Not sure if this truly a landmark or not, but thanks to all the activities of members, the 23,000th Waterpixels post was recorded today.

On a recent dive trip I met someone who is writing a dissertation on people who are 50+ and diving.

If you are interested in contributing, the following is a link to a simple questionnaire which takes about 5 minutes to complete. I've become paranoid about online scams, phishing etc. But this looks fine and I know the author - and the information gathered is pretty innocuous.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=e3VPRDDLUkaTvMqNbR74E5Cna1DJ6d1KvM2oRz5_gAdUM0Y3UEpYTkZERDJON09aNENVSEs2V1ZOMS4u

This article in the UK's The Independent newspaper caught my eye......

The Independent

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/135

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/135

The latest edition of the excellent online Underwater Photography Magazine (UWP), edition 146, is now available. And it's free of course......

Link is here: https://www.uwpmag.com

We are proud to announce that the winner of the 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year, Overall category, is our fellow member Ross Gudgeon for his photograph titled "Fractal Forest".

From the 2025 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year announcement:

The overall winning shot, Fractal Forest, skews perception and leaves us questioning reality with an inside-out view of a cauliflower soft coral, captured by Western Australian photographer Ross Gudgeon in the Lembeh Strait of North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Our judges remarked that the photograph gives us a unique perspective on coral, with the photographer taking us out of the marine habitat into a whole new world. There’s nothing fake here, but still we ponder, is this nature or a painting?

Technical details:

Inside-out view of a cauliflower soft coral. Named for its characteristic appearance that resembles a cauliflower, with numerous small, rounded, bump-like polyps that give it a puffy texture. This unique perspective was made possible by the Nauticam EMWL, an underwater version of the probe or insect eye lens.

Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS with Nauticam EMWL wet lens, 1/100, f/9, ISO 400, Sony A7RIV, handheld, 2 x Retra Pro flashes.

Here the competition winners announcement:

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 anonymous target for consumer capitalism and those at the top do this for one simple reason - they stay in business by selling you new products. Simple. 

Most media-based products like cameras, computers, musical equipment and many others, have a central strategy, to put you into a constant state of dissatisfaction.

The subject-focused camera you yearn for will never be released, so they include firmware / software / shiny updates to keep you on board. You learn and adapt your championed model, but it only gives around 75% of what you need it to do. Slowly, we become desensitized, used to dissatisfaction and slowly the wheel turns.   

The industry fuel is acquisition and consumption. The beauty of this strategy is that we the consumer believe it is a direct path to creative happiness and that in monetary terms it is. The areas where this is most prevalent is in two places in our modern age  — advertising in all its forms (YouTube / influencers / social media) and text-based discussion forums - which cultivates and accelerates our desire to purchase. We consume, reflect, and then complete the financial circle of moving our money back into the machine.

What creates the anxiety to purchase can be covered in a number of fundamentals. Does the item look attractive to us? Look at any high-end digital cameras and the form factor is enough to pull us into their tractor beam. Then there is functionality. People are obsessed with technical specs, the online media in particular thriving with clickbait controversy.

Then there is photo-social class - does the product elevate us to a level of satisfactory peer acceptance? Do we then feel connected to a new economic group, or a sense that we could finally achieve creative altitude like never before? It’s all a grand illusion. 

After the initial wonder, hard research, handling, contemplation, and purchase phases subside, the brain returns to a base level (look up Look at any high-end digital cameras and the form factor is enough to pull us into their tractor beam. Then there is functionality. People are obsessed with technical specs, the online media in particular thriving with clickbait controversy.

Then there is photo-social class - does the product elevate us to a level of satisfactory peer acceptance? Do we then feel connected to a new economic group, or a sense that we could finally achieve creative altitude like never before? It’s all a grand illusion. 

