X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

My Favorite Unusual Critter Dive: Contributors' Picks

We asked our contributors what their favorite unusual critter dive was and they answered with stories and photos of weird and wonderful creatures, big and small, giving first-hand accounts of their often bizarre behaviors under the waves. X-Ray Mag contributors reveal the strange, rare or other-worldly yet endearing denizens of the underwater realm—from the tropical paradise of Indonesia and the Philippines to the temperate waters off California, British Columbia, South Africa and South Australia, to the frigid waters of the Barents and East seas off Russia—where they captured images of their favorite critters.

Words:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
Images:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
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Photo & Video

(To see all photos, please scroll down and download the full article PDF.)

Frogfish

Text and photos by Matthew Meier

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

My Favorite Wide-Angle Dive: Contributors' Picks

We asked our contributors what their favorite wide-angle dive was and they came back with stories and photos from some of the most unique and exhilarating dive sites on earth, many of them relaying interactions with large marine life from Steller sea lions in Kamchatka and giant manta rays in Komodo to tiger sharks in the Bahamas and humpback whales in the Dominican Republic.

Words:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
Images:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
North Atlantic humpback whale calf. Photo by Matthew Meier
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Photo & Video

X-Ray Mag contributors reveal the beauty of the underwater world—from the tropical paradise of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines to the subtropical seas at Mexico's Socorro Islands and the temperate waters off California and South Africa—where they captured their favorite shots and experiences. (To see all photos, please scroll down and download the full article PDF.)

SeaLife close-up & macro lenses for Micro 3.0 camera

SeaLife has introduced a new close-up lens for its new Micro 3.0 cameras, including the new ReefMaster RM-4K and its previous generations.

The new lens allows one to capture close-up images and video from 6 to 24 inches (15cm to 60cm). The +10 diopter wet lens attaches quickly and easily on land or underwater. The lens features a single optical glass element that is anti-reflection (AR) coated.

Fujifilm FinePix XP140

The FUJIFILM FinePix XP140 is a rugged digital camera, which is waterproofed to 25m (82ft).

Its 16.4MP CMOS sensor enables still shots in JPG, UHD 4K (15fps) video recording (30fps in HD mode), and ISO 100-12800 sensitivity range. The camera is equipped with a (non-changeable) Fujinon 5x optical zoom lens, which covers a 28-140mm equivalent focal length range, and sensor-
shift image stabilization. The XP140 comes with a 3in 920k-dot LCD monitor for composition and image review.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Betrayed Again — Ode to Olympus

On 24 June 2020, I woke up to the news that after 84 years, Olympus was selling off its camera division. As an underwater photographer and long-time user of Olympus camera gear, my feelings were that of betrayal, again. Here is some history on my experience with Olympus, and my thoughts about the future.

Words:
Larry Cohen
Images:
Larry Cohen and Olga Torrey
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Photo & Video

My first Olympus camera was the Pen FT half-frame 35mm film camera. At the time, I had a photo studio and worked mostly with large and medium format cameras. When I did have to shoot 35mm film, I usually used Nikon cameras. For some volume projects, this camera, which gave me 72 images on a 36-exposure roll of film, was useful. I was surprised by the quality of the images taken with a tiny frame of film.

Nauticam NA-1DXIII Housing

The new NA-1DXIII underwater housing by Nauticam is designed for the Canon 1DX Mark III SLR camera, which is considered the flagship of the CANON EOS
series.

The housing offers HDMI 2.0 compatibility via an M28 bulkhead and uses Nauticam’s N120 port system. Strobe triggering is supported with optional manual or TTL flash triggers, via fiber optics, or with the supplied Nikonos 5 pin bulkheads and internal electrical board. Its dimensions are 360mm x 235mm x 145mm.
Its topside weight is 3.59kg, and its underwater weight is -0.2kg (with camera and battery). The NA-1DXIII is depth-rated to 100m.

Retra Supercharger

The Supercharger is an add-on for the Prime and PRO series of underwater flashguns made by the Slovenian manufacturer Retra.

Retra Supercharger

The Supercharger doubles the battery life and reduces the recycle time by more than 50 percent. It is powered by four AA-sized rechargeable batteries, making the complete set (strobe and add-on) running on eight batteries in total.
In addition, it acts as a helpful grip for strobe positioning underwater. With this add-on attached, the technical specifications of the Retra strobes include a recycle time at 40% power output of ~0.7s and the number of flashes at 50 percent power output of 700+. The combined (strobe and Supercharger) assembly weight is 1150g.

Free video tutorial on unusual macro UW photo techniques

California underwater photographer Brent Durand offers a new free video tutorial on uncommon underwater photography tips and techniques not often discussed, which will help improve your macro images.

Photo & Video

Durand writes: “If you've been shooting for a while, you've likely read a number of articles with basic macro photo tips. These tips are largely the same (in my articles as well). And they're essential tips. But let's go beyond that and discuss macro photo tips you'll rarely see included in the general articles.”

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

My Favorite Macro Dive: Contributors' Picks

We asked our contributors what their favorite macro dive was and they answered with stories and images from some of the most beautiful and unique dive sites on the planet. From the depths of Lake Baikal in Siberia to a shore dive off Florida to the tropical paradise of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines to the temperate waters of British Columbia and South Africa, X-Ray Mag contributors share their favorite shots and experiences.

Words:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
Images:
X-Ray Mag Contributors
Download the full article as pdf ⬇︎
Photo & Video

(To see all photos, please scroll down and download the full article PDF.)

Puri Jati, Bali, Indonesia

Text and photos by Scott Bennett

Ikelite DS Strobe

The new Ikelite DS strobe is likely to be released within this year.

Ikelite DS Strobe

This successor of the well-known Ikelite DS160 and DS161 will feature improved energy savings (33%), a chrome-plated reflector for improved output, a fast recycle time, and an improved design for more field of coverage and softer fall off.
The new DS strobe will work with the same batteries as the DS160/161. It is compatible with the Ikelite TTL converters and can be triggered by a fiber
optic cable or electronic sync cable.

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