January 2011
Review of the Sea & Sea YS 110a strobe
We publish our review of the strobe of the Japanese manufacturer, ranking just
below the top of the line. We have tested it with several cameras, and our
readers have already had the opportunity to see the various results. The test
provides a summary of a long series of dives, and evidences pros (many) and
cons (few). Click here to read the pages of the test.
A new gallery and a new article: Fabio Liverani
Fabio Liverani is a naturalist photographer, portraying the mountains and the sea, but also architecture and advertising. Such eclectism
could but take him underwater: being specialized in pictures of amphibians, he
has captured the newts in their intimacy, even if he had to relocate them for a
while. Read his opinion on naturalistic photography and image ethics, and on how he obtains his
pictures. Look at his gallery, realized at the National Park of the Casentinesi Forests, Italy.
First quotations for the new prosumer Olympus XZ-1
The prosumer compact XZ-1 by Olympus has already the first price quotations that
position it, together with the technical specs, in direct competition with the
Panasonic LX5 and the Canon S95. Unterwasserkamera offers the housing at € 285, and the package camera + housing at € 740. Kanau offers the camera at € 469, but does not quote the housing. An interesting feature of the housing is
the possibility of mounting M67 accessories without the need for adapters, a
good oportunity for macro.
Oasis Photo Contest 2010, the winner is: underwater photo
The results have been made public of the Oasis Photo Contest 2010, an International Prize on
nature and environment photography. The absolute winner is Tommaso Balestrini, while the title of Italian Champion has been given to Sergio Sarta for a portfolio of
underwater images of shags hunting. The prize for the section Underwater Photography has been assigned to Paolo Fossati, with an image of dolphins in the Sardine Run. The jury, chaired by Folco
Quiici and composed by Francesco Petretti, Paolo Di Mizio, Daniele Pellegrini,
Egidio Trainito, Fabrizio Ventura, Sergio Banfi, and Fabio Liverani, has
examined as many as 10721 images (divided into 10 sections) by 821 authors from 28 countries of the
world. The prize money is particularly rich.
Fantasea presents a new universal tray
Fantasea has put on the market the new mounting tray for accesories like strobes, pilot
lamps, and others, called Blue Ray Tray, which, according to the company, can
be fitted to all the housings for compact cameras. The standard tray features a
T1 connector and a wide slot where the fastening screw can slide. An extension
plate can be added to the tray, with a T1 connector to attach accessories on
both sides of the housing. Prices, respectively, $55.95 and $23.95.
Biodiversity: plancton and basking shark
After the fin whales, te plancton that makes dense the waters of the Marine Protected Area of Tavolara has attracted also the basking sharks. This time we meet the largest fish of
the Mediterranean, that can reach 18 meters. In a grey and cloudy day, we met
two, probably females, about 9 and 7 meters long, ploughing across the waves
with their monster mouths gaping to swallow as much food as possible. And their food, made
of microscopic plancton organisms, is well visible in the images that show
again how well the Olympus PEN E-PL1 works, also in ambient light, in addition to being very easy to operate. Click here to take a look.
Biodiversity: fin whales feeding time
With this gallery we start a series of image collections on biodiversity, to
report on rare animals or uncommon behaviors, but not only that. This time we
don’t dive, but the images are so exceptional that they deserve publication. They
account for an encounter, during a whole evening, with two fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Marine Protected Area of Tavolara, Sardinia: this is not the first time, but the two cetaceans were feeding on
schools of small fish, and the result was rare images of great impact. Click here to take a look.
A new series of articles on underwater photo techniques
People often buy a camera with no idea of basic techniques. From the start,
underwater, we must face problems with ambient and artificial light, problems
unknown to those who are used to shoot on land...
We start a series of easy-to-follow tutorials, specifically devoted to underwater
photography, developed by Claudio Grazioli, a photographer and instructor of long experience. Click here to read the first part.
Back to the future, an interview with Roberto Rinaldi
We were puzzled by the growing tendency of professional video operators to add
to their equipment a reflex with HD video, with a clear preference for the
Canon 5D Mark II. Also Roberto Rinaldi, a photographer and cameraman of
international level, was charmed by the Canon, and for many of his jobs he
leaves behind his bulky video camera to use the so much lighter reflex in
housing. We put him a few questions on the reasons of this trend, and on how he
sees the evolution of these technologies. Click here to read the interesting interview.