After the initial wonder, hard research, handling, contemplation, and purchase phases subside, the brain returns to a base level (look up ‘hedonic adaptation’) and it is here where the forums like Canon Rumors start the cycle once more. The idle mind starts to speculate about imaginary cameras, features and from here the tribalism leads to threads full of conflict and antagonism, that could potentially be extinguished with a gear purchase.

My rule is simple - upgrade when features arrive you cannot live without. In the last 20 years this has been Live View, weather sealing, GPS, WiFi, and recently (for me) 4K video. "

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...

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/134

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/134

Maria , our very own Compact Camera Specialist, will be hosting an online “Getting Started in Underwater Photography” event with the Royal Photographic Society on Wednesday 16 July from 1800 hrs to 2000 hrs.

Maria will be sharing her experience over the past three years of shooting exclusively with smartphones, compact cameras, Insta 360s and Go Pros and promises to help inspire beginners capture their own vision to create award-winning content.  Her presentation will delve into the many different options of accessory lenses and lights from various manufacturers with the aim of helping people choose the best system for their needs.

Tickets are £35 for Non-Members or £26 for RPS Members which includes a free copy of Maria’s eBook “Getting Started in Underwater Photography” and free online ongoing support via Zoom or at her studio in Swanage.

Details are on the Royal Photographic Society’s website at

https://events.rps.org/en/4LrdQ66/rps-getting-started-in-underwater-photography-with-maria-munn-jul-2025-5a2NN29HgnF/overview

The latest edition of the excellent Underwater Photography Magazine (UWP) is now available - edition 145.

A link to it is here:

https://www.uwpmag.com/

A member who is a physician (thanks @DocTock ) has passed on a warning from the Federal Drug Administration about the effect of Scopolamine motion sickness patches used under certain conditions.

If you’re a user, you might like to read this link

https://waterpixels.net/index.php?app=core&module=system&controller=redirect&url=https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-adds-warning-about-serious-risk-heat-related-complications-antinausea-patch-transderm-scop&key=a8758139d8c7b733e9cdd78fc4f7f8b7f2f61bcebf7f6faac9903308d718186b&email=1&type=notification_new_private_message

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/132

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/132

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/133

UwP144 · May/Jun 2025 RELEASED - Click here

UwP144 · May/Jun 2025 RELEASED - Click here

Waterpixels is delighted to announce that Maria Munn has joined the team as our Compact Systems Specialist.

For many years Maria has taught and specialised in producing amazing images using compact systems especially the Canon G series. She’s been looking too at action cameras and housed smartphone systems and has posted some really helpful guides and reviews.

A more detailed resume for Maria is on our About page. We’re sure members will welcome warmly her knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. Great to have you with us, Maria.

When Nikon acquired a controlling stake in RED Digital Cinema in early 2023, the industry took notice. For photographers and filmmakers alike, this wasn't just another corporate merger—it signaled Nikon's serious commitment to professional cinema production and a strategic evolution beyond still photography.

Strategic Integration and Immediate Benefits

The integration has moved quickly. RED has already released cinema cameras featuring Nikon's Z-mount, creating a native pathway for Nikon glass to reach professional cinema environments without adapters. This compatibility breakthrough offers significant workflow advantages for creators invested in both ecosystems.

The technical advantages of the Z-mount make this integration particularly powerful. With its 55mm diameter and minimal 16mm flange distance, the Z-mount delivers exceptional optical flexibility, supporting everything from ultra-fast apertures to edge-to-edge sharpness across varying sensor sizes. For RED's cinema application, this mount architecture provides future-proofed optical performance while simplifying lens choices for filmmakers.

