International Whaling Commission (IWC) talks in Agadir, Morocco have hit a wall, with the failure of last-minute meetings to reach a compromise on demands for a new commercial hunt. The talks’ sponsor, the US, admitted yesterday that it was at an impasse, despite 30 rounds of meetings over the past two days. Sir Geoffrey Palmer, of New Zealand, said they had failed to end Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling, and that this is expected to resume next summer.
Amphibico has announced that the new ‘electronic one-push white balance’ feature is now available and shipping on Dive Buddy EVO Elite II housing models for Sony HDR-XR550V and HDR-CX550V cameras. This gives access to the white balance function via a push button on the housing hand grip.
Amphibico will be rolling the feature out across the Dive Buddy EVO Elite II range, with housings for the following cameras being the next to receive the feature: Sony HDR-XR520V, Sony HDR-XR200V, Sony HDR-CX12 and Sony HXR-MC50.
INON posted a video to YouTube which was shot with their much-anticipated X2 housing for the Panasonic GF-1. The clip features footage and stills taken with the just released Panasonic 8mm fisheye lens. The GF-1 is one of the most anticipated cameras from the emerging Micro Four Thirds standard to shoot underwater, and has been a hot topic of discussion in our forums. Wetpixel members have already captured some terrific results using the macro options, and now the wide angle lens selection is shaping up nicely. Watch the embedded video after the jump.
In other Micro Four Thirds news, DPreview posted further information about the upcoming AG-AF100 camcorder that will support existing Micro Four Thirds lenses. The camera will offer 1080 and 720 video recording in frame rates of 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25 or 23.98p with the top two rates interlaced in 1080 mode. The camcorder also features industry-standard HD SDI and XLR connectors, and looks to be an exciting addition to the Micro Four Thirds family.
Well known educators, Jack and Sue Drafahl aka “the Digital Duo” have released a new Photoshop CS5 tutorial DVD aimed specifically at underwater photographers. It runs for 16 hours, and consists of 224 individual tutorials, including (among others): Setup, Adobe Camera RAW, global corrections, selective corrections, workflow, plug-ins and animations. The DVD also covers the use of Photoshop CS3 and CS4.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has released “An Anthology of Deep-Sea Squids”. This is video footage of squids shot between 980 to 3150 feet deep, mostly in Monterey Bay. It is part of their Exploring the Ocean exhibit, which is using ROV and other high-tech methods to complete a virtual deep-sea exploration concentrating on three different missions—photographing deep sea animals, mapping underwater mountains and monitoring the surprisingly rich and varied sea life around a sunken whale carcass.
Larry King will host a two hour special telethon at 8 pm Eastern this evening to raise funds for United Way, The National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy, organizations working directly with the families, individuals and wildlife affected by the Gulf oil spill.
The special program, entitled: “DISASTER IN THE GULF: How You Can Help,” will feature an array of notables including conservationists, musicians and other celebrities. Wetpixel moderator Sterling Zumbrunn (sterlingz) traveled to the Gulf with Philippe Cousteau last week, and contributed his DSLR footage showing the impacts of the oil spill to CNN in support of the telethon. Learn more at the Larry King Live blog.
Sea & Sea have announced an early July release date for a new housing; the RDX-550D. This polycarbonate housing has been designed for the popular Canon Rebel T1i/500D and Rebel T2i/550D. It will accept ports from Sea & Sea RDX, NX and CX systems, and allows for fiber optic slave and wired TTL lighting functions.
FishTales have announced the release of a new UW Photo Simulator app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. This simulator will help underwater photographers become proficient at judging correct exposure and flash balance. The new app can be purchased from the iTunes store.
There are also two new books from FishTales press; Point and Shoot Underwater Digital Photography and Underwater Digital Photography for DSLRs. Both are available in print or eBook formats.
Simon Spear’s film “Circle of Life” is now available as an HD or iPod podcast via DiveFilm HD on iTunes. The film is about our deep connection to the ocean realm.
DiveFilm HD showcases some of the best high-definition underwater short films being produced today from all over the world. Featuring beautiful images of the underwater world, marine life large and small, interviews with interesting people, and updates on underwater imaging. Produced in association with Wetpixel and available via iTunes.
Indonesia is both one of the most biodiverse ocean environments on the planet and the world’s largest shark fishery. Shark Savers is working with Misool Eco Resort, Conservation International’s Indonesia Marine Program, WildAid, and other NGOs and eco-tourism companies on a new initiative to convince the Raja Ampat government to prohibit all fishing of sharks, mantas, and mobulas.
This is not a “feel good” petition. The petition is one piece of a comprehensive initiative to show the Raja Ampat Fisheries and Tourism Depts. that sharks, mantas and mobulas are very valuable to their local economy - ALIVE!
Sign the petition now – we need your support. Spread the word!