While wandering the aisles, I stopped to chat with the folks we worked with during the Digital Shootout Palau last year.  Sam Scott was at DEMA representing Sam’s Tours Palau, and Bill Acker was there for Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers, where Wetpixel video moderator Mike Veitch currently serves as photo and video pro.

Regarding Yap, if you’d like to spend some time there receiving photo instruction, check out Photo Week 2007 (June 22-28) with Mike Veitch and others!

AquaVideo flexible housing designs are built using heavy-duty cylinders with custom-drilled holes for control placement.  At their booth, they had on display a new underwater housing for the Sony FX-7 camcorder.  A cool feature: Michael Hastings pointed out that batteries for lighting actually fit inside the housing itself for a compact package.

Exciting news!  Accessory viewfinders are being more and more popular!  Aquatica was proudly displaying a pro-production model of their new AquaView viewfinder, which featured a large, bright, clear picture.  Also on display was the A30D housing for Canon’s EOS 30D digital SLR.  I am impressed that the A30D’s ergonomic improvements over Aquatica’s earlier housings for Canon SLRs.

Amphibico had two prototype underneath domed glass.  One was the Endeavor, an underwater housing for the new Sony V1/FX7 camcorder.  The other was an EVO2 housing for the Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD camcorder with integrated LCD screen on the back of the housing.  See the Video Products Roundup for more coverage on Amphibico.

While some European shows like the Antibes Festival area traditionally about getting the industry together for non-stop drinking and debauchery annual social time, DEMA is usually more about business.  Still, not everyone can avoid social contact during the four-day event.

Drinks night was a roaring success.  With an estimated total attendance of 50 or so, we had numerous members of Wetpixel there as well as representatives from much of the photography, videography, and travel industry…

The DEMA Show 2006 came and went in a flash! Wetpixel video moderator Scubadru was there to cover the video products over the 4-day period and has written a comprehensive overview of the products shown and announced at the show this year.  There were many innovative accessories for the video housings, and the move to High Definition is even more evident as manufacturers no longer even display Standard Definition products. Join Drew as he runs through the products he saw at DEMA this year…

Steve Philbrook and Takuya Torii were at INON‘s booth showing off the new INON X-2 housing for the Canon 10D, 20D, and 30D digital SLRs.  With its external gearing and magnetic focus ring, the X-2 has a look unlike any other SLR housing on the market.  The X-2 ships at the end of November and is built to deliver (3-4 lead time).

INON also showed its Z-240 and D-2000 strobes, along with lots of accessories.

L C Ng manned 10bar‘s booth, showing off an almost unlimited number of underwater housing and lighting accessories.  New for this year was a flexible aluminum housing designed for the Canon 20D/30D/5D and Nikon D200 digital SLR.  10bar also offers housings for the Nikon D80 and Canon 400D in plastic, plug housings for topside speedlights.

Lee Peterson and Tom Harman of Nexus USA and Marine Camera Distributors showed off a prototype of a Nexus housing for the Nikon D80.  Also on display were Nexus housings for the Canon 5D and 1D/1Ds Mk II, and Nikon D70s, D200, and D2X. As most other manufacturers have done, Nexus has also come out with an accessory viewfinder option, incorporating an INON angled viewfinder into its housings.  It was mounted on a D200 housing at the show.

Lawrence Groth and Kat were at the Great White Adventures / Shark Diving International booth presenting shark trips to Guadalupe, Fiji, and South Africa.

This past August, Wetpixel teamed up with renowned underwater photographer and cinematographer Norbert Wu to lead a great white shark expedition to Guadalupe led by Great White Adventures.  Stay tuned for 2007 dates!  On our extension trip, Mo Rocca and crew were on board doing a story for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  The broadcast is scheduled for November 21, 2006. I’m afraid of what they will show (specifically, they may make fun of all of us. :).