GOLDEN, Colorado (March 8, 2004) PENTAX U.S.A., Inc. has announced a second generation fully-immersable* digital camera -- the new Optio43WR. Featuring 4.0 effective megapixels, a powerful 2.8X zoom lens, and a JIS Class 7 waterproof rating that keeps the Optio43WR watertight even when the camera is rinsed, splashed or submersed in water. The Optio43WR may be immersed up to three feet for less than 30 minutes but should not be operated underwater. Although it is not an underwater camera, it could be the perfect camera for documenting dive trips from the dive deck.

A quick addendum to the Sea Rovers coverage:

I was excited to see Aquatica's 300D Canon Digital Rebel housing at Underwater Photo Tech's booth. In particular, I was excited about Aquatica's new E-TTL to TTL bridge. You can see where the board has been mounted in the photo on the left. Missing from the board are the actual chips that do the processing, but I was told that the chips are being programmed this very weekend, and will be shipping very soon.

As of today there is no reliable web information on this subject, but there will certainly will be, as soon as we get a review to post up on Wetpixel. Also keep your eyes on Underwater Photo Tech's site and Aquatica's site.

Hello, readers. Over the weekend, I had the great pleasure of giving a seminar on digital underwater photography to a broad audience at the Boston Sea Rovers 50th Anniversary Clinic. The Sea Rovers are a not-for-profit volunteer organization dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of the marine environment, and are among the oldest of the underwater photographic society. While at the show, I received tremendous validation that what we are doing here at Wetpixel is working; numerous people stopped me in the hallways to thank me for the site and to ask various questions about equipment and techniques. It was very nice to meet you all! There are some photographs of the Sea Rovers Clinic on my website.

Eric Cheng's coverage of the Boston Sea Rovers 50th Anniversary Clinic, where he gave a talk on the current state of digital underwater photography.

Hi, guys. Hop on over to the Photo of the Week and rate the images in contest #26, if you have a moment. POTW #26 expires today, and participants need your votes!

RAW vs. JPG Feature, by James Wiseman: "As the RAW format becomes widely available, many digital shooters wonder if this format is “better” than shooting JPEG - of course, “better” often depends on the circumstances. This short column will describe the difference between the two formats and pros and cons of shooting one versus the other..." (written for a beginner audience)

Inon Japan announces development of the UFL-165AD Underwater Fisheye Conversion Lens, the latest addition of the AD Mount Lens series, which includes the UWL-105AD Wide Conversion Lens and the UCL-165AD Close-up Lens. The UFL-165AD is a trim, compact underwater fisheye conversion lens with 165 degree maximum field of view. Focus range from the very front edge of the dome to get as close to the subject as physically possible. Close focus ability and extreme depth of field enable stunning wide angle and “wide macro” (close focus wide angle) imaging, not previously possible with housed digicams.

Ocean Brite Systems and Jonah Housings are announcing the immediate availability of the Jonah Canon 10D Housing -- ready to ship, immediately. The Jonah Canon 10D Housing is available for the reasonable price of $1799.

Olympus Japan has announced the PT-023 housing for their flagship C-8080 Digicam, and the PT-022 housing for the C-760/770 Ultra Zoom. Like other housings in the PT series, the PT-023 features double o-rings and an optional PPO-05 port for the WCON-08D wide-angle adapter.

Also new is the Olympus "Warehouse Emon marine 3" software package, which merges EXIF data and dive computer logs.

Canon has announced the WP-DC20 housing for the PowerShot S1 IS digicam, the WP-DC 900 housing for the PowerShot A80, the WP-DC 800 housing for PowerShot S400, S410, and S500 digicams, and the WP-DC 700 housing for PowerShot A60 and A70. All housings are rated to a maximum depth of 40m and feature an integrated diffuser for the internal strobe.

Thanks to our partner Digideep for the housing news!

The prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2004 will accept digital images on CD for the first time this year. Closing date Friday 2nd April 2004.