Nikon has just announced two new digital SLR cameras and a slurry of new lenses.  The long-awaited flagship, the D3, features a 12.1 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor and is crammed full of modern features including 14-bit A/D conversion, super-fast frame rate, live view with auto-focus, and more.  The new D300 digital SLR offers nearly all of the same features, and will surely be a worthy successor to the venerable D200.  Nikon also announced two new professional-quality zoom lenses, the AF-S 14-24 mm and 24-70 mm F2.8G ED, as well as an entire line of VR-stabilized long primes.

DPReview has a detailed preview of all of the new products: [D3] [D300] [Wide Zooms] [Telephoto Lenses]
Update: Gizmodo has posted some hands-on photographs.

Wetpixel editors Eric Cheng and Alexander Mustard were both interviewed for the first annual FiNS Foto Feature. The questions weren’t standard ("Do you have anything against the use of ketchup?"), and the answers are...unique.

If you want to know about Alex’s way with words or how Eric’s culinary preferences affect the company he keeps, these interviews (which include responses from other notable photographers Stephen Wong and Takako Uno, Tony Wu, and Takaji Ochi) are a must-read. Also featured is an article by Justin Ebert and Wetpixel moderator Shawn Heinrichs on the realities of shark finning in protected marine areas.

The Northern California Underwater Photographic Society (NCUPS) has announced the 43rd Annual International Underwater Photographic Competition and the Bob Commer Award of Excellence in Underwater Photography.

Starting this year, SEA2007 will no longer accept 35mm slides, but scanned images entered in the digital or print categories are acceptable. Also new is the addition of the Marine Conservation category to complement the Macro, Wide Angle, and Underwater California categories. Prizes include liveaboard trips on the Nai’a, Bilikiki, Febrina, and Pindito and an assortment of underwater photography and videography gear. Entries must be received by October 12, 2007 - continue reading for the full press release, or visit SEA2007 to enter…

Aquatica has sent us preliminary photos of their new housing for the Nikon D40x digital SLR. The Aquatica D40X will feature a 200ft depth rating, a smaller, form-fitting design, and full compatibility with the Aqua View finder. The housing should be available in September 2007.

Aquatica also intends to reintroduce a 6” dome port with a more compact macro port for use with all current products. Continue for the full press release and accompanying product images…

Interested in capturing images of the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island, Mexico? Three spots have just opened up on a September 15-19, 2007 digital imaging and editing trip with underwater imager Marty Snyderman and video editing and DiveFilm podcasting pro Mary Lynn Price.

Along with the experience of diving with the sharks, the trip will feature daily workshop presentations by Marty and Mary Lynn to help underwater photographers and videographers get the most out of their digital imaging, covering topics including lens selection, archiving, and visual storytelling. For more information, visit San Diego Shark Diving Expeditions.

Underwater video moderator Drew Wong has some things to say about the statements, below.  If you believe any of them, you should continue reading!

1. Blacking/striping a video tape gives continuous timecode and is essential for any shoot.
2. Mixing different brand video tapes with different lubricants is bad for your video head.
3. Reusing tape is a bad idea and you should buy new tape everytime.

Amazon.com has unwittingly leaked specs for the Canon 40D and 1DsMkIII by putting test pages up at their online store.  When will online retailers learn that you cannot fight the distributed power of fanboys around the world?  The 40D (10.1 megapixels, 6.5 fps, 17 frame RAW buffer) was listed as shipping on September 20 at $1,299.99, and the 1Ds Mark III (21.1 megapixels, 5 fps, 15 frame RAW buffer) as shipping on December 10, priced at $7,999.99.  Since the 1Ds Mk III should use the same body as the already-available 1D Mk III, housings should hopefully be ready by the time it ships.  Rumor has it that the new Canon cameras will be announced on Monday.

Amazon has since taken down the offending pages, but luckily, a few sights have cached the data:  [40D @ Gizmodo] [1DsMkIII @ Engadget].

Note that rumor is still rumor, and all of this leaked data may be inaccurate. It’s public now.  See DPReview for more.

Looking for a new wetsuit? Radiator, a company specializing in surf gear, recently released a 3/2mm wetsuit, lined with their 4-layer titanium material that promises to bring extra warmth and mobility without the bulk, specifically designed for scuba diving.

Wetpixel’s Drew Wong gives us his verdict after having spent 20 days in the waters of South Africa, braving the winter conditions with subtropical water temperatures to test the wetsuit against Radiator’s claims…

Wetpixel member James Flenner (fdog) received a pre-production version of the new X-View integrated camera head for the CSI X-Scooter, and has posted a review in the forums. While James used a Canon Elura 100 for underwater filming, the housing add-on accepts most smaller camcorders with A/V-in, including the Sony DCR-H96. He writes:

It is rather exciting to have tons of movement available at the touch of the trigger finger...this has me doing almost every dive with the X-View now, as it’s so easy to get video, and you never know when that shot of a lifetime will show up.

Continue to the discussion for James’ full review, which includes photos of assembly, the unit in use, and power consumption comparisons…

Underwater Journal Issue 4 is now available for download.

The magazine is published by Wetpixel member Walt Sterns and this issue contains an articles about the Pacific’s Giant Octopus, Destin Jetties, Jupiter’s Hole-in-the-Wall, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the Suprema LED Target Light, the REEF Survey in the Exumas and much more.

Underwater Journal is a free PDF magazine, published bimonthly.