The first two Lytro light field cameras in Singapore

Just a few days before the Chinese NY festival Scubacam had a surprise visitor by the name of Eric Cheng, DP at Lytro and Founder of Wetpixel.  Eric was on route to PNG/ Eastern Fields dive trip to get on board the MV Golden Dawn to meet up with Craig De Wit (the Captain) and Tony Wu.

Eric with Red (16 GB) & Blue (8GB) Lytros

Well he brought with him a couple of Lytro cameras. These are “light field” cameras which allow you to refocus your picture after you have taken them. Yes you heard right….it could be refocused and on any part of the picture after. I believe this is the first two Lytros  in SE Asia which makes this a historic moment. This camera uses a very sophisticated light capturing technology which is a wee bit long and difficult for me to explain correctly. In essence it captures all the light beams (photons with vector information) from the environment and records that information and then uses computational processing (software) to reconstruct the image on the screen. Huhh? I told you it was complicated. It needs a lot of micro-processor power and memory. Lets just say a few years ago a camera like this would be the size of a small room. Lytro is tiny and has all that built in plus the software to make it work. Since it is processed by software who knows what this technology will lead? A holographic picture one could interact with it in the future maybe – exciting times indeed.

'Beam me up Scotty" Dave getting carried away....

It’s only available at the USA at the moment but I am sure it will be launched to the rest of the world soon. More info on the camera and how it all works could be found here https://www.lytro.com/camera

We at Scubacam will definitely be trying out this amazing camera and possibly with a housing. No more out-of-focus fishy photos.

Sanah’s just realized the Lytro is perfect at parties.

The Lytro camera come in a variety of colours – even colour coordinated with Sanah and Eric’s clothes.

Too Hot To Handle

Apart from the 3 day social visit in Singapore, Eric also brought along his L&M Bluefin housing for his Canon HF G10. I had a custom flip macro and an +8 achromatic dioptre (internal) made for Eric to test with his camcorder setup. These were not available from L&M and I get many request to make them so I thought Eric should test them for good measure. What he  also really wanted was a top hung carry handle for the housing. I had a day to think about it and decided to make one. The difficulty is the two screw mounts on top of the housing and these are blocked by the housing float which sits over them.  So like a trained surgeon I fashioned a handle out of a scrap of aluminum and cut a few holes in the foam. I even managed to add a ball adapter for a small LED light or a GoPro Hero.

Well I was rather please with my handy work and judging fromEric’s reaction he was rather pleased too.

As usual Eric visit is always fun and it was great to catch up with him on stories of his travels and work. More on Wetpixel could be found here http://wetpixel.com/

Ciao

Oh Gong Xi Fay Choy  BTW…..

Patima has released a housing for the Iphones. Yes, IPHONE. Must we say anything more about this AWESOME product? Available in our store around February 2012. Call/Email us for iNTRODUCTORY PROMO OFFER!

Introducing the brand new housing by Fantasea for  Nikon Coolpix P7100. Specially designed for the Coolpix P7100,the housing meets the highest professional standards of function, style and durability. It is depth rated to 60 meters/200 feet, ergonomically designed, fully functional and features easy-to-use, clearly labeled controls.

Hello there !

Happy 2012 to you all.

The new year kicks off with an exciting addition to  Scubacam’s equipment rental family.

We now shoot with the RED EPIC and Gates DEEP EPIC housing plus a few Cine lenses. More detail on “what’s New” later. Now I am itching to go diving and have a play with this baby. Shooting 5K video footage is not without problems. Everything to do with the computer needs upgrading in particular memory storage…..RED just sucks the memory like a hungry gas -guzzler hot rod. Enough of my babbling here are just couple of teasers.

Gates Deep Epic & RED Epic M with PL mount

David & Bert with eyes closed and prayed to RED that it all fits and working

Stay tuned for full test report soon.    Wishing all a great year to come.  See you at the shop. Ciao!

Looking for a housing that is durable but not going to burn a hole in your pocket? The Ikelite Canon S100 underwater housing is a compact and affordable housing.  Dive into underwater photography with this incredibly compact and simple to use combination.

Introducing the new FIX S100 housing from FISHEYE. The highly anticipated housing  has finally reached our doorstep. An aluminium housing that fits your camera like a glove, it is a great housing for beginners and pros alike.  So, what are you waiting for? Call or email us for more details!!

I can’t really believe the amount of light each of these packs in. The New Sola 4000  is Light and Motion long awaited flagship underwater video light. Yes it is finally on our shelves and it is flying off the shelves too figuratively speaking.

Yes 4000 really means 4000 lumens and the light has 7 dimmer settings using the same magnetic slide switch of the earlier Solas. In fact it looks like a “grown up” version of the Sola 1200 video light. No longer pocket-able. It is certainly quite small compare with others in the market. So dimension-wise it is about the size of a Starbuck coffee mug.

