This page is dedicated to hardware and software devices that we've found useful in the world of digital imaging.  We will add and update this page as new cool toys appear on the marketplace or we purchase them for the Oregon Coast Digital Center.  Each toy will contain a brief description of why we consider it cool, and a link so that you can find out even more.

     One of the most popular wide angle lenses both topside and underwater is the Nikon 10.5 fisheye.  If you find that the distortion in the image is too much on the edges, you can use the Image Trends Fisheye-Hemi Plug-in filter to correct the image, and make it look more like a corrected super wide angle lens.  Objects that curve at the edge of the frame are corrected more than objects in the center.  This filter works with all types of fisheye lenses from circle fisheye to fulll frame, and cropped fisheye images.

Fisheye-Hemi Plug-In

Web show of samples topside and underwater.  The original is on the left for the vertical pairs, and the top for the horizontal pairs.

     A new feature with some of the latest digital cameras is the ability to record the GPS location of the image as it is shot.  Images taken before this new technology can now be updated with a new software that adds the GPS location to the metadata area of the image.  The program can then interface with Google Earth and Google Maps. When you click on the GPS setting in Adobe Lightroom,  it will take you to the location it was shot on Google Maps.  The program can also adjust the date and time difference between you home base and the location you shot the image.

     The latest introduction to the Point & Shoot market from Olympus is the SP550UZ.  This amazing system has an 18X optical zoom that even works underwater!  It also has macro, supermacro, and a high-quality movie mode.  When we first saw the soft box on the top of the housing we were not to sure it would work, but Olympus proved us wrong.  The underwater tests showed it worked extremely well, even in very dirty water. 
     We also tested it with the Inon Z-240 flash (shown below) using a fiber optic cable and the camera's slave mode.  The results were also outstanding. 
     Topside this camera easily takes the place of an SLR as its zoom lens acts like a battery of lenses ranging from wide angle to super telephoto.  Another nice plus is the lack of shutter delay, normally found on many Point & Shoot cameras today.  This makes taking fish portraits with a Point & Shoot camera easy.  If you don't believe us, just take a look at the slide shows below of a few images we took in the Solomons Islands during July and Aug 2007.

      We combined Olympus, Inon America, and Ultralight parts to create a compact underwater camera system that does it all.  This Swiss Army Knife of underwater systems accomodates the Inon lens caddy so you can carry both the close-up and super wide angle lenses during the dive.  The lenses can be easily changed while underwater as the caddy uses a bayonet mount system that securely locks them into place.
     The double handle Ultralight bracket serves as a flash and camera holder and allows you to attach the Inon lens caddy.  We prefer offsetting one handle to allow easy access to the camera shutter button while your hand gently rests against the padded arm.  A new Ultralight knuckle, originally designed for tripod use, can be used to join the cross-member arm with the lens caddy and still have an empty spot to attach a flash to either or both sides.  The notch that is normally used to accomodate the tripod legs allows the flash to angle in tight for close-up images. 
     The Inon Z-240 strobe syncs with a fiber optic cable and a reflector adapter to provide a correct exposure every time.  The small reflector is housed in a small black case that attaches to the lens mount.  The Inon flash itself can be mounted on either the left or right side, or you add a second strobe. 
     The very compact Olympus PT-030 housing can take the Olympus SP-310, SP320, and SP-350 digital cameras.   Tests in the Solomon Islands showed us that this system be configured underwater to shoot just about every type of situation from super wide angle to super macro.  We even used both the close-up and super wide angle lenses topside with excellent results. The triple knuckle with the slots were made special for the setup by Ultralight systems, and can be purchased if you ask for Jack Cool knuckles from www.ulcs.com.

For more information on these and other products go to:
http://www.inonamerica.com,
http://www.ulcs.com and  http://www.olympusamerica.com.