Nikon released firmware 1.01 for Nikon D2x and D2Hs, which makes improvements to auto focus, fixes an AF assist bug when using certain Speedlights, improves flash performance and fixes a manual white balance bug.

They also issued a voluntary recall of some EN-EL3 batteries (for D50, D70 and D100) due to a shorting/overheating problem.

In other news, Nikon announced a new suite of full-frame cameras! (just kidding)

PDN and Rob Galbraith both have interesting first-look articles about Aperture, Apple’s upcoming photo management program.  While we can expect many full-blown reviews to be coming out in the next month or two, these are worth reading if you just can’t wait:

[Bringing Aperture into focus, by Rob Galbraith]
[Hands-on with Aperture, by David Schloss]

Thanks to the advice of various Wetpixel staff, we’ve restructured the forums, grouping them by content. Hopefully, you will no longer have to hunt around to find the forum you’re interested in reading (instead, you’ll have to scroll just a bit further).

Entries from across the globe are already being invited for the photo and video competitions of SUBIOS, the annual underwater festival of the islands of Seychelles.

The winners of the competition will receive airfare and accommodation for an exclusive Seychelles holiday, offering visitors a chance to explore this tropical getaway known for its sparkling blue water, white sandy beaches and lush mountainsides, in addition to its excellent diving.

The SUBIOS photo and video competition is an opportunity for both professional and amateur photographers and filmmakers to capture stunning shots of the natural underwater world at work. The yearly event, which in 2006 will be held from March 6-12, continually produces a number of impressive visuals taken in Seychelles and other places around the world – some focusing on sharks, turtles and whales, while others delve into the often curious relationship between organisms along colourful coral reefs.

Entry forms and additional details about the competition can be downloaded at www.subios.sc (continue reading for full press release)

Our friends over at FiNS Magazine are running a contest for a free dive trip to Seaventures, a converted oil platform for divers and photographers in Sabah, Malaysia.  The five questions can be found on FiNS’ website (scroll down and look for “Seaventures Contest Question").  The answers are found in a series of .pdf articles on Sabah, and the answer and entry form is here.

It’s a little confusing, but you can win a trip.  :)

At this year’s DEMA show Seacam introduced a pair of wet diopters custom designed for their macro ports.  The MacroMate and the Seacam diopter are really different tools, and owning one does not preclude having the other in your arsenal. The MacroMate will go to 2:1, whereas I would estimate the Seacam #4 probably goes to about 1.3:1 magnification. The #4 is available now, packaged in a neoprene case and priced at $295.

I took a pair of the Seacam diopters with me last week on a shoot in St. Vincent. Actually, the vis was pretty bad because of an unseasonable amount of rain, so I spent most of the week shooting 100mm macro subjects, and truly enjoying it…

Congratulations to Wetpixel member JP Trenque (better known here at Wetpixel as frogmansub) for winning the BBC Photographer of the Year competition. His picture of schooling barracuda was taken at Ras Mohammed in Egypt with the Nikon D100 and 10.5mm lens and was selected as the winner from a massive 12000 entries, by a public vote on the BBC Website. On the way to the final JP’s picture also won the Environment category (which itself attracted 2000+ entries). His prize is £400 towards a photographic assignement for the BBC website. 

Now for something completely different - at least for most Wetpixel readers: a deepwater photography contest.  “As part of the 11th International Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, to be held at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton on 9 – 14th July 2006, a flagship underwater image and video competition is being launched. The competition, sponsored by BP and Kongsberg Maritime, will seek entries in 5 categories with the aim of showcasing the best biological and technical images and video clips from the deep sea. Entries from industry, scientists, support staff and professional photographers are all welcomed.”

Wetpixel readers will be pleased to read that entries will NOT become property of the contest organization and will only be used for promotional purposes.  This competetion is being held under the auspices of S.E.R.P.E.N.T - the Scientific and Environmental ROV Partnership Using Existing Industrial Technology.  Continue reading to view the 5 contest categories, prizes, and about the judging panel.

Straight from the Antibes Festival: there is a new Seacam-designed strobe called the SEAFLASH 250 digital, which will support Nikon i-TTL and Canon e-TTL with 250 watt-seconds of power.  It has selectable bulbs for two different color temperatures, and has manual power settings in additional to the two flavors of TTL. No replaceable battery pack, but Seacam assures us that the internal battery will be good for years.  Continue reading for full specifications.

Our friends over at UwP Magazine have released issue #27 (Nov/Dec), which includes full reviews of Nikon D2x housings by Charles Hood and Ken Knezick, workflow techniques by Paul Kay, James Wiseman, Alex Mustard, David Nardini and Mark Webster, a macro article by Cor Bosman, a review of the magic filter by Mike Veitch, and more!