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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 th

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

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, th

The TIPA 2024 awards were announced today in the US and among the winners for best camera equipment of the year is Laowa's 10mm F/2.8 rectilinear full frame AF lens. Laowa announced this as an architectural, astro, landscape and portrait lens but it is also a fantastic underwater photography lens with an AOV of 130 degrees.  Attached are just a few photos from last weeks trip to the North Florida Springs. The 10mm is paired with the Sony A7R V in a Marelux housing with the Marelux 230mm dome po

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.

Nikon is aiming to broaden its presence in the cinematography industry. The company has disclosed its agreement to acquire Red, a cinematography camera manufacturer, which will operate as a fully-owned subsidiary of Nikon. Details regarding the terms and value of the acquisition were not revealed.   In its announcement, Nikon expressed its intention to utilize this acquisition to expand its footprint in the rapidly growing professional digital cinema camera market. By leveraging t

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 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

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

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

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.

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.

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:        

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

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

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

A new Nikon firmware update is available to v5.10   Nikon lists the changes as:   Note: The changes listed below under “Video Recording” and “Controls” are detailed in the Supplementary Firmware Update Manual. Note: Due to the addition of new menu items, some Custom Settings menu items have been renumbered. ■ Video Recording • Hi-Res Zoom is now available when the image area is set to “DX”. • Added a [Power/Hi-Res Zoom collab]* item to the [CUST

A further update to Adobe Lightroom Classic is available: v14.1.1    This follows soon after v 14.1.......    

At their DEMA booth, Keldan showed their new tiny RC2 wireless remote control. Designed for minimal size and weight. Range up to 2-3m. It is compatible with all KELDAN remote controllable lights.       Keldan have also updated their 4X light. The new version 4XR has impressive 11000lm with a small form factor and can be operated with their wireless remote controllers.      Keldan wants to thank Hergen Spalink for his excellent presentation abo

Edition 143 of the excellent Underwater Photography Magazine is now available:   https://www.uwpmag.com

INON is pleased to announce that existing INON accessories for HERO12 Black are confirmed compatible with HERO13 Black when housed in its genuine dive housing (Protective Housing). Existing INON lenses including UFL-G140SD, UCL-G165II SD, UCL-G100 SD, UCL-G55 SD are usable for HERO13 Black as well at the same condition for HERO12 Black.     INON Action Camera Wet Lenses Usage Tips   INON " SD Front Mask for HERO9 " or " M67 Filter Adapter for HERO9 " doesn'

https://xray-mag.com/magazines/127     https://xray-mag.com/magazines/127

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

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