The September NUPG meeting saw Henley Spiers take to the virtual stage. Henley decided to divide the evening into two topic areas for discussion: Black and White Photography and Pelagic Encounters – his two biggest passions in underwater photography at the moment.  Henley showed off his stunning black and white images to the NUPG audience, talking about why he selected each image to convert to monochrome and was generous enough to share the photoshop techniques with the group too. He then went on to wow the group with images from the deep blue sea, with some simply stunning pelagic encounters. 

As always, the NUPG members also had a chance to show off some of their images in the monthly competition. This month’s theme was “Invertebrates” and it saw a range of ideas and images from the group.

The winning shot of a sea lion was taken by Maggie Russell

The runner-up was by John Spencer

Third place was taken by Justin Beevor

The next meeting was held on Monday 12th October, a talk from Simon Rogerson: Difficulties with Sharks. Check back soon for the video!

For more information about the NUPG please visit the website by clicking here.

SeaLife is introducing a new compact and lightweight underwater housing for Apple’s iPhone.  The new SeaLife SportDiver housing will allow divers to take photos and video with their iPhone down to 130 feet or 40 meters.  The SportDiver can encase iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, Xr, Xs, Xs Max, 11, 11 Pro Max, and SE (2nd Gen) models.

The heavy-duty housing is constructed of Polycarbonate, stainless steel, aluminum and optical grade glass.  And while the SportDiver housing is “heavy duty”, it is not heavy, weighing less than 1.5 pounds (641 grams), and is lightweight for travelling and offers almost neutral buoyancy in water depending on which iPhone model is used.

The SportDiver is easy to hold and use and offers a large shutter lever and rear control buttons for easy operation, even with dive gloves.  Snorkelers and Divers can get more creative with their photos or video shot by using advanced camera settings. Adjust Zoom, Exposure (EV), Auto/Manual Focus, White Balance, Tint, Lens selection, RAW+JPEG mode, Live Photo and Background Blur (on available iPhone models).

The SportDiver housing includes the free SeaLife SportDiver camera app for iOS 12 and up and unlike other smartphone housing apps, there are no annoying in-app purchases or ads.  You can easily switch between photo and video mode.  The SportDiver App uses the iPhone camera technology native to each iPhone® model.

The App Playback mode shows full size photos and videos with vertical thumbnail strip to easily locate your images. Videos start playing automatically when selected. All files are also saved to iPhone camera roll.  The SportDiver housing automatically connects to your iPhone and the SportDiver app using Bluetooth® Low Energy (LE) 5 wireless technology. No cables or buttons touch the phone and offers ultra-low power consumption for both the phone and the housing which is powered by two AAA batteries that last over 50 hours of continuous use.

For enhanced imaging results, a removable underwater color-correction filter is included with the SportDiver which restores natural underwater colors.  The filter easily attached or removes underwater and includes a safety tether to prevent loss.  The SportDiver housing features triple 1/4-20 tripod mounts which mounts to any light or light tray with standard tripod threads such as SeaLife’s own range of Sea Dragon underwater photo/video lights.  SeaLife also offers the SportDiver and Sea Dragon underwater light combined dubbed the “SportDiver Pro 2500 Set”.

For the phone’s safety and protection, the SportDiver has a sturdy holding spring and rubber grip tabs that securely hold the iPhone® in place and add shock-protection.  The SportDiver has “Dual Leak Alarms” which include an internal moisture alarm and a vacuum pressure alarm which alert the diver with on-screen warnings, audio and LED signal in the unlikely event the waterproof seal is compromised and there’s a loss of housing pressure or moisture is detected.  The door of the SportDiver is sealed with a TPE O-ring and a robust cam-lock sealing latch that easily and securely locks waterproof door.  To prevent interior fogging from residual moisture, the SportDiver uses the anti-fogging agent “Moisture Muncher” capsule which prevents fogging and internal condensation.

Deliveries of the SportDiver iPhone housing are planned to start in November, 2020.

Item                Description                                                                                         US Retail

SL400               SportDiver Underwater Housing for iPhone                                       $299.95
SL401               SportDiver Pro 2500 Set with Sea Dragon 2500 underwater light    $649.95

Included with SeaLife SportDiver, Model SL400:

• SportDiver Underwater iPhone Housing
• Underwater Color-correction filter
• Vacuum pump
• Rubber Grip Tabs (12x Small, 12x Medium and 12x Large)
• Spare O-rings (1x Main O-ring and 1x Vacuum Check Port O-ring)
• O-ring lubricant
• O-ring removal tool
• Deluxe wrist strap with clip
• Moisture Muncher sample pack (1 capsule)
• AAA alkaline batteries (2)
• EVA Carry Case

Included with SeaLife SportDiver Pro 2500 Set, Model SL401:

• SportDiver Underwater Housing for iPhone, model SL400 as above
• Sea Dragon 2500 Underwater Photo/Video light, model SL671
• Sea Dragon 2500 Underwater Photo/Video Light head
• Flex-Connect Single Tray w/ standard ¼-20 mounting screw
• Flex-Connect grip
• 25Wh Lithium Ion rechargeable battery
• AC Power Adapter, charging tray, and international plug adapters
• Spare O-rings, O-ring lubricant, O-ring removal tool
• Sea Dragon EVA Case

For more information about Sealife Underwater Cameras visit the website by clicking here