Canon's HV10 camcorder provides HD video and digital photo quality, yet weighs under a pound. Despite the camcorder's tiny size, however, Ikelite's housing for the HV10 still weighs in at 10 pounds. It always amazes me how much heavier (and more expensive) most housings are, when compared to the cameras they protect. Nevertheless, Ikelite's housing for the HV10 looks like a doozey.

Depth-rated to 200 feet, the clear housing back provides a full view of the camera's LCD monitor while underwater -- assuming, of course, that you remember to open the LDC display when installing the camera in the housing. Most of the standard controls are accessible through the housing, too, including Power On/Off; Recording start/stop; Zoom control; Focus; Exposure; Display; Menu Button/Set Dial; and more.

Ikelite's housing for the HV-10 is available now for $950. An optional wide-angle lens, or the Pro Video-Light 3 battery pack are both, of course, optional.

Made from a shock-proof, waterproof polycarbonate casing, Go Pro's Digital Hero Camera shoots photos and video while strapped to your wrist. Locked flat during activity, James Bond -- or you! -- simply flips the camera up when ready to capture that perfect shot. Held on by a sturdy Velcro strap, the Digital Hero is waterproof to 100 feet, although it's functional only to 30 feet.

Though tiny, the unit sports 32MB of on-board memory, which'll hold up to 250 photos or 32x10-second video clips. Both PC- and Mac-compatible, the $80 Digital Hero might be the adventure-seekers geekiest, yet coolest, toy yet. Once they figure out how to put a depth-gauge or an MP3 player in the Hero, they've hit pay-dirt.

[Via X-Ray Mag]

When I was thinking about what kind of DEMA show coverage I wanted to provide, I decided to focus on dive gear and interesting equipment that was NOT related to underwater imaging. Though I briefly covered some of the Sea & Sea housings, Top Dawg housings, and, of course, Light & Motion's sleek, sexy housings, when it came time to spotlight imaging products, I decided to defer to the professionals. And by "professionals," of course, I mean the geniuses at Wetpixel.

Providing in-depth, detailed analysis, Eric Cheng and Drew Wong covered camera and video camera equipment (respectively) like crazy. Each time I passed them on the show floor, they were scribbling furiously, snapping pictures, grilling vendors, and inspecting equipment. (Well...at least Eric was.) If you want the lowdown on Fisheye, L&M, Seacam, SeaLife, Patima, Ultralight, Sea & Sea, Aquatica... -- Whew! You get the idea! -- then check out Eric Cheng's exhaustive DEMA Show coverage. More interested in video? Check out Drew's video products round-up. In either case, you'll get the low-down on all the newest underwater imaging equipment.

(If you think imaging equipment is boring, then at least check out Eric's fun people-at-DEMA photo galleries. Pay particular attention to my favorite shots.)

• Anybody can make videos.
• It's easy.
• It's fun.

I love my free downloadable dive magazines. This week, Underwater Photography magazine (affectionately known as UwP by those in the know -- or so I'm led to believe) released Issue 33. All 51 pages of the issue are packed with underwater photography goodness, from photo/marine news, new product details (Ikelite's Nikon D80; Olympus E-400 and PT-E03 housings; EWA Marine U-XBP and XBP100 housings; the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye zoom; and more), product reviews (Nikon 105mm VR lens by Alex Mustard; and GreenWater Magic filters by Peter Rowlands), and more. Jammed with loads of images, tips and techniques, book reviews, and upcoming competitions, this is what all the cool kids will be reading next week.

There's been a fair amount of high-def video camera-related news on Divester lately. But nothing -- I mean, NOTHING -- compares to this. There's a new guy in town. He's big, and he's bad. And his name is RED-ONE.

Developed by Jim Jannard, the founder of Oakley, the RED-ONE is designed for "flexibility and functionality." In other words, the soon-to-be-released camera phenom is modular and upgradeable, which, in the words of its creators, means "the RED ONE camera is a future-proof acquisition system you can build upon." Weighing about 7 pounds, the magnesium-alloy-bodied RED-ONE boasts an incredible 12,065,000 pixels -- compared to current standards, that's more than 5 times the amount of information recording every second (check out a few stills at Red's site). Moreover, the camera records RAW, or 2x over-sampled HD in 4:4:4 or 4:2:2, and it comes standard with a RED 300mm f2.8 lens.

