DEMA 2005 Show Report
Equinox Underwater Products, long known for their bright yellow, versatile video housings, are in the digital still market. TJ Mansfield proudly showed me the SEASPY, Equinox’s customizable digital point & shoot camera housing for only $325, and also their new arrival, the SEAPIX 5.0. This compact little camera/housing combo boasts such features as a Sony 5.25 mega-pixel CCD processor, Macro, a rechargeable Li-ion battery, and movie mode to name a few. And just to “wet” your appetite even more, they have an 8 mega-pixel version coming out in January 2006.
I had the absolute pleasure of being a Fisheye employee for the week, and I have to say that Kenji Ohmura was a wonderful boss. It would be hard to find a nicer person, and Fisheye products are definitely top of the line. A newly minted Fisheye expert (and admittedly now a bit biased), I switched into sell mode and showed off six new products to the scores of folks who came by:
1. The new FIX LED48 DX light system. The same body as the FIX LIGHT HG20DX, but with 48 super-bright LED’s and 8 AA batteries. Use it for a focus light, for macro photography, or put a handle on it and use it as a dive light.
2. The Brightstar HID Diving Torch. Light, (as in not heavy) rechargeable Li-ion battery, whoa-mama 21 or 24 watt HID bulb, and your choice of spot or wide-angle beam.
3. The FIX Diving Pocket LED light and optional mounting bracket. This mini aluminum focus light packs a punch, and it’s also handy in a BCD pocket to use as a backup.
4. FIX Rotary Hot-shoe Base – affix this to your hot-shoe on your housing and mount your new FIX LED48 DX – how convenient is that?
5. The UK Light Cannon rechargeable battery set. Is your Cannon weighing you down? Get the lead out! The Fisheye Li-ion battery set includes the lightweight Fisheye Li-ion battery (used in the FIX HG20DX) and charger, plus an adapter to fit it into your UK Light Cannon. Much better…
6. The Seatool Sony DHR-HC1 housing in a Standard and Deluxe version. They did their homework on this one – its lightweight polycarbonate form hugs the camera, making it the smallest HC1 housing out there. The controls are easy to use, and they even installed a mirror for easy viewing of the LCD screen. It’s also customizable if you want to use the bigger battery. Check this one out – even the big guns were coming by to admire this little gem. There are even the faintest whisperings of a 5D housing in the works….maybe soon???
Pamela Mazey Mertz at Gates was showing off three new black beauties: The PC II - which houses the Sony PC1000, the Prototype HC1/A1U – for the Sony HDR-HC1 and HVR-A1U, and the FX1/Z1 – for the Sony Handycam HDR-FX1 and HVR-Z1. Another feature was the Squid 50 – a cute but rugged little video light who’s big brother, the Squid 100, might be getting a little jealous. And coming up…..housings for the Panasonic HGVX200 and the Canon XCEL HD.
Ikelite – my own personal investment plan – is always a treat. David Haas, Roger Carlson…all those guys are a lot of fun. The commotion this year is all about the DS-80, Ikelite’s new digital strobe that is midway between the DS-50 and the DS-125. Looks good to me – manual and TTL, Pre & Non-preflash settings, LED modeling light, built-in diffuser, 4 AA batteries, and LED screen…should I go on? Can’t wait to see the final version. Also on the menu is Ikelite’s new 8” dome – made by them, for them. Look for that in November. And last we have their latest version of the Canon G6 housing – now new and improved with TTL! What about the 5D, you ask? Well, (pause for effect) let’s just say it’s coming soon….
Inon was showcasing two items this year, a prototype X-2 housing for the Canon 20D (looks nice), and their new D-2000W strobe. Steve Philbrook showed me that the difference between the D-2000W and the earlier version of the same strobe is the addition of a 5-pin sync connector for DLSR and film cameras...gotta love it! The X-2 prototype is still just that…and there is no expected release date as of yet. However, to note, this housing has a magnetic manual focus ring – a verrry nice feature.