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AQUATICA #1338
November 1, 2007 - 12:24PM

Our friends at Aquatica had all sorts of new products and developments at DEMA this year. As usual, Blake, Norma, Mauricio, and Jean were at the booth.

A new Canon 40D housing prototype was on display with a new finish: black matte, slightly textured, and rubberized. They haven't decided whether to stick with silver or go with the new, stealthy black yet. Aquatica's new Canon housings have a real focus on ergonomics, providing access to the back focus button and both dials from shooting position. They also said that they are going to revise the Canon 5D housing to provide the same, nice ergonomics.

A Nikon D40X housing was also on display, which is different than any other housing Aquatica has ever made. The D40X housing is all front, with just think piece for a back.

Both the 40D and D40X housing accept the Aquaview viewfinder, as will all housings in the future.

Aquatica has also released a remote control release grip (joining Seacam in having a remote product), which connects to an existing bulkhead and sends signals to the camera through an adapter cable that clips onto the inner cable of the bulkhead. Since all of Aquatica's bulkhead cables use a connector, this is a 5-second operation. The remote grip uses a standard Ikelite to Nikonos sync cord, and cable extenders are readily available. The $369 package includes the remote grip and bulkhead adapter. The cable is separate, and what's really cool is that non-Aquatica users that would like to take advantage of the remote grip can purchase a bulkhead for around $100!

A 6" dome is being reintroduced as well to provide a less-expensive, easily-packed dome port for folks who don't want to use the larger 8" dome.

Following the trend of providing simple(r) alternatives as an option, Aquatica is also selling a flat port with no focus knob.

A new video tripod prototype was also on display, with variable length TLC arms available as legs. The tripod is very light, and looks easy to pack.

Finally, Aquatica has designed a cynlindrical float with a ball on it, which can be connected via and clamp. It isn't quite as slick as a dedicated float arm system, but it looks like it will be effective. The new float can be connected to the side of any TLC arm with a custom clamp.