BRI Aquatic Cabinets News

Wetpixel.com is proud to host the 2009 Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design Contest. If you have the perfect photo that captures the excitement and beauty of Raja Ampat diving, enter this contest for a chance to have your image printed on the 4,000 park tags that will be attached BCDs of visiting divers! In addition, the first place winner will receive a 7-day, 6-night, all-inclusive dive trip* to Raja Ampat’s original eco-resort at Kri, kindly donated by Papua Diving.

To enter the contest, submit up to 2 photos or graphic designs per contestant before midnight on Thursday, August 28, 2008. After finalists are chosen, you –- the public -– will vote for the best image or design until September 25, 2008. Winners will be announced on October 1, 2008. 

Continue reading for full contest details.

Nikon has announced the D700 SLR, a 12-megapixel full-frame camera that uses the same sensor as does the D3. The D700 also has a built-in flash, a sensor cleaning feature, and can shoot up to ISO 25,600. It shoots at 5 frames a second, but can be boosted to 8 frames a second with the use of an external battery pack.

DPReview hosts a visual comparison of the D300, D700 and D3. Underwater photographers in our forums are already speculating as to whether the D700 will drop into D300 housings. Many are also excited by the D700’s large viewfinder.

The D700 retails at $2,999.

Ikelite has informally announced the Ikelite SubStrobe DS-160, which replaces the DS-125 in their product line. The DS-160 features 160 watt-seconds of power, a built-in 5-watt LED modeling light, TTL plus 10 power levels, 1.5-second recycle time, and 225 full-power flashes per charge. It uses the same battery pack, charger, sync connection, and mounting system as the current SubStrobe DS-125.  The DS-125 will continue to be available while supplies last.

The DS-160 is available for pre-order and will begin shipping in limited quantities in late July. Full specs and photos will be available on Ikelite’s website later this month.

Be sure to follow Drew Wong and team, who are posting almost-daily updates from the annual sardine run / ocean safari in South Africa!

Related: Wetpixel’s photos from Sardine Run 2006.

Please join me and the rest of the Wetpixel team in wishing a happy birthday to Matt Segal! For those of you who don’t know Matt, he’s the young administrator (and underwater photographer) that keeps Wetpixel running behind the scenes. Anyone who has sent a support request into Wetpixel has probably (eventually) gotten a reply back from Matt, and he’s been an absolutely invaluable part of the Wetpixel team.

We’re glad that Matt has added another candle to his birthday cake. Maybe this year, he won’t get carded while trying to get into DEMA.

Professional underwater photographer and good friend Tony Wu has written a post on his personal blog about shooting underwater with compact cameras. Tony took a Sony W300 down for some dives and set it on underwater white-balance mode.  He managed to get some fantastic images!

Despite the recent passing of the Shark Conservation Act, sharks remain threatened. The Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament in Montauk, NY is currently in progress, running from June 12-14, with a prize pool of more than $1,000,000 for the catching and killing of the largest sharks.

DivePhotoGuide has issued a call to attend the event on Saturday, June 14 to “broadcast [the coverage] to the world in efforts to create more awareness and help save our sharks.” Also scheduled on Saturday from 4-5PM is a Humane Society rally protesting the killings. Visit DivePhotoGuide for more information about the event…