Archive for the 'Demo gear' Category

Byron Shootout – Day 4

Published on May 24, 2011 in Demo gear, Scubapix, Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs and film festivals. 0 Comments Tags: .

Topside, today was the nicest day we’ve had in Byron for the 2011 Sundive Byron Bay Underwater Shootout – warm and sunny, and only a little breeze. Underwater there was less surge that the last few days, although vis was still down. That didn’t stop a lot of photographers putting on wide angle lenses though.

Given that the water’s a chilly 22 degrees (remember I dive in Cairns – 22 is cold!), it surprising that there’s been so many mantas around this week. For those with wide angle lenses equipped, they often got lucky, one manta seems to be quite curious. For those of us with macro lenses, you could almost hear us cursing underwater with our poor choice.

We’re about half way through the week here now, but the second half of the week promises to be exciting, with a number of photography talks coming up in the next few nights.

Sundive Byron Bay Underwater Shootout

Published on May 18, 2011 in Demo gear, Scubapix and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: .

Hi all,

Pete and myself will be heading down to the Sundive Byron Bay Underwater Shootout again next week, with all of the latest gear in underwater photography for entrants to come and have a play with.  If you’re going to be at the shootout (or just diving with Sundive between May 21-28) and would like to book a system to take out for a dive, email us at demo@scubapix.com .

We’ll also be blogging from the event here, so if you can’t make it this year, make sure you keep an eye on what’s going on!

Hopefully see you there.

Ryan.

Byron Bay Shootout – Days 6 & 7

Published on May 28, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Ornate ghost pipfish have been fairly elusive during the week

As we move into the last few days of the competition, we’ve had a number of new competitors from around the country join us here at the Byron Bay UW Shootout.  The last few days have generally leant to better macro photography conditions, however the wide angle opportunities around the Cod Hole have still been abundant with large schools of fish hanging around on most dives.  Sundive have been running up to 8 boats a day, giving photographers ample opportunities to work on their entries.

Weird and wonderful small creatures have been spotted during the week, including ghost pipe fish, devil scorpion fish, mantis, marble and bumble bee shrimp, porcelain crabs, cuttlefish, and a huge range of nudis, giving photographers a massive range of subjects.  Some dives have involved divers moving not more than 10m from the boat, and still having a huge range to shoot.

Aquatica and Nauticam demo housing have been going out with new and old photographers alike, and we’re offering a prize  for the best photo taken with one of our demo housings.

One of the biggest highlights of the week has been the showing of the documentary The End Of The Line.  This highly acclaimed film opened the eyes of many of us, and one I would highly recommend.

We’ve only one day left of shooting for the competition, then photographers and videographers will be hectically finalising their entries for the 5pm deadline.  Could be a big day!

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 5

Published on May 26, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .
Matt Shepherd's photo of the day

Macro and mid range zoom lenses were the choice for most shooters today at the Byron Bay Shootout.  The water had clouded up a touch, giving most photographers the excuse they needed to start concentrating on the macro category.  The results we’ve seen thus far have been great, meaning this will be one more hard category for the judges to pick a winner.

Another section not to forget about is the categories for the compact cameras.  With about 1/3 of our shooters using compacts, often equipped with strobes and wet lenses, we’ve got high expectations of what these guys and girls can produce.

The atmosphere in between dives around Sundive has been great too, with loads of smiles on diver’s faces, and non-stop camera talk.  The Scubapix showroom has also been a popular place to play around with the latest toys.  Tonight’s State Of Origin game may well create a rivalry between some of the divers however (go NSW!).

As I sign off watching the sun set over the bay, I can only hope the following few days of the comp continue to provide these great conditions we’ve been experiencing.

- Ryan.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 4

Published on May 25, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , .
A friendly leopard

Julian Rocks really turned on the good conditions for us today, with viz over 20m, and large marine life everywhere.  Not bad seeing most of us turned up with macro lenses due to the dark and rainy conditions early in the morning.  We quickly changed to wide angle setups though, and the sun even came out for most of the day.

Once we were under, we were greeted by countless eagle rays, leopard sharks and shovel nosed rays.  Not bad seeing the last few days had been feeling like winter had kicked in.