Olympus presents the new hybrid PEN E-PL2 with housing
An upgrade of the E-PL1 issued 10 months ago, and a younger sister of the EP-2,
the E-PL2 has been presented at CES, already with its underwater housing, images of which
had already been circulated on the web. Not many differences from the E-PL1:
essentially, the new camera has a larger display (3”), a new joystick with no pushbuttons, but with a clickable rotating wheel, and
the possibility of mounting a Bluetooth transmitter with in-built memory for quick
file exchange. The standard zoom too has been improved with a quicker focusing
and a smoother motion for better video usage. The
housing is very similar to that of the E-PL1, but the designers chose to do away with
the option of an add-on electronic viewfinder, therefore the housing doesn’t have the bump at the top, and it is more compact. The price of the camera has
already been announced: 599 €, available from end of January. Price and availability of the housing are still
unknown.
A flood of new amphibian cameras at CES
As many as 6 new models of amphibian cameras have been presented at the Consumer
Electronic Show of Las Vegas, closing down on January 9. Fujifilm presents the new XP30 e XP 20: the 30 stands out with its GPS, both have 14,2 Mp, 28-140 mm zoom (equivalent
in the 35 mm format), stabilized sensor, 2,7” display, waterproof up to 5 m. depth, fall-resistant up to 1.5 meters and
cold-resistant up to –10°C. Kodak presents the Easy Share Sport, compact, supercheap, waterproof up to 3 m. Olympus presents the TG 610 and TG 310: la first waterproof up to 5 m, the second up to 3; both with a 14 Mp sensor, the first has a 3” display, 28-140 zoom, and automatic color balance for underwater shots. Sony has presentated the CyberShot DSC-TX10, waterproof up to 5 m, min temperature -10° C, and fall resistance 1,5 m. It has a 16.2 megapixel sensor, 25-100 mm zoom,
Full HD, 3D, 3” display, and panorama function.
Alex Mustard’s new gallery
British underwater photographer, Alex Mustard, 35, lives in Alghero, Sardinia,
but travels across the world to take photographs. He currently uses... click here to read the full article, and to take a look at the beautiful and surprising
pictures of a real virtuoso of underwater photography.
Olympus launches the new series X of prosumer compacts
In open competition with Panasonic LX5, Canon S95, and G12 and Nikon P7000,
Olympus presented its new XZ-1 with a 1:1,63 sensor (same size as on the
Panasonic LX5), 10 megapixels, with ample room for manual controls, thanks to a
wheel surrounding the lens, and one at the back. The top novelty, wrt the
competition, is the very luminous zoom: it is in fact a 28-112 equivalent, with
aperture f 1.8-2,5, allowing for high shutter speeds at low light, and better
chances of blurring the background at maximum aperture. The display is 3”, manual sensitivity up to 6400 ISO, 720p HD video; the minimum focusing
distance in supermacro position is 1 cm and burst can reach 2 fps. Olympus hasn’t specified yet the accessories that will come with the camera, but confirms the
internet rumors: a dedicated housing, branded PT050, max depth 40 m (130 feet),
with the typical look of current production, matte black front, and transparent
back. The housing should have a small diffuser for the built-in flash, with
optical-cable socket for external flash. The camera should be on the marked
starting this month, at 449 €; housing availability and price: still unknown.
CES - Consumer electronic show in Las Vegas
The electronics fair, that will close down on january 9, presents a whole host
of new digital cameras, mostly in the point-and-shoot range. Also, many new
amphibians up to 3-5 m. Probably, the top news for underwater photography come
from Olympus, with the new PEN E-PL2 and the brand new XZ-1, for which, images
of the new housings are already being circulated. The first one is a hybrid,
the second a prosumer compact, comparable to Panasonic LX5 and Canon S95. More news to come soon.
Olympus PEN E-PL1: test completed
A long series of dives in the Mediterranean and in the Red Sea allows us to
formulate a judgement on the Olympus hybrid, tested with two lenses, with the
macro, and with the Sea & Sea YS 110 α strobe. The first part of this test, published in December, described construction quality and handling ease. Will underwater results be up to expectation? Browse the new test pages to find out.
The last of the Kodachromes
Dwayne’s Photo, a family-run company of Parsons, Kansas, on December 30, switched off
the last machine in the world that could develop Kodachrome films, as it run
out of the chemicals that Kodak had ceased to produce in 2009. The last film
roll was shot by Dwayne Steinle, the company owner, who gave his assistants a
t-shirt with the inscription: “The best slide and movie film in history is now officially retired. Kodachrome:
1935-2010”. So disappears one more piece of the history of photography. To learn more
about it, visit Dan Bayer’s beautiful website
www.kodachromeproject.com .
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