adamhanlon

@Alex_Mustard and @adamhanlon discuss the marine-related images that were released by the organizers of the 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest. Each year, the contest releases previews of a few of the images that were highly commended and uses these as marketing and to whet people's appetites for the eventual winners. The team discusses the images, and attempts to decide what this year's judges are looking for!

I think it is important to consider the fact that any housing is an investment in a system. You are likely to change cameras and lenses at some point in the future, and you want to ensure that strobe triggering options, port options etc. will suit this in the future. It is also really important to build a good relationship with your local dealer/supplier. You are going to need their help in the future!

What do you need help with? The idea is to introduce yourself to the community on here...

Nauticam has recently released some new optical products that have caused a lot of interest within the Wetpixel community and on the forums. We felt that the best way to find out more was to go directly to the source, and in this episode of Wetpixel Live, Nauticam owner and the man behind all Nauticam's underwater optics, @Edward Lai kindly shares his time with us. He discusses specifics of the new products and how they fit into the existing Nauticam range.

Just an anecdote about protection. One of the participants on the Atlantis image makers has packed her housing, ports and cameras in a Pelican case. TSA took the housing out and dropped it, bending a lever and rendering the housing inoperable, until we were able to get a spare part. I should point out that they did not own up to the damage So, despite appearances, once the TSA or other security/customs officials get involved, all bets are off as to the items' safety.

After a hiatus of a few years, we are super excited that Wetpixel will be returning to photograph and dive with the amazing shark populations of the Bahamas at Tiger Beach from 5 to 11 November 2023. The "beach" is well known as the best place on the planet to interact and document tiger sharks, but also is home to large numbers of lemon and Caribbean reef sharks. Close encounters and hence amazing photographic opportunities are common. Numbers are strictly limited, so please reach out for more info or to book your space soon: https://wetpixel.com/tigersharks23

@Alex_Mustard has been able to try out Nauticam's new 45° magnified viewfinders. These are available in two models, one specifically designed to cope with the wider exit pupils on (especially Sony) mirrorless cameras' EVFs. In a discussion with @adamhanlon, they chat about magnified viewfinders in general, and then specifically Alex's experiences with the new models. He concludes with a surprising finding as to which is his favorite!

RX100vii package is now sold-just the Inon light left!

Reasonable pricing is somewhat variable in interpretation. I imagine that a straightforward, non TTL strobe trigger could be significantly cheaper than a comparable TTL enabled version

D850 is doing fine. I know of one major manufacturer that is selling more D850 housings than Z9. SLR lenses are still plentifully available. However, barring any surprise announcements, the reality is that people are going to be buying more mirrorless housings, because they have no choice! I'm not sure that any sales figure comparison has any long term relevance, nor does it reflect any form of technical improvements. The more interesting question is how many people will be trading in their SLRs for mirrorless now. Do people feel that mirrorless is mature enough to really offer a significant performance upgrade over SLR, or are they just sticking with what they have for the moment?

Not sure which 3, but my sources tell me they are still selling fine!

In this episode of Wetpixel Live, @adamhanlon chats to Nauticam owner, @Edward Lai about the history and his philosophy behind Nauticam's development of a range of water contact optics, specifically designed for underwater image makers. He explains why in some circumstances, these optics can improve image quality, particularly in low light, and gives a very interesting take on the issue of distortion.

Great write up...thanks!

Seeking shipmates for an amazing adventure capturing underwater imagery in Egypt’s exotic Red Sea. Wetpixel is running a further two trips aboard the lovely VIP ONE on 03 to 10 September and then 10 to 17 September 2023. As is always the case, we will tailor the itinerary and boat’s activities around making both trips photographically productive. Full details are on the trip’s page, and for more information or to book on one or both trips email Adam soon. https://wetpixel.com/redsea23/

Somewhat reverting from the specific to the generic... When is a bigger dome port a bad thing? Optically...never. Vignettes can be largely fixed by correct lens position, although in some instances, it may need the removal of dome shades. However, at some point, dome size increase will have such a marginal effect on quality, that these advantages may well be moot and offset by water quality, light and all the other factors that complicate image quality underwater. Practically...smaller domes make it easier to get physically closer to subjects and as importantly, to light subjects that are close to the front of the dome. Of course, bigger domes are also more expensive, harder to travel with and physically more difficult to move through the water.