For those of you still contemplating joining us at the Byron Bay Shootout, I’d recommend making the trip.  In between the great conditions, and the $15k worth of prizes up for grabs, you can’t lose!

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 3

Published on May 24, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 1 Comment Tags: , .
One of the locals - a grey nurse shark

Another fine day at the Byron Bay Shootout today.  A few grey nurses were seen, as well as turtles, eagle and pygmy manta rays.  We’ve seen plenty of smiles as competitors have come back from their dives.  Looks like the competition may be heating up!

With the clear water most SLR shooters have been opting to shoot wide angle, which should make it a popular and hard to judge category.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 2

Published on May 23, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
Videographer Wayne with his Gates system

The clouds came over Byron today, but the water also cleared up a touch more, giving competitors in the Byron Bay Shootout the chance to dive in some good vis and with some amazing fish life.  Turtles, eagle rays, schools of jewfish and carpets of wobbegongs were just some of the life that greeted divers as they slipped under the calm waters around Julian Rocks.

Demo housings from Aquatica and Nauticam and lights from Light and Motion have been in the water on every dive, with contestants bringing back some great shots.  It’s still early in the week, so if you’re in the area, feel free to book on a dive and take some of our gear for a spin.

Ryan.

Byron Bay Shootout – Day 1

Published on May 22, 2010 in Demo gear, In the field updates and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .
Wayne and Matt getting redy for the first day

Hello from sunny Byron Bay!  The team from Scubapix are down here for Sundive’s Byron Bay Shootout 2010.  Underwater photographers from around the country have once again converged on Byron in Northern NSW to compete for over $15,000 in prizes.  The turnout thus far has been excellent, with many more photographers arriving during the next week.

Reports from the divers that have been out today have been excellent (this photographer’s yet to get wet, fingers crossed for tomorrow!), with tonnes of marine life around.  For those of you that haven’t ever dived the Byron area, the main sites are around Julian Rocks, a rocky island about a km off the coast, that is home to a huge variety of creatures, from the big (manta and bull rays, leopard and grey nurse sharks, etc), to the small (invertebrates such as crabs and shrimp, ghost pipe fish, etc), and everything in between.  Huge schools of fish can be seen  hanging around the Cod Hole, a giant swim through that’s also home to, you guessed it, a number of large potato cod and even the occasional Queensland grouper.

Myself and Peter are on site for the week of the shootout, with a number of housings from Nauticam and Aquatica and lights from Light and Motion for contestants to take for demo dives.  We have a range of new gear on display too, including the new Light and Motion Stingray G2 housing and Zen ports.  However, the hottest product of the day is the brand new Light and Motion Sola 600 light.  This is the first time one’s been seen in Australia, and the response has been great.  Perfect for either an aiming light for your SLR or a self contained video light, and in an unbelievably small package.

If you’re in the Byron area, be sure to drop by Sundive to say hi and check out the latest gear.  I’ll be posting some photos of what they get up to during the week, as well as daily updates for those of you that can’t make it this year.

Ryan.

Demo Gear at Byron Bay Shoot-out

Published on May 14, 2010 in Demo gear and Underwater Photo Shoot-Outs. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Scubapix will be appearing at the 2010 Byron Bay Underwater Photo Competition and running a number of SLR demo units for you to jump in the water and trial.

With systems from Nauticam and Aquatica available to use during the week, this will give participants the opportunity to get their hands on the latest SLR housings and see what they’re capable of. We’ll have both macro and wide angle setups from Canon and Nikon, allowing you to use your own camera and preferred lens, or if you don’t own an SLR to give a try, take one of ours.

Scubapix will also be giving every participant in the competition a $300 voucher redeemable against Aquatica and Nauticam housing and port packages, or Light & Motion video housings or video lighting systems. However, even if you’re not looking to compete you’re still welcome to take one of our demo systems for a dive, or drop into Sundive Byron Bay during the week of the comp for this chance to get your hands on some of the newest gear in the underwater photography world.

We’ll also be running a ‘Best Photo Taken With A Demo Unit’ as part of the competition, with the winner receiving a $100 voucher for ULCS arm systems.

Numbers are limited, so to book your system or for more information, email us at demo@scubapix.com

The 2010 Byron Bay Underwater Photo Competition is being run by Sundive Byron Bay on May 22 – 29, 2010.