Kasey Canton (Kasey)

Forum username: Kasey
Real name: Kasey Canton
Posts: 679
Active years: 2002—2018
Primary forums: Photography Gear and Technique, General Chat, Photo/Video Showcase
Specialization: Premium Nikon housing systems (Seacam, Aquatica), competition photography, film-to-digital transition expertise
Location: Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands

Community Role

Kasey Canton was a founding-era Wetpixel member, joining in April 2002 — less than a year after the site launched. Over 16 years of activity, he witnessed and documented virtually the entire arc of digital underwater photography from the early DSLR era through the mirrorless transition. Based in the U.S. Virgin Islands (Christiansted, St. Croix), Kasey had year-round access to Caribbean diving and was one of the community’s most accomplished competition photographers, winning Best of Prints at NCUPS SEA 2004, the Bob Comer Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography, and placing in multiple international competitions.

Kasey was distinguished by his rigorous, analytical approach to equipment evaluation and his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom. He was among the first North American owners of the Seacam D2x housing and wrote extensively about premium housing systems, providing the kind of detailed user feedback that helped other photographers make expensive purchasing decisions. His expertise spanned multiple housing manufacturers including Seacam, Aquatica, Light & Motion Titan, and Sea & Sea.

Notable Contributions

Aquatica D100 Housing — Founding-Era Documentation

In March 2003, Kasey posted one of the earliest detailed housing reviews on Wetpixel, documenting his transition from an Olympus E-20 in a Light & Motion Titan housing to a Nikon D100 in an Aquatica housing. The 51-reply thread became a reference for early DSLR adopters. Kasey praised the Aquatica’s mounting simplicity (“Screw in the tripod mount and everything else just lines up. Brilliant simplicity!”) while noting his previous frustrations with the Titan’s handle design, which he said was designed for lightweight video heads rather than 8-pound strobes (^[1]).

His first dive report was enthusiastic: “I love this camera! The focus ability of this D100 blows away my E-20. The camera is FAR less susceptible to blowouts.” He documented practical details about lens choices (16mm fisheye, 60mm macro, 105mm), raw file processing challenges on his 1GHz PowerBook, and the transition from ROC strobe control to manual (^[2]).

First North American Seacam D2x Housing

Kasey was the first person in North America to receive a production Seacam D2x housing in July 2005, having ordered it from Stephen Frink at DEMA 22 months earlier. His detailed first impressions and subsequent dive reports were featured in a Wetpixel article by Eric Cheng. He described the housing as exceeding his expectations, with superior ergonomics to his beloved Seacam F100 housing. He endorsed Dennis Liberson’s description (relayed by Stephen Frink) of the Seacam as a “transparent” housing — one that lets the photographer focus on the camera rather than the housing controls, writing “The description of a ‘transparent’ housing couldn’t be more accurate.” Frink posted in the thread to thank Kasey, and the discussion drew contributions from Alex Mustard and Mike Veitch (^[3], ^[4]).

”Too Many Megapixels?” Discussion

In April 2003, Kasey started a prescient discussion about whether the industry’s megapixel race was producing diminishing returns. Working with 34MB raw files from his D100 on a 1GHz PowerBook, he questioned whether higher resolution would stifle digital workflows. The 41-reply thread drew thoughtful responses from James Wiseman, Craig Ruaux, Alex Mustard, and others, touching on topics including dynamic range limitations, sensor size vs. pixel count, processing speed bottlenecks, and the future of digital imaging. This early community debate anticipated discussions that would continue for years (^[5]).

Film vs. Digital Advocacy

Kasey provided a rare counterpoint in the digital-first Wetpixel community by openly discussing switching back to film for wide-angle work in 2004, citing dynamic range limitations and the lack of TTL flash control as his primary frustrations with digital. “I’ve grown tired of looking for the next great camera that will match Velvia… Why not just shoot Velvia?!” he wrote. He maintained a Seacam F100 film housing alongside his digital systems, providing practical perspective on the tradeoffs between the two formats during the transition era (^[6]).

Competition Achievements

Kasey was a prolific and successful competition photographer:

• NCUPS SEA 2004: Won Best of Prints and the Bob Comer Award for Excellence in Underwater Photography, beating all professional entries. Also placed 1st in Open Print, 3rd in Open Digital Macro, and Honorable Mention in Open Digital Wide/Normal (^[7])
• Beneath the Sea 2005: 1st place, Macro/Close-up category for “Crabby” (^[8])
• Nature’s Best Photography: Highly Honoured prize in the Endangered Species category for a green sea turtle photograph, in the same competition where Eric Cheng won the Animal Antics category (^[9])
• Scuba Diving Magazine Contest: 2nd place finish (^[10])
• Our World Underwater 2006: Honorable Mention for “Togetherness” (^[11])

Published Work

Kasey’s work was published in multiple dive magazines:

• Fathoms Magazine: Featured article on Frederiksted Pier diving in the U.S. Virgin Islands, announced on Wetpixel by Mike Veitch in January 2006 (^[12])
• Australasia Scuba Diving Magazine: Cover photo and featured portfolio of the month, March 2006 (^[13])

Gear History

Kasey’s documented equipment progression, representing a complete journey through early digital underwater photography:

• Film: Nikon F100 in Seacam F100 housing (kept alongside digital systems)
• Early digital: Olympus E-20 in Light & Motion Titan housing (YS-120 strobes)
• D100 era: Nikon D100 in Aquatica housing (2003)
• D2x era: Nikon D2x in Seacam D2x housing (first in North America, July 2005)
• Lenses: Nikon 16mm fisheye, 60mm macro, 105mm macro + 2x teleconverter
• Strobes: Sea & Sea YS-120 (x2), housed SB-800
• Previous systems: Olympus E-20, Light & Motion Titan housing

Activity Profile

• Peak years: 2003—2007, with activity through 2018
• Threads started: 63
• Articles mentioned in: 4
• Forum focus: Equipment evaluation, competition discussion, philosophical debates about photography technology
• Diving location: Frederiksted Pier, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (primary); Caribbean

Timeline

• 2002-04: First appearance on Wetpixel forums — among the earliest community members
• 2003-03: Received Nikon D100 and Aquatica housing; posted transition from E-20/Titan system (^[14])
• 2003-03: Started “Where are the new cameras?” discussing Kodak 14N, Canon 10D, and Nikon’s DSLR strategy (^[15])
• 2003-04: Started “Too many megapixels?” discussion (^[16])
• 2004-06: Discussed potential switch back to film for wide-angle; debated Seacam Mark II housing (^[17])
• 2004-11: Won Bob Comer Award, Best of Prints at NCUPS SEA 2004 (^[18])
• 2005-02: Won 1st place Macro/Close-up at Beneath the Sea 2005 (^[19])
• 2005-07: First North American delivery of Seacam D2x housing; featured in Wetpixel article (^[20], ^[21])
• 2005-10: Highly Honoured in Nature’s Best Photography competition (^[22])
• 2006-01: Published in Fathoms Magazine — Frederiksted Pier article (^[23])
• 2006-03: Cover and portfolio in Australasia Scuba Diving Magazine (^[24])
• 2018-03: Last recorded forum activity