Nikon has announced its new flagship professional DSLR, the D3X. The new full frame sensor (24.5 megapixels) contains double the number of photosites of its predecessor, the D3, but remaining specifications are unchanged for the most part.

The camera produces 50MB 14-bit RAW files that can be converted into 140MB TIFFs. The D3X supports an ISO range from ISO 100-1600, extendable down to ISO 50 and up to 6400 equivalent with up to 5 fps continuous shooting at full resolution, or 7 fps in the 10MP DX-crop mode. The estimated street price is US$ 7,995.95. 

Pssst! Want to come swim with sperm whales in Japan?

Sperm whales are the largest carnivores on the planet. They have big teeth and can be highly inquisitive. There are inherent risks involved with interacting with large predators like sperm whales. The areas where we will be looking for sperm whales are deep ocean, with no land nearby. There can be big swells, and occasionally big fish that swim by to check us out. To join this trip, you need to be a confident/ strong swimmer/ snorkeller in deep, open ocean, and you need to be comfortable with the prospect of facing large, potentially aggressive, open-ocean animals.

Still interested? Keep on reading… ;)

I’ve used Aquatica housings in the past, having purchased and reviewed for Wetpixel an S2pro housing in 2003, and also reviewed the Kodak ProSLRn housing, and then finally the Canon 5D housing in 2006. 

Naturally, I was interested when Jean Bruneau emailed me to see if I would “test pilot” their new housing for Canon’s 21 megapixel “monster” the 1DsMkIII.  To summarize in one sentence, Aquatica has moved forward “light years” since their first DSLR housings for the D100 and S2 Pro…

Wetpixel editor Eric Cheng and professional underwater photographer Tony Wu are leading back-to-back trips to Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Fields in late 2009! Join us on the M/V Golden Dawn for diving in one of the most productive and remote locations on the planet.

Trip 1: 24 Nov (Tue)-6 Dec (Sun) 13 days/ 12 nights
Trip 2: 8 Dec (Tue)-19 Dec (Sat) 12 days/ 11 nights

Continue reading for full trip details…

The Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS) has announced the winners of their 46th Annual International Underwater Photographic Competition. Congratulations to Denis Palbiani for winning best in show for his beautiful photograph “Lady” of a hermaphroditic Mediterranean nudibranch.

Among the award winners are plenty of familiar Wetpixel names - you can view the winning photographs and videos here.

Popular Wetpixel member and filmmaker, Dean Burman, popped up on UK televisions last night on the BBC’s One Show, a half-hour eclectic magazine program that is broadcast on BBC 1 each week night at 7pm, which attracts audiences of over 5 million. Dean was interviewed by Miranda Krestovnikoff and followed on a dive off the Welsh coast for a feature on the plight of sharks in British Waters.

For those who missed the show, you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer during the next week (episode: Monday (24/11/08), fast forward to 23:55 to see Dean’s piece), iPlayer is currently only available to UK IP addresses. 

Join us at Black Sand Resort in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, from March 1-6, 2009!

About 8 of us will be staying at Black Sand before the official start of the Ultimate Indonesia expedition, which means we still have a few spots free for those of you who might want to join us in some of the best critter diving on the planet.

For more information, please . Hope to see you in Indo!

Join Berkley White (Backscatter), David Fleetham, Dan Baldocchi (Light & Motion), and Mary Lynn Price (DiveFilm) for the Bonaire Digital Shootout 2009!  From June 6-13, 2009, we’ll work with you to improve your underwater photo and video skills.  Learn the latest digital imaging techniques from some of the industries top professionals while diving the rich waters of Bonaire.

Equipment sponsors Sea & Sea, Light & Motion, Ikelite, Ultralight, and Aquatica will have demo gear available for you to use, and at the end of the week, we’ll give out prizes for the best images and videos of the week!

Dear y’all: I’ve revamped the expeditions and gear pages so that you can see (in a much more organized fashion) what trips and swag we offer here at Wetpixel.

As many of you know, Wetpixel started selling t-shirts not long ago, and we just announced the pre-sale of our collector’s edition archival boxes for Wetpixel Quarterly magazine. We also continue to run trips to photographically-productive dive destinations around the world. Check ‘em out!

Join professional photographers DAVID FLEETHAM and SHAWN HEINRICHS for a photo and video shootout at one of the most energized shark dives in the world in one of the world’s top dive destinations – the Fiji islands!

Aqua-Trek’s Ultimate Shark Encounter™ provides a stage for success for those once-in-a-lifetime shark images and videos. Nurse sharks, lemon sharks, silvertip, whitetip, blacktip, grey reef, bull sharks (huge) and tiger sharks (enormous) all frequent this amazing dive.

Dates are April 16-25, 2009. $3,250 per person including airfare from Los Angeles. Continue reading for full details…