sterlingz

The NEX 7 looks to be a very exciting camera. I had a chance to shoot the NEX-5 in the Nauticam housing at the Digital Shootout this year, and really loved it. Between the 18-55 with an add-on dioptre and the 16mm pancake with the fisheye adapter, it's a pretty versatile little system. Would love to see some movement from Sigma on new E-mount lenses, especially longer macro options. The achilles heel was the control set, and adding the two additional dials is a masterstroke to solve this. The price point is pretty brutal, but probably to be expected for 24MP 10fps. I really like the Micro 4/3 system, especially for the lens selection, and I'll be really interested to see what becomes of the GF-7. But I have to say, I'm definitely more tempted than ever by the NEX system. Really great that it looks like the NEX-5N is physically identical. Exciting times in the mirrorless world!

Bump! Doesn't anybody want this great housing?

I am selling a Nauticam D700 Housing on behalf of a friend. This housing is in great shape, was used on less than 50 dives. Asking $2500 which is $1000 off retail. Payment via PayPal gift or eCheck. I will cover shipping. You can PM me or reach me at info@sterlingz.net

Positively mind-blowing! Spectacular encounter, and great footage. Can't wait to see the stills.

Great stuff Eric!! Love the insect eye, the Coleman Shrimp image has a fantastic perspective. Look forward to seeing what you come up with in Raja Ampat!!

Intense and sad. What a sight to see. Stunning images.

Hi everyone - just wanted to let you know that a space has opened up for the Misool portion of the trip. There is a free room now, with space for one or preferably two people. Please contact Dan Baldocchi at Under Exposures if you are interested. This is a great opportunity!

Stunning image from a great photographer! That is certainly an amazing spectacle. Good to know events like that still happen.

We had a great finale to what has been a very memorable trip. 100+ foot vis, strong current, and some grouper supermodels made for a productive morning and early afternoon on the wreck of the Zion. Following that, we were able to make high tide at the Blue Heron Bridge, and squeeze in a last (2 hour+) macro dive. Jim was gracious enough to lend me his 1D Mark IV rig to shoot macro at the bridge since I didn't even bring a macro lens or port - though he did tease me about it constantly. Some last photos: A pair of goliath groupers hanging near the entrance of the wreck of the Zion. The groupers were much friendlier and easier to photograph compared to the first day of the trip. We finally found ourselves a player. This is the same animal starring in Eric's video and Alex's photo. Blenny in a can near the Blue Heron Bridge. When we bumped into Shen underwater, he was kind enough to point out this adorable juvenile trunkfish.

So sorry you couldn't make it Phil, but very grateful that Eric convinced me to rally to take your place on short notice. It was really worth it! You will definitely have to come another time.

Thanks James! We've really lucked out with conditions thus far. Hopefully we'll find some friendlies in good vis tomorrow!

We are nearing the end of a fantastic week aboard the Shearwater. After a glassy calm crossing on Sunday night, we had quite a windy week which unfortunately prevented us from spending any time in the dolphin grounds. But we had great conditions underwater - superb visibility at times, along with great shark action. We saw tigers on four out of five days, and had Emma come in on three consecutive days which was simply awesome. Jim Abernathy and his fantastic crew showed us a terrific time. We have one day left to return to the goliath groupers. Hope we find some friendly ones! Some photos from the Bahamas below: Eric at Tiger Beach (cornfields) with his custom 3D rig with GoPro camera mounted for an additional perspective. Caribbean reef shark swimming past a colorful reef - an image made possible thanks to one of Jimmy's great bait stations. What a difference it makes to have an operator who understands photography. Loggerhead turtle seen on a night dive on the Sugar Wreck. The night dive with lemon sharks at Tiger Beach was a highlight. Caribbean reef shark, converted to black and white. Emma came in twice to bait stations near the reef. She always offered some close encounters. A gorgeous young female tiger shark named Kimberly at Tiger Beach (Crystal Tiger). Kimberly comes in for a close inspection of Mike Black's (Shearwater crew) video camera. Kimberly and Emma swimming together at Tiger Beach. Max the friendly grouper spent a lot of time checking out divers by the bait stations. Caribbean reef shark in magic light, a few feet below the surface.

A great day to start off the trip! The Goliaths were spectacular - enormous fish. There were certainly some that looked like the biggest groupers I'd ever seen, several hundred pounds for sure. They were much more skittish than I expected though, definitely hard to approach. I have a whole new appreciation for Douglas Siefert's classic image. I think diving this spectacle with a rebreather could yield some amazing results. Some quick images from today below: Releasing the hatchlings (who had been found heading the wrong direction on the beach and rescued) was a real highlight for me. I had always wanted to swim with hatchlings - there is something incredibly touching about seeing something so small in an immense sea. Swimming a little ways off the wreck, I stumbled on the mother load - the Goliath aggregation happening in higher in the water column. There are more than 20 in this frame, but there were additional fish behind me as well. It's impressive to see one of these massive fish, but seeing them stacked up like this is truly spectacular. Eric and his Keldan light canons swimming over the wreck of the Zion with a new found friend. The groupers like the habitat provided by the wreck. There was also a massive school of spadefish right near the wreck - perfect 3D subject for Eric!!

