News

The annual German "Boot" show took place on 18-26 January. I visited on 25 January to see what might be new in the dive and underwater photography world and met up with other Waterpixelers.   I was also tasked with tracking down the new unicorn of the underwater photography world, the Inon Z-xxx   Boot is a massive show spread over 13 exhibition halls. It wouldn't be hard to spend a few million euros there - assuming you had them in the first place. Diving was maybe one and a

It's worth a read of the link to Dive Magazine's article on the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on Red Sea liveaboard incidents.   The report makes for sobering reading: 16 boats lost in 5 years.   https://divemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2025-SB1-RedSeaDiveBoats.pdf

(image credits: Sony) Sony has unveiled the Sony A9 III, a full-frame mirrorless camera boasting a 24.6MP resolution and a global shutter. The global shutter functionality ensures simultaneous readout of information from each pixel on the sensor, eliminating distortion in both still images and videos of moving subjects. Employing a stacked design, the 24.6MP CMOS sensor, in conjunction with the latest Bionz XR processor, guarantees swift operational performance. The Sony A9 III, also r

Edge sharpness with wide-angle lenses underwater  can be an issue especially for users of full-frame sensor camera bodies.   One solution to increasing edge sharpness, which has worked for some photographers, has been the Sea&Sea correction lens which came in 77mm and 82mm diameter options. But this lens disappeared from sale a little while ago.   Waterpixels member @Ido has been in contact with Sea&Sea and has been told that the company plan to make the lens availabl

The biggest trade fair for boats, diving (and underwater photography) in Germany traditionally takes place in January every year, BOOT in Düsseldorf. I can report on Nauticam (who shared the stand with PanOcean), Seafrogs, Seacam and GoPro, but of course only individual impressions. There were 3 Nauticam employees on site. One of the three FCPs currently available outside the factory was on display, along with the WACP-1, WACP-C and WWL-1b. I was particularly taken with this comparison.

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.

Divers24.com reports a fire, this time in the Red Sea, on the Sea Legends.   Keep an eye on those lithium batteries, people!

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 ar

Incredible though it may seem, Nikon have just announced a firmware upgrade to that much-loved Nikon D500.   The new version, 1.40:  Changed the default password displayed on the connection menu after all the camera's settings were reset. The upgrade is available here:   https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/fw/544.html

Issue 140 of the excellent Underwater photography Magazine, UWP, is now available.   https://www.uwpmag.com/

The San Diego Undersea Film Festival has released the screening schedule of films in competition for 2024. The screenings will be held at Qualcomm Hall (5775 Morehouse Drive) Friday, October 4th (7pm) & Saturday, October 5th (5:30pm) 2024. Moreover, many of the competition videos will be available for viewing online on October 7.   https://www.sdufex.com/2024-festival-schedule    

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/126     https://xray-mag.com/magazines/126

Sony have announced major firmware upgrades for the a1, a9III, a7SIII and a7IV   According to the Sony press release, firmware v2.00 for the Sony a1 is perhaps the most extensive.    The Sony a7SIII and a7IV are upgraded to v3.00.   The Sony a9III will be upgraded to v2.00 which is expected to be available from 9 April. However if you live in the USA, availability is from April 9.

I installed my first Leak Sentinel vacuum valve, a V3, in my Subal ND800 housing in 2014. Over 700 dives, changes of camera housing and upgrades to the Sentinel system, I’ve moved through V4, V5 and now the newly available V6. As the slogan goes, I’d never leave home without it. Why? The Sentinel provides a unique extra level of security and reassurance to an underwater camera and has saved me from my own stupidity a couple of times…… So what is it? The Leak Sentinel is a small valve w

Reports have come in of another live aboard fire in Indonesia, this one in Raja Ampat, details are scant, however it was posted that every one got off the boat.  Only seems to have made Indonesian new channels so far, there is a link to a news page in Indonesian.   https://scubaboard.com/community/threads/raja-ampat-boat-fire-dive-boat.643793/   https://papua.jpnn.com/papua-terkini/2670/kapal-pesiar-terbakar-di-perairan-raja-ampat-bagaimana-kondisi-23-wisatawan

With thanks to Conrad Gowell (DriftC) for this article: A legal victory for the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) marks a turning point in the protection of Orcas and Chinook salmon in South-East Alaska https://wildfishconservancy.org/wfc-legal-victory-marks-turning-point-for-southern-resident-orcas-and-wild-chinook/

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.

U39 · Jul/Aug 2024 Visit https://www.uwpmag.com to download.      Editorial   Competitions, RIP Martin Edge RIP Martin Edge  by Alex Mustard  News, Travel & Events 2024 Monterey Shootout - August 23-25, 2024 Inaugural Underwater Awards Australasia Imaging Competition Reef Species of the World Bunaken Oasis 2025 Photography Workshop with Alex Tattersall ‘Word on the Reef’ podcast

U38 · May/Jun 2024 https://www.uwpmag.com     Editorial   Lens nirvana, Hybrid history, Concentration & Blackwater business News, Travel & Events   Baja Mexico Sardine Run & Diving Cabo Pulmo Bali Workshop With Alex Tattersall Bikini Atoll – Pacific Master  Underwater Portrait Photography Workshop Raja Ampat Underwater Photography Workshop  with Tim Laman and Zafer Kizilkaya

The Dutch dive show, Duikvaker, was held in Houten on 1-2 February.   The German boat show which includes diving, Boot, is massive in comparison, but Duikvaker being purely diving is, as a result, very manageable.  Many of the dive companies who exhibited at Boot were at Duikvaker so a large array of equipment was there both from distributors and dealers to poke, prod, try on and lust over. I was very tempted by the heated vests from Venture Heat!    PADI ran its annual Membe

Adobe have announced v 14.2 for Lightroom Classic.   New features are set out below,    

Product Features Fast-aperture ultra wide-angle zoom lens Compact and light weight Outstanding optical performance MOD of 0.15m (5.9”) and maximum magnification ratio of 1:4 High performance autofocus RXD stepping motor for both still and video use [1] Di III-A: For APS-C format mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras [2] The full-frame equivalent of 17.6-32mm.   Tamron Co., Ltd. announces the development of TAMRON’s first CANON RF mount lens, 11-20mm F/2.8 Di II

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:        

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/125

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 p