Some time back, I wrote an article about creating your own fibre optic cables: a quick, easy, inexpensive and very satisfying process. In case you missed it it, a link to the piece is here. https://waterpixels.net/articles/articles_technique/diy-fibre-optic-cables-easy-r32/ Now, many months on, a couple of additional suggestions: BURPING On entering the water and descending the plugs at both ends of the cables often need burping. Tiny air bubbles seem to be able to block fibre optic light tra

Mafia Island is located in the Indian Ocean, off the East African coast of Tanzania. I learned about Mafia Island from reports of several scubadivers in internet platforms, who consider it an “insider tip”. In November/December 2024 three divers (Lisi, Franz and me) set out towards Mafia in order to experience firsthand the diving and possibilities for UW-photographers. Mafia Island is not difficult to reach via international flights from Vienna/Austria to Dar es Salaam/Tanzania. From there, t

A few months ago in November, Scubalamp showed a new "small strobe". I like small strobes and wanted one, but they have never appeared on the Scubalamp website. However there is a Fotocore GTM (the same ones in the Scubalamp posts that are available. I bought two of them, and last Saturday, I got to try them out here in Los Angeles. The strobe is a bit larger than the AOI RC strobes, and a bit smaller than the YS D3 Duo. The strobe is machined aluminum and appears to be very solidly built

Waterpixels is always happy to help promote the activities of our own members. Husband and wife team, John Warmington (johnvila) and Sandra Kaye, have set up Critter Spotters in Vanuatu which they describe as a "Photographer-Friendly Retreat". Here's what they have to say: "We’re John Warmington and Sandra Kaye, a husband-and-wife team with over 40 years of dive experience between us, and a combined 26 years of living here in Vanuatu. Together, we’ve built Critter Spotter, a dive offering cre

I have long fascinated with shooting ring lights underwater starting with the Inon Quadflash, through the various Athena modifications to Sea and Sea strobe heads, continuing to the Saga fiber optic rings and now to the Weefine 3000. The Weefine 3000 is the latest version of the LED lights made by Kraken and Weefine. The Weefine 3000 CCW Weefine 3000 CCW Ring Light It's similar to the earlier 3000 lumen LED modules but has adjustable color temperature and a 3000-lumen burst (strobe) mode. It

As a DIY Fiber Cable article was just posted, this seems like a good time to share this article on 3-D printing connectors for your DIY cables. The Connectors are really the heart of the cable, as the fiber is simply a manufactured item bought from a supplier.    One of weak points of most of these DIY's is getting the right connectors. The solutions range from buying connectors (at about $10 a pop or $20 per cable), re-using connectors from old cables (which may require drilling them

I came across the following article by By David Clapp, published on 31 July 2025 in Digital Camera World. Worth a read, I thought! "It’s getting near that time again - as September means a new iPhone. Then there’s a new Android. Then it’s the turn Fujifilm / Canon / Nikon / Sony / Panasonic etc - all of them use tried and tested strategies stretching back as far as the 1930s to make you, the consumer, feel dissatisfied with the equipment you own. Let’s be frank, you are a subliminal and anonym

INON INC. releases two new ZD Front Mask on August 5, 2025,: the ZD Front Mask for Ace Pro 2, designed to fit the official Dive Case for Insta360 Ace Pro2, and the ZD Front Mask for Osmo Action 5 Pro, made specifically for the official Osmo Action 60m Waterproof Case.   Attaching the INON ZD Front Mask allows the use of the underwater semi-fisheye conversion lens UFL-GR140 ZD (*1) which can deliver wide and quality view with its  large-aperture optics across more wide-angle FOV settings on Ace p

Please note: a further update to the firmware files was released on 31 July. Pro Max firmware is now v2.17 - the version from the previous day was 2.15. Retra have announced updates to firmware on a number of their strobes. Pro Max II to v3.1 Pro Max to v2.17 Prime+ to v2.4 Pure to v2.4 The updates include bug fixes and performance improvements. Full details are set out in the usual App Store update pages.

Canon has released new major firmware for the EOS R5 Mark II for the second time in a week. This update fixes an issue where video could not be recorded correctly when using a memory card larger than 2TB with the [Pre-recording] setting enabled. This firmware (Version 1.1.1) includes fixes for the following issues identified in Version 1.1.0: 1. Fixes an issue where video could not be recorded correctly when using a memory card larger than 2TB with the [Pre-recording] setting enabled. This fir

Since 1994 the Monterey Shootout has been the annual gathering of underwater photographers in the stunning kelp beds of Monterey Bay.  This three day weekend features seminars, a fabulous social mixer, and a friendly photo and video contest that makes us dive a little harder and push our creativity alongside new and old friends just a bit longer.  Join us for the greatest dive weekend of the year. The Monterey Shootout - a 36 hou... Monterey Shootout - An Underwater Photography Competition... T

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