Page 1: Day 1 coverage.
Page 2: [Around the show] (http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/wetpixel-coverage-of-the-boot-show-2012/P1/).
Page 3:Around the show (below).

Day 2 kicked off with an early meeting with Sealux. Arno Thiel and Jürgen Ostertag were on hand to show me through the Sealux range. They are offering their new Matrix video light set up, giving a possible total of 4 light heads with a choice of 1600 or 2200 lumen outputs. The lights are adjustable in two steps, and have burn times of 90 or 70 minutes respectively 9for two heads). Color temperature is 5600°K and retail prices vary, with the 2200 lumen adjustable version retailing at €598, while the 1600 lumen non-adjustable one sells at €472. Battery packs can be single or doubled up at €899 and €1150 respectively.

Arno then showed me renderings of their universal video housing. Although not in production yet, this will be available for all small camcorders and weighs in at 2.5kg. Retail price will be in the region of €1399. Sealux has also released a housing for the Panasonic AG 3DAI camera that has been used to produce footage used on German Television in a program called “Die Azoren 3D”. With this in mind, the company has also released a housing for the consumer Sony TD-10 and its pro version sibling, the HXR-NX3D1.

Lastly, Sealux has produced two compact camera trays with locline arms. The bigger version with dual arms retails at €88.

While the smaller with a single arm retails at €65.

Arno admitted that Sealux has always had a bias towards Nikon still cameras, and with this in mind, he plans to support the D4 and D800 as they become available.

Rollei, as new company using the venerable name, has launched a series of POV camcorders. The Bullet HD is only waterproof to 10 meters, so is of limited functionality to an underwater videographer, despite the very attractive €199 price point.

The Action cam, which has a waterproof rating to 30m and provides full 1080p HD output is certainly a contender in the field of POV cams. Featuring an 170° field of view and with a wireless remote control (which isn’t waterproof), LCD screen and a 4Gb SD card included in the package, the retail price of €299 seems very competitive.

Tobias Güttler of Rollei let slip that the company will have a new version of the Action Cam released in May/June that will be waterproof to 60m, with a remote that will also be waterproof to 10 meters.

Helmut Goerlitz of HGTV and Juan Sentis Panés of Mangrove were sharing a stand at the show this year. Helmut had mentioned that the current series of Sony camcorders have a firmware bug that means that the camera can either have video out or LANC control, but not both at the same time. For housed cameras, this presents some serious problems, as you can either view the camera’s output or access its controls, but not both.

Helmut has fashioned an elegant solution for the Sony CX700, by using the LANC to swithch the camera on, but then using the infra red remote control function to access the camera’s controls. This has been incorporated into Mangrove housings. He has even written an infra red script for manual white balance:

As the camera will not deliver any information via its video out, Mangrove have added a recording status light as well, so the user knows whether the camera is recording or not.

The Mangrove family of housings are all universal fitting, with different sized bodies available for bigger/smaller cams. There is also a choice of front end, the Pro version that accepts third-party optic ports, like those from Fathom Imaging, or one with a flat port to which wet lenses can be attached.

The housings controls can be adapted to work with Sony, Canon, Panasonic and JVC cameras, and this includes the Canon HF G10.

Jose then spent some time introducing a new video light family. The VC4L6 offers an even spread 4380 lumen beam via a two step adjustment. Burn time is about 65 minutes on full and 130 on 60% power. In addition, the company is offering a 2280 lumen version entitled the VC2L6. Both torches have a 5000°K color temperature, and they retail at €675 and €565 respectively.

In addition, both lights are available as umbilical versions, either with switching on the light head, or on the battery pack. All light heads are completely interchangeable and have a wide variety of mounting options.

Before leaving the stand, Helmut and Juan showed me an exciting development that they have made with the Sony NEX FS100 pro camcorder. Helmut has designed a wired LANC remote that allows full control of the numerous camera functions. It does this by assigning “levels” so that rather then needing 36 buttons to access all camera controls, it needs 6 buttons via 6 levels. The camera and its remote will fit into the existing Mangrove housings, so it is likely that they will be offering this soon.

At DEMA in 2011, Helmut showed some miniature LCD screens, some of which have HDMI (HD) inputs. Once these are housed, they will be great monitors. Bodo Sutter had an early prototype of the housings for them on the BS Kinetics stand, although the hunt is still on for a reliable solution to running a 12 core HDMI cable through a housing.

Underwater imaging equipment supplier Marlin has samples of its products from Aquatica, Gates and Easydive amongst others.

The Leo 1 universal SLR housing was on display, and offers compatibility with over 31 different Nikon and Canon SLR cameras. This is achieved by swapping the camera tray, and returning a management circuit to Easydive for reprogramming.

Other options include the optional addition of video controls (onto the housing’s left side), additional lighting trigger ports, customized control options, mechanical shutter release and “drive” mode control, and a housing back with an integrated LCD monitor.

There is also a 200 meter depth rated version available. Retail for the photo version is €2,149 and €2,499 for the video version.

Matthias Koch of Green Force Germany was showing their new Squid 1850 video light. Featuring a much warmer color temperature of 4100°K, the new head ups the output to 1850 lumens. Crucially as well, the circuitry driving the LEDs is voltage tolerant and will run on voltages from 6 to 18V. This opens up many different power options. The lights have a two stage power control.

Green Force’s Hybrid 8 set up for compact cameras will give one hour of burn at full power. The head itself is €365 for those who wish to upgrade, and the Hybrid 8 is €799 (reduced to €699 for a limited period).

Renown underwater photographer Kurt Amlser gave a short talk on the Seacam stand during the afternoon.