-around seems to be a simple one; cover the lens’s electrical contacts with tape or piece of paper.
Full instructions are as follows: First, enable shoot without lens in the main menu. Then put tape or a small wedge of thin paper over the contacts of the 3D lens. Attach the lens, and the camera will run normally but the lens seems to be delivering a proper stereoscopic image from it’s dual lenses.