News

Put away the chewing gum. Think twice about jaywalking. And don’t feed the birds. That’s right, DPG spent the last week in Singapore for the 2018 Asian Dive Expo, or ADEX. Celebrating its 24th anniversary, this event has grown larger and larger each year, attracting tens of thousands of divers from across Asia—and the world.

This year’s edition was dedicated to sharks, featuring presentations from dozens of experts including underwater photographers, conservationists, filmmakers, freedivers, and—landlubbers-be-wary—mermaids. 

Sights and Speakers

ADEX features a gathering of the best in the underwater industry to present on a variety of topics. Seriously, check out this list of underwater photographers: Laurent Ballesta, Scott Tuason, Aaron Wong, Amanda Cotton, Ernie Brooks, Jason Isley, Imran Ahmad, Michael Aw, Marty Snyderman, Tobias Friedrich, and Tanya Houppermans. And there are many, many more who presented in the three-day show.

In addition to underwater imaging experts, the exposition featured presentations from some of the world’s top freedivers, scientists, and entrepreneurs. There was certainly a lot to take in. 
 

An impressive group of underwater shooters takes the stage at the opening ceremonies
 

Ernie Brooks talks to a captivated audience on the opening day of ADEX
 

Countless underwater photographers (like Laurent Ballesta, above) share their stories about diving with sharks
 

The friendly faces from Lembeh Resort share the marvel of muck at the Indonesia booth
 

Celebrity alert: Singapore’s biggest chicken wowed ADEX attendees
 

Tanya Houppermans talks about the educational role of shark photography
 

ADEX organizer John Thet takes the stage to talk about the show’s growth and future
 

Amanda Cotton chats about the good, the bad, and the ugly of being an underwater photographer
 

It’s all business (not really!) for Elena Salim Haubold and Dan Norwood of Shark Business
 

A viewer gets lost in the stunning VR footage taken with Pelagic Fleet
 

It's hard to pose for a picture when you’re distracted by the jaw-dropping diving offered by Pelagic Fleet

Gear and Gadgets

It’s always great to catch up with the friendly faces on the show floor. But if we can be real for a second, we must admit that the new gear has much of our attention as well. While not the photo equipment launch pad that is DEMA, ADEX still had a great showing of gear manufacturers such as Fantasea, Seacam, and Nauticam.
 

Howard Rosenstein from Fantasea displayed the company’s latest housings and new port partnership with AOI
 

Our reviewer called the a6500 and Fantasea housing a “versatile rig that can deliver a high-quality final product”
 

Fantasea continues its housing support for Sony’s popular compact line, such as this RX100V
 

The FG7X II setup is one of the company’s most popular, according to Howard
 

Two new Fantasea releases: an LED flash trigger (left) and a spare battery cradle
 

Nauticam’s Edward Lai (center) shows off the impressive tech inside of the company’s RED housing
 

Isotta is a housing manufacturer with an increased presence in the industry
 

Isotta’s housing for the D850 features a dual O-ring seal and customizable handle configuration
 

The big boy: An anonymous hand model display’s Aquatica’s housing for the Nikon D5
 

Aquatica provides solid-block aluminum machined housings at a lower price point than other brands
 

Inon’s new conversion ring makes it possible to use pre-existing accessories (such as the pictured snoot) on the new Z-330 strobes
 

Inon has released 4600K and 4900K dome diffusers for users to fine-tune the color correction
 

Make sure to check out our review of the Inon Z-330s for wide-angle and macro

Hard not to drool at the top-of-the-line DSLR housings on display at the Seacam booth…
 

…which is perhaps why they were being guarded like precious jewels!
 

Close your eyes to avoid being blinded at the Keldan booth, which produces high-lumen and high-CRI video lights for the high-level underwater cinematographer
 

Even i-Divesite’s BS40 dual lighting system made an appearance. In a review of this light, we said, “[it] is suitable not only for video, but also for evenly lighting a wide-angle still photo”

So Long from Singapore

Three days fly by when among friends and colleagues. ADEX is an exciting environment for any scuba diver or underwater photographer—the passion for the underwater world is infectious. It’s no wonder that the show continues to grow every year. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely worth the visit. 
 

Team DPG—from young to old(er)—poses for a picture at the booth