Wetpixel is back online after being down intermittently for the majority of last night. Our host tells us that we are the target of a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. We are working hard to restore functionality, and apologize for any inconvenience! 

The Panasonic SDR-SW20, the company’s first “dive” camcorder, was recently reviewed by CamcorderInfo. The SDR-SW20, like the Sanyo Xacti E1, is only waterproof to 5 feet, and the video quality is “pale, noisy, and bad with motion,” but the camera is praised for its "rugged, shock, and dust-proof body.”

While we don’t recommend investing in a housing, this is a good effort by Panasonic to provide a camera to throw in the dive bag and not worry about getting wet on your next dive trip.

Underwater Journal Issue 6 is now available for download. Featured article topics include pikeblennies, night diving in Kona, comparisons of popular and new rebreather designs, the wrecks of Lake Superior, and more.

Underwater Journal is a free PDF magazine, published bimonthly by Wetpixel member Walt Stearns.

SAUSALITO, Calif.—January 21st, 2008—Wetpixel LLC is proud to announce the immediate availability of issue #2 of Wetpixel Quarterly magazine. In its trademark landscape-oriented, high-resolution format, issue #2 celebrates the lifelong work of James D. Watt, one of the pioneers of modern underwater photography. Jim will always be remembered for his boundless energy and generosity as a photographer, educator, and friend.

Wetpixel Quarterly #2 also features the work of the talented staff behind the scenes at the magazine and at its electronic sister publication, Wetpixel.com. Featured staff photographers include Alex Mustard, Eric Cheng, Mike Veitch, Luiz Rocha, Cor Bosman, Julie Edwards, Herb Ko, James Wiseman, Todd Mintz, Matt Segal, Elijah Woolery, William Heaton, and Leslie Harris…

H2O Photo Pros Underwater Photo & Video has announced the opening of a new store for underwater imaging in Newport Beach, California. Owned by Mike Luzansky, H2O Photo Pros is an authorized dealer for manufacturers including Gates, Sea & Sea, Light & Motion, Aquatica, and Ikelite, and the store location features Apple editing stations and flat-screen televisions for display of underwater footage.

Finally providing a dedicated retail location for Southern California, H2O Photo Pros joins Backscatter as a major California-based provider for underwater photographers and videographers. Continue reading for the full press release and photos from the store…

Wetpixel member Tim Rock is proud to announce the recent publishing of four of his books, the first of which is a 300-photograph hard-cover volume “of the people, culture, nature, and marine world of Yap in Micronesia,” titled “Yap - Micronesian Magic.” The book follows large format landscape style, and is sized at 192 13” by 11” pages.

Also available are three books in the Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling series: D&S Thailand, D&S Belize, and D&S Cayman islands, all featuring full-color imagery and providing information on “unique sites from each of these hotbed diving destinations.” Congratulations, Tim!

We’ve received semi-official news that Aquatica has plans to make an underwater housing for the Canon 1D/1Ds Mark III.  That is all.

The Texas Dive Show will be Jan 26 & 27 at the JW Marriott 5150 Westheimer Houston, Texas 77056.  While not as large as in years past, there will still be some great events of interest to photographers including seminars: Focus on Sharks by Stan Waterman, The Macro World of Indonesia by Stan Waterman, Shark Sex, Eel Madness & Gay Turtles by Stan Waterman, and Intro To Digital Photography by Fred Dion.  There will also be a print photo gallery by the Houston Underwater Photographic Society.  As part of the Seaspace legacy, there will be a silent auction benefiting the SEASPACE Scholarship Fund.

Wetpixel is back online after being down all morning. There was massive database key corruption; we’re nearly done running repairs.  The forums will be very slow until the repair completes, so please be patient!

Berkley White has just returned from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, where he tested the Nikon D300 and Sea & Sea MDX-D300 underwater housing on sailfish and baitballs.  Talk about a tough subject for a camera / housing test!  I’ll skip to the summary here, but you should click over just to see the fantastic imagery:

In my humble opinion, the Nikon D300 offers the most significant advance in underwater digital photography since the Nikon D100. It’s beyond instant digital feedback and produces images on par and argubably better than results I’ve ever achieved with 35mm film. When considered at ISO 400, the results are clearly better than scanned slide film. The Sea & Sea MDX-D300 housing might not be perfected in highend ergonomics, but it is clearly a professional level housing at a great price...