HD Magazine published an article on the use of Canon 5D Mk2 video footage being used on a BBC drama, and subsequently received a call from the BBC technology department seeking to emphasize that DSLRs are not on the BBC’s approved camera list and that they were being considered on a ‘case by case” basis.

Ian Potts, BBC Executive Producer said:

“Cameras like the 5D and the 7D are going through our R&D departments and our simulations but at the moment they are not cleared for use mainly because of their aliasing issues. Moire patterns are also a concern but these aren’t new and cameras like the Arri D20 and D21 also show them. But the fact that the 5D produces a 22 megapixel image then brings that down to 2 for video without the necessary processing and filtering does concern us but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

He went on to say that the BBC is in the process of a tendering project to approve new HD cameras, and that anything with less than 50mb/s data rates was being looked at “unfavorably”.

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Voting for the Wetpixel 2011 Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design contest finishes tomorrow (11 October 2010). The standard of the entries has been so high and the rankings so tight, that any votes cast now could make a huge difference to the outcome of the contest: So please go over to the voting page and vote for your favorites. The winning designer will receive an all-inclusive, minimum 10-day dive trip for two people in Raja Ampat and their tag will adorn the BCDs of visiting divers from all over the world throughout 2011.

Your votes will make a difference, so please vote now.

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The third annual Ocean in Focus Conservation Photo Contest has announced it’s winning entries. The competition received more than 300 image submissions from more than 80 photographers around the world. The winner was Guy Marcovaldi with a shot of a free diver removing sea turtle by-catch from a discarded fishing net. The net was discovered drifting off the coast of Bahia, Brazil, days after a storm in which 17 sea turtles were entangled and killed.

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The recent photographic show, Photokina organized an Underwater Imaging World, with a testing and diving pool in the central area. Various underwater photographic equipment manufacturers were invited to present their products in a water tank on the back of a truck with a number of observation windows added to both sides. Despite limited space in the tank, Marc Hillesheim was able to demonstrate some underwater model shooting techniques, working with a model, Anne Aselmann.

Nauticam offered their NA-NEX5 housing with a Nikonos 15mm wide angle lens for the demonstration and Nauticam owner, Edward Lai, got in the water himself to shoot the images.

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The Wetpixel Raja Ampat entry tag design competition 2010 is in its last stages, with only a few more days to vote for your favorite entries. The winning design will adorn all visitors BCD’s when they visit the popular diving destination in 2011, and the winner will receive a all-inclusive, minimum 10-day dive trip for two people to Raja Ampat.

Voting for the entries ends on 11 October, so please head on over and vote if you haven’t done so already.

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