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

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

Afterhours Magic: An Ambient Light Video Workflow for Action Cams (and Other WB-Challenged Cameras) INTRODUCTION Getting good colours in underwater footage, especially when shooting in ambient light, has been a challenge since the early days of underwater cinematography, and action cameras are no exception. As divers learn in their certification course, water absorbs light unevenly, with longer wavelengths like reds and oranges fading quickly as depth increases, leaving underwater scenes dom

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

Retra have made a firmware update available through the usual download App channels including now the Google Play Store for Android users. This is for the Pro Max II. The update primarily allows the new App to connect to the Maxi strobe. The update also adds a Pilot Light Toggle Function. The firmware update includes v2.17 for the Pro Max, v2.4 for the Prime+ and v2.4 for the Pure. It also includes v4.2 for the ProX/PrimeX (renamed 3.13) and firmware 4.5 (renamed 4.3) for PRO/Prime 2nd genera

Nikon have announced a firmware update to the Z9. Version 5.31 now available from the usual Nikon Download Centre.

There's an update to Adobe Lightroom Classic to from v15.1 to v15.1.1 As far as I can tell, the update only contains bug fixes.

Introducing the Retra Maxi: The Ultimate Underwater Strobe and Video Light Combo The Retra Maxi sets a new standard in underwater photography, combining a GN46 strobe with an optional 6000 lumen ultra-wide video light. Perfect for both stills and video, it offers unmatched performance for photographers and videographers looking to elevate their work. Incredible Strobe Power and Performance The Retra Maxi features a GN46 strobe, providing excellent light output for distant su

Inon announces their latest housings for Canon EOSR6 Mark IIl to be released in January 2026. The EOS R6 Mark lll upgrades the Mark II with a higher-res 32.5MP sensor, vastly better video features, a CFexpress slot, improved IBIS, longer battery life, and enhanced autofocus with Registered People Priority.   The housing comes with standard highly accurate TTL converter and vacuum leak sensor (PAT.P). As same legend X-2 housings, made from carefully designed aluminum alloy providing compact, ligh

INON INC. releases the ZD Front Mask for Osmo Action 6, made specifically for the official Osmo Action 60m Waterproof Case (OA6J12) on December 26, 2025. Also, the ZD Front Mask for Osmo Action 6 Grip Set has been released, enabling use of the DJI Osmo Action 6 with an optional underwater light.   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-