So what does this dream machine run? As far as we can tell, the price of a RED-ONE -- the first production units are targeted for "early 2007" -- is $17,500; the lens is $4750; and the digital magazines onto which you record your opus is $1000 apiece. Of course, this doesn't include lighting or a housing. So when they say the RED-ONE is a camera "you can build upon," they mean you WILL build upon it, because of the serious investment you've already made. If you want to know more about the camera, check out DVXUser, which had over 11,000 posts on over 1000 threads about the camera. People are freaking out about this camera and its prospects.

[Via Wetpixel]

In addition to announcing the new DX-D80 housing, Sea & Sea also announced two new compact housings -- the VX-S1 and VX-S2 -- designed for several Sony Handycam high-def camcorders (models HDR-HC3, HDR-DVD505, and HDR-UX). Simply purchase the camera base for the appropriate camera, attach it, and you're in business. The two housings are almost identical and boast the same range of accessories. Featuring an infrared control grip that allows users to switch easily between video and still-picture capture; a leak sensor; and an underwater microphone, optional accessories include a 0.6x Wide-angle conversion lens, step-up ring, ballast weight, lens hood, and more. The press release does not specify release date or price.

Good news for divers into high-def video! Yesterday, Sony announced its new HVR-V1U HDV compact camcorder. This new professional camcorder, provides "film-look" via 24P progressive scan capture and 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor chips. Due to the speed of the unit's processing, images are captured at up to 240 fields per second, allowing very fast movements (shark tails flicking; dolphins feeding; divers freaking out) to be recorded in detail without degradation.

Moreover, the V1U enables simultaneous recording to both an attachable hard-disk recording unit (HVR-DR60, a 1.8-inch drive with a 60GB capacity offering up to 4.5 hours of recording time), which is optional, and to the videotape used in the camcorder. Some additional features of the HVR-V1U include:

• Smart Protection, combined with a built-in "shock absorber" that automatically protects the V1U at a force of up to three Gs;
• Two XLR microphone inputs for independent sound recording;
• A 3.5-inch Clear Photo LCD plus viewing screen; and,
• A 20x optical zoom lens with F2.8 at the telephoto end.

There's nothing in the press release about a housing, but considering so many manufacturers produce housings for Sony HD cameras, they'll likely be available soon. In the meantime, the HVR-V1U and HVR-DR60 hard-disk recording unit are expected to be available in December and priced at $4,800 and $1,800, respectively.

Here are two things I'd like to do: First, I'd like to visit western Australia and dive Ningaloo Reef. Second, I'd like to shoot high-def video of my experience and watch my trip ad nauseum to the complete horror and disgust of my family and friends. However, my FF miles are tapped out, and I don't own a HD camera or housing, so it looks like my dreams may be on hold for a while. Nevertheless, Paul and Kathy Wags -- who live in Western Australia -- have recently tested Amphibico's new EVO PRO housing (for Sony's HVR-A1 and HDR-HC1 high-def camcorders) and shot some sample HD footage, so I've gotten to live vicariously through them today.

According to the Wags', the rugged housing features both electronic and mechanical controls; the standard URPRO flip filter and wide angle port found on most Amphibico housings; wet alarm; white balance slate; and many other features. After walking through the housing's hand controls, the Wags provide some tips on improving image quality, and offer up some great images and videos captured with the EVO PRO. Although they conclude that shooting HD with camcorders compatible with the EVO PRO doesn't compare to Sony's bigger FX1 camera, they believe it presents a worthy option "for the average diver or as a backup for the professional." Moreover, frequent travelers might find this housing a better choice than some of the larger housings available. If you want to start shooting HD, but the $3000 price tag on the EVO PRO scares you, don't forget that Amphibico also makes a "regular old" EVO for $2000, and the "no thrills" EVO (for the Sony HDR-HC3) for a mere $1600.

[Via Wetpixel]

Light and Motion is hosting a "virtual video seminar" by Steve Fish. Provided in a 3-part installment, the tutorial is aimed at videographers who want to improve their underwater techniques, although some of the tips apply to digital still camera shooters, as well. Complete with sample videos that complement the text, Fish has assembled a nice primer for the beginning auteur. Generally, the components of the tutorial are broken down like this:

• Part One concentrates on things you can do with your housing -- locking the focus, or setting the white balance -- to make your underwater video quality improve.
• Part Two covers Filming Techniques that will improve your video quality, like using the sun to your advantage and filming "transition shots."
• Part Three compares standard-def and high-def, and explains HDV format's impact on video quality.

If you're looking to improve your underwater video (and who isn't?), you might pick up some handy tips here.

[Via Wepixel]