Ikelite has announced the release of four new ULTRACompact housings by the end of July.
The housings feature the well known and time tested Ikelite clear polycarbonate design and are depth rated to 60m.
The new ULTRAcompacts are going to accomodate the following camera models:
#6210.31 - Sony DSC-W310;
#6210.37 - Sony DSC-W370;
#6270.02 - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 (FT2);
#6240.40 - Canon SD4000IS (IXUS 300HS | IXY 30S).

Ikelite price-tags all its ULTRAcompact housings at US$ 260.

Sony releases three new Cybershot models, couple of which have the ability to shoot 3D panoramas.
The new Cyber-shot DSC-WX5 will be available in september and features a 12.2 effective Megapixel Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor and F2.4-5.9, 5X optical zoom "G" lens. The LCD screen is 2.8" LCD with 460,800 pixels resolution. With the new Superior Auto mode you can combine six exposures into a single image low noise HDRs. The Sweep Panorama lets you create huge panoramic images by sweeping the camera in any direction. The 3D Sweep Panorama will allow you to make 3D horizontal panoramas for displaying on a 3D TV set. The new camera can take up to ten full resolution images in a row at 10 fps. The Cyber-shot DSC-WX5 features Full HD (1920x1080@60i) stereo sound movies.

Besides the WX 5, Sony releases a couple of "T" ultra-compact models. Both models have the same lens and look almost identical, however the DSC-Cyber-shot TX9 has Exmor R CMOS sensor and a larger LCD than the Cyber-shot DSC-T99.
 

Tokina announced the release dates for the new ultra wide angle AT-X 16-28 F2.8 PRO FX lens for Nikon and Canon.

According to the company's press release the lens would feature Tokina's latest optical design, which would ensure constant performance throught the whole zoom range. The front aspherical 56mm lens as well as the other lenses in the group are manufactured of SD (super low dispersion) glass. By this Tokina ensures high level of distortion correction.
AT-X 16-28 F2.8 PRO FX features Silent Drive-Module for fast and quite AF performance. The lens uses Tokina's GMR sensor (high precision magnetic sensor), which is featured in the high-end Tokina lenses. This AF rotation sensor allows more precise AF control and achieves faster automatic focusing. The new Tokiona has a robust exterior design ensuring that the lens is sealed to dust and water.

The Nikon mount version will be available on August 6, 2010, while the Canon mount would hit the market in mid-September 2010.

Samyang issued a press release informing that by the late September three new Samsung NX mount lenses will be available on the market. Probably the most interesting one for the underwater photographers will be the the manual focus Samyang 8mm f3.5 fish-eye and Samyang 14mm f2.8. Currently the lenses are offered for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus 4/3 and Pentax. By the same time the Korean lens manufacturer will also release the NX mount Samyang 85mm f1.4. Apart from adjusted bayonet, the optics will remain the same.

Samyang optics is also preparing a few new products to be released this year, which will be presented at the upcoming Photokina show.

SAMYANG OPTICS

Our friend and DomePort member Michel Zaimov is preparing his third underwater photography exhibition. The exhibition would feature photos taken during the last couple of years in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Red, Black and Mediterranean seas. Unlike the previous exhibitions, in this one the author is attempting to seek a more abstract expression with accent on the matter and form.
The exhibition will be opened for visitors on July 5th (at 19:00h) at the Museum Gallery for Modern Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event will be presented by the major Bulgarian artist Gredi Assa. The visitors will be able to enjoy Michael's work by July 12.

All photography fans and friends of the Underwater World are invited.

The first ever underwater Bulgarian photography contest took place on June 19 and 20, 2010.

The event was part of the friendly Diving Fest 2010 and gathered more than 100 participants. The underwater shootout took place during the first day of the festival. As a friendly event, each of the divers willing to participate was allowed to use either his own camera or disposable compact film cameras provided by the organizers. Therefore, the competition had two main categories - Digital and Analogue photography. There were also several 'theme' categories: Macro, Environment, Portrait and Sea horses.
The Macro category was sponsored by DomePort and DiverStore. It was no surprise that the first place was taken by one of the local 'old dawgs' - DomePort's Dimiter Andreev (mitaka). Thomas Gallati from Switzerland took the second place and the third went to another DomePort member - Atanas Yanev (Tanass). The happy winners will shoot underwater with the help of Fantasea LED focus lights.
Even though the Diving Fest experienced its organizational difficulties and the water visibility was extremely reduced, all participants were very enthusiastic. This raised our hopes that such events could become traditional even in the inhospitable waters of the Black Sea.

Thanks to all who participated!

The new website www.underwaterphototutorials.com created by photo pros Jack and Sue Drafahl is a unique subscription service offering easy and convenient online underwater photography instruction as well as tutorials in the use of Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Elements.

With more than 35 years of photographic experience and image editing, Jack and Sue, the Digital Duo, make it easy and fun to learn digital underwater photography. Whether you are using a simple point and shoot camera, or a more versatile digital single lens reflex camera, you’ll benefit from tutorials in composition, shooting macro photos, using RAW files, presenting your images professionally, and much more.  The subscription service is $199 a year and includes tutorials on Photoshop (CS2 and newer versions, including CS5), all versions of Lightroom, and Elements versions 5 through 8.  Subscribers will also have advanced access to Adobe tutorials covering new content whenever Adobe releases software. 
Subscribers will also have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn underwater digital still photography and underwater video from additional well known industry photographers including Ernie Brooks, Stan Waterman, Carl Roessler and Geri Murphy just to name a few.

You can also try a sample tutorial for free at www.underwaterphototutorials.com.