1999

Key events

The underwater digital photography revolution begins to take shape. The Nikon Coolpix 950 (2.1MP) launches with its distinctive swivel-body design, becoming one of the first digital compact cameras widely adopted by underwater photographers. Housing manufacturers — led by Ikelite — race to produce housings for the growing number of consumer digital cameras. At the year’s end, DEMA 2000 in Las Vegas previews an explosion of digital underwater housing prototypes. Meanwhile, David Breitigam is developing the concept that will become Wetpixel.com — the copyright notice on the eventual site reads “(C) 1999, 2000 By Wetpixel and David Breitigam,” suggesting the domain or concept predates the March 2000 launch. (Wayback Machine)

The state of underwater photography

In 1999, underwater photography was still overwhelmingly a film medium. The dominant platforms were housed Nikon F-series SLRs (in aluminum housings from Subal, Aquatica, and Seacam) and the Nikon Nikonos V — the last in the line of dedicated underwater film cameras that had defined the field since 1963. The Nikonos RS autofocus SLR, launched in 1992, had already ceased production in 1996 due to high costs and low demand. Film underwater photographers were limited to 36 exposures per dive, could not review images underwater, and faced high per-frame costs and the constant risk of discovering equipment problems only after returning from a trip. (^[1])

The earliest digital cameras used underwater included the Nikon Coolpix 900 (1.2MP, 1998) and the Agfa ePhoto 1680 (1.3MP), for which companies like Marine Camera Distributors (MCD) and Arrow Machine were already building custom aluminum housings. As Breitigam later noted in his review of the MCD/Arrow housing, “As digital cameras move into the same obsolescence cycle as personal computers, quality built-to-fit housings such as this aluminum beauty from Marine Camera Distributors and Arrow Machine will become a rare site if not a distant memory.” (^[2])

Key gear

• Nikon Coolpix 950 (2.1MP) — The swivel-body design with its through-the-lens preview became a favorite for underwater use. Housings were available from Ikelite (polycarbonate) and others, making digital underwater photography accessible to enthusiasts for the first time.
• Nikon Coolpix 900 (1.2MP) — An earlier compact digital used underwater, though as Breitigam noted, it was “with its IR focus, virtually blind UW.” (Wayback Machine)
• Agfa ePhoto 1680 (1.3MP) — David Breitigam’s camera of choice, used in a Marine Camera Arrow aluminum housing with dual Ikelite substrobe AQ/S illumination. He described it as “without a doubt (with modifications and ingenuity) the best UW digital still camera system available in its day.” (Wayback Machine)
• Olympus C-920Z / C-2020Z — Early Olympus compacts beginning to attract underwater housing support from manufacturers including Video-Sea and Olympus’s own PT-003 housing.
• Sony Mavica series — Floppy-disk-based cameras with Ikelite housings, shown at DEMA.

December

• 1999-12: DEMA 2000 in Las Vegas showcases early digital underwater housing prototypes. Aquatica displays a Nikon F5 housing design that will be modified for the Nikon D1, with “a full view of the D1 LCD display.” Nexus plans a D1 housing based on their F5 design. Ikelite is the most prolific digital exhibitor, showing prototype housings for the Nikon Coolpix 800, Coolpix 950, Kodak DC-290, and Sony Mavica. EWA-Marine displays soft bags for the Sony Mavica series. Video-Sea shows a housing for the Olympus C2020 with external strobe. The nascent digital underwater photography market takes shape, though Ikelite is the only company fully committed to a digital housing lineup. (^[3])

Also this year

• Underwater Photo WebRing active online — a linking network through which early visitors would discover Wetpixel when it launched the following year. Forum member mandarinfish later recalled finding Wetpixel “way back in late 1999 or early 2000 after following the Underwater Photo Webring.” (^[4])
• Light & Motion — Founded in 1989 and based in Monterey, California, the company is developing its Tetra housing line that will debut in 2000. They also launch their cycling light division this year, leveraging LED expertise from underwater applications. (^[5])
• Eric Cheng — A Stanford CS student, working 80-100 hour weeks. In 1998, he borrowed a 0.5MP digital camera from Stanford that used floppy disks — an experience that would change his life, leading him to buy his own digital camera and experiment with digital infrared photography. He was dive-certified in San Diego since 1995 but had done fewer than 20 dives by this point. (^[6])

References

• Wayback Machine: Wetpixel.com October 2000 — copyright notice referencing 1999
• Wayback Machine: Wetpixel.com September 2001 — Breitigam’s Agfa system description

Note: Only 1 surviving Wetpixel article dates from 1999 (DEMA 2000 gallery). This page combines that source with context from later articles, Wayback Machine captures, forum recollections, and web research (Batch 0).