Professional underwater photographer Jason Bradley and Adobe’s Bill Stotzner will be conducting two digital workflow seminars for underwater photographers while diving the lush California Channel Islands on the Truth Aquatics Vision and Conception boats from August 23-27, 2009 and September 13-15, 2009.

Topics include image library management and optimization, color correction techniques, keywording, and usage tips for Photoshop and Lightroom. The class promises personalized instruction and a great chance to learn the art of refining your images while diving in the globally-renowned kelp forests. For more information, read all the seminar details...

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New underwater photographer Laurel Stewart reviews the Watershot WDS-450D, an underwater housing for the Canon Rebel XSi / 450D. This product is Watershot’s first underwater housing for SLR cameras, and is an attempt to provide a low-cost housing of a quality normally seen in higher-priced offerings. Rated to 200’, the WDS-450D is milled from a single piece of aluminum and offers full access to camera controls.

Eric Cheng offers additional notes about the housing and includes some photos taken with a sample rig. Continue reading for the full review…

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Long-time Wetpixel member Bruce Yates writes about his new Aquatica underwater housing for the Canon 5D Mk II and compares Aquatica housings to Seacam housings (Bruce was a long-time Seacam user).

The Aquatica 5DII housing feels solid and sturdy, and every part meshes precisely. It is truly a professional-grade housing. It has a moisture alarm, and I like the way the camera mounts onto a tray, and the mounting tray slides solidly on two rods and latches in place, so there is no question of it being in place. I actually prefer this to the Seacam mount, which requires that you screw and unscrew a screw into the camera’s tripod hole each time… The only build aspect for which I still give the nod to Seacam is the “fuzz” that covers the inside of Seacam housings to absorb any bits of moisture that might find its way in…

See what Bruce thinks of his new housing!

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After online petitions and unrelenting customer inquiries, Canon finally announces a firmware update to give their revolutionary 1080p ViDSLR EOS 5D Mark II manual exposure control including shutter, aperture and ISO controls. This removes the biggest criticism of the camera and enhances the camera’s standing as the premiere 1080P HD DSLR camera. Join our video forum discussion which includes some underwater clips from the camera.

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Alex Mustard and crew have returned from the Wetpixel oceanic white-tip shark expedition to the Bahamas. There is no doubt that we will start seeing dozens of images posted in the trip coverage thread in the Wetpixel forums. Jeff Hartog was first, posting a teaser image of an oceanic white-tip shark from the boat an hour out of West Palm Beach. So far, Dr. Mustard has only posted oceanic pig images, which are always very entertaining.

Keep your eyes on that thread! It’s going to be a good one.

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