James Wiseman discusses the advantages of use strobes with digital cameras.

James Wiseman discusses how to get started in underwater digital photography.

Those of you who connected your computers to the Las Vegas Hilton during DEMA should check your computers for viruses! From Tim Baskin, posted o­n the uw-photo mailing list:

Just a little FYI. I was at the Hilton in Las Vegas this last week during DEMA. I logged o­n the high speed Internet offered in the hotel room. Lo and behold I got hit with the first virus I had encountered. It appears it was located o­n the hotel sever and infected any computer the logged o­n that had sharing turned o­n. My mistake. Luckily my virus software caught it in time. Just FYI. (I got a a derivation of the Nimda virus the comes from network connections)

Wetpixel's DEMA 2002 Las Vegas show report has been posted! Both Dave and I worked hard to get this up so quickly, and it's fairly comprehensive. If you notice any large gaps, please write to us and let us know! We'll update the report and credit you. :) [read the wetpixel report] Jeff Farris, over at digitaldiver.net, has also posted a DEMA recap. Rodale's ScubaDiving.com also has DEMA show coverage o­nline.

We've just posted a review of Ikelite's Fuji S2 Pro Digital SLR Housing, by James Wiseman: "For a digital shooter who is 'moving up' from a consumer camera to an SLR, there will be a lot to learn but you will also literally laugh with joy o­n your first dive with this setup. The camera's instantaneous response when you press the shutter is like a dream come true."
[read the review]

Ikelite's clear polycarbonate housing for the Fuji S2 Pro Digital SLR.

1. Image uploads now supported!
Forum members may now upload images to our server! Each file is limited to 50Kb, so be sure to downsize your images appropriately. :)

2. James Wiseman, Moderator
Please congratulate James Wiseman (jamesw) who is now a forum moderator! He was gracious enough to volunteer to help us out, and is responsible for more than 20% of the total forum posting volume (1000+ posts, so far!).

3. Introduce yourselves!
In an attempt to build more community here, it would be great to have an overview of who is actually frequenting wetpixel. If you have a minute, please go over to the forums and introduce yourselves (click here to be taken to the introduction thread)!

Todd Mintz, a frequent wetpixel forum contributor, has written about his experiences with the Aquatica A5000 Housing for the Nikon Coolpix 5000:

"I had read of Aquatica service problems in the past, but I found their service to be excellent. A new owner bought the company roughly a year and a half ago, and he has been working very hard to dispel these past ghosts. Blake kept me updated o­n the progress of the housing's development with both photographs and phone calls, and was more than willing to answer all of my questions. Aquatica's service quality exceeded my expectations."
[full article here]

Everyone in the dive industry is running off to the DEMA (Dive Equipment & Marketing Association) show in Las Vegas this week. Wetpixel will be there too - wandering around and getting the latest info for you o­n underwater digital camera products. If you are there and happen to recognize Eric or Dave at the show, pull them over and let them know you wetpixel (Dave is the really tall o­ne). Also please check out a sponsor booth, Marine Camera at Booth #1800B (Showing the New Nexus D100 Housing!). And don't forget to check out all the manufacturers that make wetpixel possible.

First update: Eric's People Journal We're still working o­n the equipment/booth overview, and hope to have that up by the end of the weekend! In the meantime, talk about it in our forums!

The old forum software (which served us fairly well in Wetpixel's infancy) has been retired! A new, more powerful forum has been set up in its place. This o­ne scales well with users.

It's worth noting that the old forum had 844 topics, 4555 posts, and 484 members at retirement time. You guys rock!

*UPDATE* User accounts and messages have been migrated over from the old forum.