Image credit: Nikon.com

Nikon's Video Evolution

Z9 vs Z8 - image credits: cined.com

Concurrent with the RED acquisition, Nikon has dramatically expanded the video capabilities in its flagship cameras. The Z8 and Z9 now incorporate features previously exclusive to dedicated cinema cameras:

• Internal 12-bit RAW recording
• ProRes and N-RAW codec support
• Advanced log profiles
• Professional monitoring tools (waveforms, vectors)
• Timecode synchronization

N-RAW and R3D: Complementary Codecs

Since the acquisition of Red, Nikon has two Raw codecs in house. Rather than competing internally, Nikon's N-RAW and RED's REDCODE (R3D) formats serve distinct purposes within the expanded ecosystem:

N-RAW targets hybrid creators and solo operators with its efficiency-focused design. The 12-bit compressed RAW format balances high-quality acquisition with manageable file sizes, making it ideal for documentary filmmakers and content creators who need cinema-quality results without complex external recording setups.

REDCODE RAW (R3D) maintains its position as the industry-standard cinema codec, optimized for controlled production environments and post-heavy workflows. Its established integration with DaVinci Resolve and REDCINE-X makes it the preferred choice for high-end production houses REDCINE-X is a free, professional-grade software application provided by RED Digital Cinema. In addition, Adobe has announced that it will support the N-Raw codec within its video editing software Premiere Pro.

The Future Landscape

This strategic alliance is redefining Nikon's identity in the visual content creation space. By bridging the gap between hybrid creators and cinema professionals, Nikon is positioning itself as a comprehensive imaging solutions provider. The RED acquisition doesn't represent a casual expansion into video—it's a fundamental repositioning that leverages RED's cinema expertise alongside Nikon's optical and sensor technology.

For working professionals, this integration promises future innovations that blend RED's cinema heritage with Nikon's technological prowess, potentially creating entirely new categories of imaging tools designed for modern visual storytelling across all formats.

Nikon announced the Z5 II mirrorless camera last night, but in addition to that announcement was another exciting update for Nikon videographers. The company revealed that Adobe will finally offer support for Nikon's N-Raw video format in Premiere Pro. N-Raw is Nikon's proprietary 12-bit Raw video format. It supports Rec2020 color gamut and allows users to adjust white balance in post-production, much like what's possible with Raw photo files. As a result, it provides more flexibility during the editing process. Despite that extra data for editing purposes, it also produces smaller file sizes compared to Apple ProRes Raw. It's ideal for those who need editing flexibility while saving space on memory cards and hard drives. The only other options for editing N-Raw files are DaVinci Resolve and RedCine-X Pro, so it is great to see Adobe getting on board. While support for N-Raw in Premiere Pro is certainly welcome news, users will have to wait until "the end of 2025." Nikon didn't provide more specifics than that, simply saying it will come with an updated version of Premiere Pro coming later this year.

Here the Nikon full press release:

https://www.nikon-asia.com/articles/nikon-n-raw-video-format-will-be-supported-in-adobe-video-editing-software-premiere-pro

Waterpixels is delighted to report that Emperor Divers have joined our growing lists of industry supporters.

Since 1992 Emperor Divers have shared their experience of scuba diving in the Red Sea, Maldives and Indonesia and have  looked after thousands of happy divers – a great many of whom keeping coming back to us year after year.

Emperor's focus has always been on providing safe and sustainable diving holidays for everyone. Liveaboards, Resort Diving and PADI Courses are what they do. They cite ‘Must-do’ dive itineraries to include ‘Best of Maldives’ , ‘Red Sea Reefs & Wrecks’ and Indonesia’s ‘Komodo’, ‘Banda Sea’ and ‘Raja Ampat’.

Having dived with Emperor many times over several decades, I can heartily recommend them.

The team at Waterpixels are delighted to announce that our 1000th member, @Grega  joined the Waterpixels community on 15 March.  An especially warm welcome to Grega!

Thanks to all those who have signed up since we started in Dec 2023.  We reached our 500th member in February 2024 and have seen a continuous stream of people signing up since then. 

We'd like to thank members for continuing to engage so positively and in a great spirit of willingness to share and be helpful.  We're especially delighted that unpleasant exchanges continue to be few and far between, sadly a rarity on an online forum.  It's the contributions to the forum from members and their willingness to share experiences, ideas and advice that has allowed the site to continue growing so positively.   We look forward to everyone's ongoing contributions and to many new members coming onboard.

