UWPhotoTech

Wetpixel doesn't seem to want to let me add a hyperlink at the moment to here's the URL to the Pixmantec Rawshooter Premium 2006: http://www.pixmantec.com/products/rawshooter_premium.html

While viewing the Apple Aperture presentation at the recent Photo Plus Expo in NYC. I thought to myself that it reminded me of Rawshooter on some of it's screens. I got an product announcement from the folks at Pixmantec today for Rawshooter Premium 2006. It boasts the following features: Camera Raw support for Canon EOS 5D / 1D II N RAW vs. RAW Comparison Curves / Levels Support Integrated Downloader Personalized Appearance FastBrowse Cropping Image straighting / Arbitrary Rotation Magnifier FastProof Mode Batch/bulk Renaming Output Resizing Correction Tools (Vibrance, Color Balance, Noise Suppression) Enhanced White Balance Correction Extended Color Support

Hi Steve, I'm glad I could help isolate the problem. A grip problem sounds a little odd as they are independently sealed, so a flood in the housing should not affect the grips. But regardless, I'll post what I find after the housing arrives.

Sorry about that, I didn't notice the CF imprint

It sure looks like a card door latch, but if you look at the shape of the card diagram it looks more like an SD card then a CF card. So perhaps the D200 will follow the D50 and be SD media.

Do the LED's power up when the camera is mounted to the tray? Problem is pretty easy to isolate, either the grips are not sending the infrared signal, the interface board in the housing is damaged or the main board in the tray is damaged. Testing: First make sure the shutter release control (adjustable) is not constantly pressing the release button. Then Revove the handles and point them into the lens of a camcorder and press any of the buttons, you'll be able to see the infrared signals on the camcorder's display. If they don't work then open up the grips, replace batteries if necessary and or clean the board. Interface board in the housing is easily removed for inspection of the connector and cleaning if necessary. Last choice is the main board inside the camera tray. If the LED's will not power up this board most likely needs to be replaced. I have a complete tray in stock that I can next day air to you. For future trips, L&M makes a Field Service Kit ($500) for this housing that includes all the circuit boards and many other handy items to keep this housing going after a flood.

The +4 Diopter is used with a 6" Dome Port with the 18-70 lens. With the Aquatica 8" Dome port no diopter is required, but a +2 diopter can be used if you desire. My recommendation would be to try this setup without a diopter lens installed.

I went to the Photo Plus Expo in NYC because we got a tip that the D200 would be announced there. Needless to say that did not happen! The latest buzz is that the Nikon sales staff is being called in for a meeting on November 7th. Perhaps this is it!

I saw a presentation yesterday at the Photos Plus Expo in New York City on Aperture. The main emphasis of the program is sorting, organizing and selection of images. As mentioned it has basic editing functions as well and some nice output (web page, book & album). One of the neat tools is the Loupe, you can place the loupe over any image on the light table or even in the thumbnails. The loupe gives a 100% view of the selectable image area. Images can be easily grouped into "stacks" which can be done manually or automatically based on exposure time stamp. Once in the stacks functions can easily be perfomed on all of the images in the stack.

Just curious, does the iPod retain the file format (.jpg, .raw or .nef) as shot with the EXIF data (Image data such as shutter speed, ISO etc. stored directly in the file generated by a digital camera) or does it convert to it's own format?

Terry? Umm... your welcome!

The +4 Diopter is correct for this lens/port configuration. A "multi-element" diopter lens is for use with Macro Lenses in a Flat Port not with Wide Angle lenses in a Dome Port. I would however recommend you purchase the best diopter lens you can afford. I'd recommend the B+W brand.

You're correct about the oblong shape of the port. No easy way to add a wide angle lens. We'll have to wait and see if Inon or Sea & Sea comes up with an adapter ring.

Hey Larry, Some impressive work, and I live here! Regards,

Typical repairs run about $90 Labor plus parts, the battery compartment is isolated from the inside electronics. With this type of flood typically the terminals only would need to be replaced. Along with the internal o-rings parts would run about $35, so your full repair should end up being around $125. This is of course assuming that the water did not get to the circuit boards.

The button contol method will require two hands or a locking button, but either way it will require two steps to make an adjustment. Access to the Multi Control Dial will make it much easier to make shutter speed and aperture adjustments. However when actually using the camera I can see why the Canon engineers did not allow access to the Multi Control Dial and were then smart enough to come up with an alternative method. The Multi Contol Dial has both "Dial" and "Button" type functions. Friction or pressure from a housing control attempting to turn the dial could also put enough pressure to press a button and change the function of the dial. So in the end the Button method (even though it requires two steps) seems like the way to go. My 2 cents!

Do a little more digging we have found an "Undocumented Feature" on the Canon S80, Ike you may be interested in this as well: With the the WP-DC1 Housing operation of the multi control dial rotation is not possible. Dial rotation therefore is duplicated by pressing the Print/Share button in conjunction with the left or right section of the Omni selector. The procedure is below: 1. Press & Hold the Print/Share button 2. While holding press the left or right button of the 4-way selector to change your shutter speed & aperture 3. To switch between the aperture & shutter press the +/- button and then repeat the above process Special thanks to the Canon Technical Support staff for doing the research to locate this for us!

That's great news Ike! Except for the removal of the RAW file format from the S80, it's a great little camera. It's nice to know that a housing will be available that offers access to the shutter speed and aperture controls.

For those considering the purchase of this system, we've come up against a problem with the new S80 in the WP-DC1 waterproof case. Shutter speed and aperture are controlled through the scroll wheel (Multi Control Dial), which is not accessible through the WP-DC1 housing. As you know, the control of shutter speed and aperture are important functions when used with wide angle lenses and external flash units sold with many underwater packages. It's kind of like supplying all the pieces to a puzzle but they don't fit together! NOTICE: This post has been revised, see my post below on the S80's Undocumented Feature which controls shutter speed and aperture through the housing.

It's a very simple procedure to replace the sync bulkhead. Unplug the sync wiring from the board in the housing and using a 19mm wrench unscrew the old bulkhead. Reverse the procedure to install the new sync bulkhead. Having Backscatter, Light & Motion or us B) do this for you will offer the advantage of having the housing pressure tested and function tested to make sure that everything is in good working order.

Nice work Marc, I'm glad that I was able to offer some help!

I'd most likely choose the Canon S60 for bang for the buck and if I was considering a higher end model then I'd take Scubadru's advice and skip the S70 and go for the S80.

We've been doing equipment rentals for years with a wide range of film, digital and video equipment. The Canon A Series are a good choice for you, I'd look into the A610 and A620 specifically. For a higher end still system the Light & Motion Tetra with the Olympus 5060 camera is a very popular rental. For video equipment the Top Dawg Mini is a good choice for an entry level system and the Gates PC1000 for a higher end system.

The Canon S70 has been discontinued, the S60 has been on back order for a month now. I suspect it will be discontinued soon as well. Assuming you can get your hands on one you'll be happy with either one. The S80 is also a good choice, it's only drawback compared to the S60 & S70 is no RAW file format.

Hi Paul, I think that's more than a "mere guess", I had assumed a feeback problem between the two strobes but had not thought it through as clearly as you have. If your "educated guess" is correct then by wiring the left sync socket to the pc terminal and therefore isolating it from the right sync socket, the problem should be solved. I'll find out in a few weeks when he returns from the current assignment. My only remaining question is why did this happen only with the D2X's? FYI, my original suggestion was to use the second strobe in slave mode to get him through his last shoot. This did not work as well as we had hoped. The Hartenberger strobes weren't very easy to trigger in slave mode and often required repositioning to angles that were not the best choice for the lighting he was after.