Alex - I love the frame of the turtle with the sky! Well done!

Fabulous images, Marc!! Wonderful lighting and color. It's really great to see the potential of the micro four thirds platform and especially the 8mm lens - you've shot some of the best images I've seen thus far. Just curious - some of the images seem hyper saturated. Is this a factor of the GF-1 tending to take color over the top? How did you process these images? Congrats on the great work - I may have to break down and get a housing for my GF-1.

Spectacular video and images, Tony! Thanks for posting!

Well, our time with the whale sharks is over, and the next group's has begun. Looks like the Wetpixel luck continues so that Eli and company have stunning conditions to kick off their trip today. I'm looking forward to seeing the fabulous images that everyone will come back with in the next group. Since we had so much time in the water with the whale sharks, we decided to take to the air for another perspective. Unfortunately for us, due to a communication breakdown, it actually took two attempts as we ended up going to the Holbox aggregation site on the first flight. Looks interesting over there, but water definitely seems green. I'm sure the vis would not be too hot. Here are a couple of photos from our flights: Islas Mujeres from the air. Manta feeding at the surface. A pod of dolphins. The whale shark aggregation that we've been swimming with this week. Whale sharks feeding at the surface. Eric in front of our "mosquito" as the airport staff liked to call it due to its diminutive size relative to other helicopters in the area.

It seems as if there was another spawning event, as the water was thick with eggs. Alex and Natalie brought back a sample of the bonito eggs which are the entire reason for this wildlife aggregation. Visibility was down, but lots of sharks so no-one is complaining! Whale shark food. Each one is the size of a small bead. How many of these do they have to eat? Millions? Billions? Of course, Eric just had to sample the whale sharks' favorite delicacy.

I think most of us were wearing 3mm suits, which was adequate. After the second dive, it gets pretty cold. Some sort of hood is definitely advisable. I feel like the water temperature was around 75 F, didn't check exactly. A 5mm might be good, but I feel like the buoyancy hassles could offset the benefit. Super important to be neutral, and a lot of the areas are shallow. No strobes allowed with the whale sharks, only ambient. You don't really need them, though fill would be nice- the one place they would be especially useful is trying to light down the mouth. But if you can get the light in the right position, you can make it work. Personally, I'm glad not to have to swim with strobes attached to my rig for hours at a time. Much more streamlined. Good luck!

Thanks for the compliments everyone. Killer video Eric! That really does capture the lineup! Another great day - fewer sharks, but just as concentrated. Water was slightly more choppy, but visibility was excellent at times. I got in on the first rotation which was nice before all the boat madness (35+ boats of snorkelers show up around 9 am). Heidi swimming with a new friend. Whale sharks everywhere. Botellas were happening early in the day. With so much already in the can, I took the fisheye off for the first time of the trip and switched to the 17-40. Great for head shots. Also for other details. Lots of other pelagics showed up today. Another boat reported seeing a great hammerhead. I saw a barracuda swim by. These mobulas were the only thing I could get close enough to photograph.

Hey everyone! This has been an unbelievable trip! I'm joining the team after nine days in Cocos, and I thought the diving there would be tough to top, but this trip has been even more epic! The cenotes were gorgeous (thanks for hosting us Karen, it was awesome) and the first two days with the whale sharks were simply mind-blowing. I'm pretty beat, and dealing with data management issues (shooting around 50GB per day), so I don't have too much more to say at this juncture. I'll let the pictures do the heavy lifting. Alex, Eric and our cave guide, Jean Loup Eric ready to do a cave dive. A cave diver in the Taj Majal Cenote Eric swimming with his 3D rig through the Jardin de Eden Cenote Whale shark aggregation from the tuna tower. This is the only way to get a true perspective of this wildlife spectacle. Whale sharks feeding on bonito spawn at the surface Watching these animals feed is an unbelievable experience. Eric puts his camera in for a mouth's eye view. Conditions are remarkably calm - flat enough to do splits. A "botella" happens in the afternoon when a whale shark parks upright and stays in one position for a few minutes. Incredible to watch. While the number of sharks is less at the edge of the school, the visibility is better due to the diminished concentration of spawn. Eric filming in 3D from the bow of the Lilly M. What a privilege to spend so much time in the water with these gorgeous animals.

Great images and report Alex! Sounds like a wonderful trip, even sans Jimmy. I cannot agree with you more about the Zen 230 - I am in love with this dome. It helped bring me back into the Subal fold! Just had the chance to run it for 9 days in Cocos, and it was terrific with the Canon 17-40.

Positively stunning!! Looks like you hit it just right, and nailed the opportunity to boot. Congrats!

Wetpixel's own Dr. Alex Mustard graced the cover of the June issue of Scuba Diving with a stunning image of a Grey seal photographed in the UK. Well done! Got the issue through Zinio for iPad, and the mag looks great in this format.

Love the iPhone version, has been my favorite photo enhancement app for some time, and love the iPad version as well. Very well executed. There's another one for iPad recently released called Photoforge, but I've not tried it. Looks promising though, and similar price point.