Great to have you all with us!

Like most things, some attention to maintenance is usually a good idea. Underwater camera and cinematography accessories are no different, especially with the use and abuse most of it gets in unforgiving environments. Naturally, the better something is taken care of, the longer it will last, and even though Ultralight Camera Solutions products are virtually indestructible, treating them with respect will keep them in good working order.

For the underwater photographer, after every dive, the best thing to do is thoroughly rinse everything in freshwater, inspect and service it if needed so it is ready to go when needed. For most of us, it's easy to forget and overlook these things that will bite us in the butt later, especially when we decide at the last minute to go diving. Being proactive is always better than being reactive.

To learn more about caring for and maintaining your underwater photography accessories, we have put together some information and videos that you can view at the link.

I've finally recovered from the Go Diving Show which was held at the NAEC Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, Uk last weekend and what an incredible show it was.  From showcasing diving equipment, holiday destinations, marine conservation and of course underwater photography over a 10,000 square metre area, there really was something to inspire everyone.

Underwater Photographer of the Year is celebrating 60 years and had 30 of it's winning images on display from the entrance and throughout the show to inspire visitors as well as a packed audience to view them on the stage on Saturday afternoon.  Here is Saeed Rashid introducing some of the images.

Winning Image - Catherine Holme's "Kaleidoscope of Colour" - Brand New Category "Coral Reefs"

Runner-Up - Jenny Stock's "Gardens of the Caribbean Reef Shark" 

There was also a dedicated Photo - Inspiration Stage with a wide variety of underwater photography talks to inspire.   The hugely talented Jenny Stock concentrated on the "Creativity and Ethics of Photo Manipulation," Simon Rogerson, Editor of SCUBA Magazine shared secrets with the audience of "Photographing Big Animals" and Ellen Cuylaerts enthralled with tales of her past trips and the important of being a DAN member.

There were a wide variety of underwater photography specialists exhibiting, some for the first time.

DIVEVOLK were popular and stole the hearts of many visitors, with Louis and Kai from DIVEVOLK HQ in China flying in especially to demonstrate their award-winning innovative touchscreen smartphone underwater housings and accessories.  Who else is in love with their new "Dreamy Pink" model?

It was great to see Sea & Sea again, who had a variety of strobes on show for both compacts and d-SLRS.

Orcatorch were also exhibiting, sharing a stand with Sea & Sea.  They were demonstrating their popular D710 Best-Selling Dive Light which delivers 3000 lumens of light in 5 different colour options.  Which one is your favourite?

The ever popular Dr Alex Tattersall of Underwater Visions/Nauticam UK had his usual stand which he shared with Light Balance who are also retailers for DIVEVOLK.  The popular team of Anne & Phil Metcalfe from Alphamarine Photography were there and Nemo Photo had their first stand at the show.  Nemo Photo are the main distributors for Ikelite as well as offering Marelux and Go Pro products.

I'm still buzzing from the show, with the 8 hour drive there and back, it was totally worth it.  A huge well done to Mark and Penney Evans, all the Go Diving Team and of course the Exhibitors for creating such a brilliant atmosphere.  I'm sad at having to wait a whole year to go back.  Who's joining me?

Edition 143 of the excellent Underwater Photography Magazine is now available:

https://www.uwpmag.com

Nikon announced on 26 February firmware updates to the Z8 and Z6III camera bodies  Z8 to version 2.10 and the Z6III to version 1.10.

The updates are available through the Nikon download centre: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/index.html

Nikon provided the following details:

Retra have announced a firmware update for the Retra Flash Pro Max (to v2.13), Prime+ (to v2.4) and Pure (to v2.4).

The update includes bug fixes and a number of performance improvements.

The update is available through the usual app download systems.