Wetpixel/Under The Jungle Cenote Workshop 2021

Scientists studying Northern Atlantic right whales have observed no new calves born as the calving season comes to a close. This is bad news as the whales are endangered and the conclusion comes after a terrible year for deaths, 17 recorded off North America. The population is up from being nearly decimated by whalers, but hovers around 450 total individuals.
Sony has announced their α7 III full frame mirrorless camera. It has a 24.1 MP sensor with an updates Bionz image processing engine offering a native ISO range of 100 to 51200. Autofocus has 425 contrast AF points in combination with 693-point focal-plane phase-detection AF system start cover 93% of the frame. UHD video is available with no pixel binning and full frame width recording.
Nikon has released firmware updates for the : D4, D4S, Df, D800, D800E, D810, D810A, D7100 and D7200 SLR cameras. These mostly fix bugs and issues with AF-P compatibility.
The Sea Save Foundation has posted a simple tool that allows individuals to register their protest at the Administration’s plans to offer 47 leases to global energy companies to explore and drill in US coastal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. (Image credit: NOAA)
The TekDiveUSA Convention has opened entries to their 2018 Photo Contest. It offers 4 categories: Cave, Wreck, Rebreather and Reef/Other.There will be a popular vote with voting on Facebook, beginning 1 March along with a panel of judges voting as well. Winners and awards will be presented at the Gala dinner and awards ceremony on 28 April, at TEKDiveUSA.2018.
The fifth DuikeninBeeld Dynamic Photo Contest is asking people to go over to their public vote page to chose their favourite as an overall winner of the competition. Entries were shortlisted at the Duikvaker Show in January. Please hurry, public voting only stays open until 28 February.
Ex-Lexar executives have launched a new memory card company. Called ProGrade Digital, it will initially offer CFast 2.0 cards in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities and UHS-II SD-cards in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The new cards are optimized for use in professional cameras, each be tested from component-level down to individual memory chips before leaving the factory and will have a three year warranty. ProGrade are also offering a USB 3.1 Gen. 2 card reader.
Sony has published a showcase of the capabilities of the RX0 underwater. Sony Artisan Jeff Berlin shot a short underwater film entitled “ETHER” in Hawaii entirely on the ultra compact camera.