I had a play with it in a pool and at full power the light could easily overcome the daylight and fill in the harsh shadows bringing out the lovely colours of the corals – in this case the mosaic tiles and my toes.  Colour is about daylight and certainly whiter than sunlight.

It is a self contained  light with a high capacity rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Now if any divers worry about getting stopped by airport custom with these then fret no more. It has a safety turn switch above the slider marked with little airplane and diver symbols. It will switch the battery indicator on or off. If that is not enough then the front is designed to enable the user to remove the front LED module, turn it round and screw back on with the front bezel. This make it impossible to have an “accident” of the light switching on and burning your luggage.  I particularly like the attention to detail like the words “this side out for AIR TRANSPORT” in big bold letter on the inside face – just so the custom official gets the message and don’t insist in take the thing apart.

The light is relatively light and could be supported on 3/4 inch loc-line or with ball arms and clamps to any housing  rig (I always wonder why UW photographers call their gear “rig”). Two of these will light up the pool or a soccer pitch size seabed at night. Two on the same spot would be more than enough for continuous light UW digtal still photography. 8000 lumens! It could probably cook a shrimp from six feet. It will be like a personal UW studio lights. It is something I will try out.  Time to cook a fish or two….. Ciao

Want to know more click here: http://www.uwimaging.com/sola4000v.html

Underwater housing and Compact Hi-Def pro system is here. The Sony NXCAM series of interchangeable lens camcorder is making a huge splash (pardon the pun) in the professional scene. The camcorder is developed around a Super-35mm CMOS sensor and the new E-mount lens is perfectly calibrated to take advantage to this video capture format.

The exciting news is that Amphibico has produced the new GENESIS FS100U for this camera.

The housing is compact and will be travel friendly in terms of size and weight. Amphibico uses the same high quality marine grade aluminum construction as their previous PRO line of housings; no compromise was taken to create the New “GENESIS” line. Keeping in mind total ergonomics and underwater balance, its compact design with an intergraded electronic grip system makes the unit extremely user friendly underwater. The further cherry on the icing is the attachment of a separate accessory to house the Ninja recording media. Ninja preserves the pristine uncompressed video quality from your camera’s sensor by encoding it into Apple ProRes® directly. Then it goes straight to the timeline of your NLE. It’s the fastest and best-quality workflow possible today. Amphibico may have had its share of hardship lately but with this rebound the company is yet again on the forefront of innovative underwater technology.

Key Features

Solid Construction

Precision machined from a solid block of marine grade aluminum giving endless durability. Black anodized for corrosion protection a layer of tuff military grade polyurethane powder coat paint and a final coat of clear for the outmost durability in harsh sea water.

Full Camcorder Control

Complete access to your camcorder while filming underwater. The Genesis boasts a host of features that is certain to pacify the most passionate of underwater video professionals. With dual electronic grips and menu control panel, this housing gives complete access to your camcorder while filming underwater.

Top Mounted large 3.5» Window

For convenient and easy filming through Sony’ sharp, large and bright 3.5 XtraFine™ LCD/ Viewfinder. Located on the optical axis, the 3.5-inch-type XtraFine LCD panel enables easier, more intuitive framing.

Bayonet Lens Mounting System

Given that the Sony FS100U camcorder features a Super 35mm E-Mount Interchangeable Lens System, a great variety of current and future E-mount lenses from various lens manufacturers (Sony Zeiss, Tamron, Sigma and Cosina) are compatible.

Ninja SPLASH PRO (optional accessory)

Professionals can now go underwater and record video at considerably higher Bit-Rates and color (4:2:2). 10 bit Uncompressed to Apple ProRes Field Recorder and also be used as a Monitor. Better quality videos can be produced to articulate the motion image being captured in the stunning underwater world below. Designed with a robust look and feel, the Ninja Splash syncs. simply via the LANC control on the camcorder. So press record and the unit starts up at the same time as your camcorder.

Specifications:

Construction:

- 6061-T6 Marine grade solid aluminum

- Fully anodized with a hard coat of polyurethane paint & a final clear coat.

- All hardware is marine grade aluminum & stainless steel

Features & Controls:

- Designed for professional underwater use

- 14 Electronic push button controls to access over 25 functions

- Control Panel for all menu access to camcorder functions

- Proportional Manual Focus

- Proportional Manual Zoom knob

- Manual White Balance

- Manual Iris

- Manual Gain

- Manual Shutter Speed

- Sensitive Hydrophone

- Moisture sensor alarm

- Tally light flashes green while filming

- 3 Auxiliary ports

- Two Year Standard Full Warranty

- Bayonet lens mounting system

- Conveniently designed to accept Aquatica ports

Dimensions:

- TBD

Weight:

- TBD

Operating Depth:

- 300 feet / 90 meters