For my coverage of DEMA 2006, I focused on "the stuff." However, many other attendees were as interested in the people as they were in the stuff. Take, for example, DivePhotoGuide's Jason Heller. When I strolled the floor with him, we couldn't move 10 feet without someone stopping to speak to him. It was amazing.
It should come as no surprise, then, that DivePhotoGuide's show coverage focuses more on the human side of the event -- the people behind the stuff. If you've ever wondered what Ty Sawyer, or David Doubilet, or Amos Nachoum, or alligator butter look like, check out DPG and get an eye-full.
When I was thinking about what kind of DEMA show coverage I wanted to provide, I decided to focus on dive gear and interesting equipment that was NOT related to underwater imaging. Though I briefly covered some of the Sea & Sea housings, Top Dawg housings, and, of course, Light & Motion's sleek, sexy housings, when it came time to spotlight imaging products, I decided to defer to the professionals. And by "professionals," of course, I mean the geniuses at Wetpixel.
Providing in-depth, detailed analysis, Eric Cheng and Drew Wong covered camera and video camera equipment (respectively) like crazy. Each time I passed them on the show floor, they were scribbling furiously, snapping pictures, grilling vendors, and inspecting equipment. (Well...at least Eric was.) If you want the lowdown on Fisheye, L&M, Seacam, SeaLife, Patima, Ultralight, Sea & Sea, Aquatica... -- Whew! You get the idea! -- then check out Eric Cheng's exhaustive DEMA Show coverage. More interested in video? Check out Drew's video products round-up. In either case, you'll get the low-down on all the newest underwater imaging equipment.
Of course, not everything on display at the DEMA Show was tangible, purchase-able dive gear. Some of the booths featured dive-related organizations that were more service-oriented as opposed to profit-motivated. For example, Diveheart was present. The purpose of Diveheart is to provide and support educational scuba diving and snorkeling experience programs for physically impaired children or adults. Inspiring confidence and independence helps these people face life's challenges and overcome barriers that might otherwise seem insurmountable. After all, what greater fear is there to overcome than the fear of not breathing?!
Organizing events, and facilitating dive trainings and trips (lots of trips), Diveheart works hard to help disabled divers -- like Matthew Johnston, who was there at DEMA -- achieve their dreams. Divehearts' booth may not have been the biggest or most crowded on the show floor, but it was certainly filled with the most passion. If you're interested, Diveheart has plenty of ways for you to get involved.
While having somebody talking in your ear throughout a dive might be annoying, if you're a new student, an underwater researcher, into search-and-rescue, or just really crazy about the guy driving the boat, you might be interested in Aquacom's SSB-2010 transceiver. A 3 watt, multichannel single sideband underwater telephone, the SSB-2010 can be configured to operate with virtually any style full face mask or mouth mask.
Although not brand-spanking new, Dive Rite featured their TransPac at the DEMA show. The TransPac is a completely modular system, meaning it can be customized to fit any body type, and each piece can be replaced independent of the rest of the unit. Think of it like a high-end stereo with individual components versus an old-school boombox. Made from 1000 denier Cordura nylon and featuring 316 marine-grade stainless components, the TransPac comes standard with 7 one-inch D rings; 2 two-inch waist D rings; 2 two-inch angled shoulder D rings; a Waist buckle; and Cam buckles (2 cam straps).
Wandering the DEMA show's aisles, I stumbled upon an un-manned table with brochures scattered loosely atop it. Wondering who would leave their table unattended, I approached cautiously and grabbed a flyer. Was this a trick? Was Alan Funt behind me? Nope. It turns out that the flyer was for the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Awards Night, to be held January 25th, 2007. Why wasn't anybody at the table? Dunno...bathroom break?
In any event, upon returning home, I decided to learn a bit more about the Awards. It turns out that there's a whole she-bang planned, from a week-long dive extravaganza (January 22-28) with the induction ceremony scheduled for the evening of the 25th. Don't ask me why the Scuba Hall of Fame has inductees for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and then completely skips 2006. I don't know if nobody qualified last year, or if something weird was going on, but in any event, the Hall of Fame plans to induct 5 famous divers in January of '07, including:
Wish you could attend the gathering in the Caymans? Guess what? You're invited! Simply choose your accomodation and book your flight. You even get to enjoy some diving with one of the inductees!
As a casual rec diver, I don't have much need for lift bags, but when I stumbled on Subsalve's booth at the 2006 DEMA show, I was amazed with how large some of the bags were. Some of the bags were as big as a person. These bags are for commercial use and are designed to be used by a single diver. Each of the bags comes with a Plunger Dump Valve, which provides air control with a push-button knob at the top of the bag and a lanyard at the bottom of the bag.
Subsalve also makes a Vehicle Recovery System (VRS). Used in pairs, the VRS makes floating sunken cars easier.
Much to my surprise, the booth attendant explained to me that the bags on display were actually quite small. Subsalve also produces professional-grade lift bags -- like the PF 70,000 -- which is more than 21 feet tall and is capable of lifting 77,000 pounds.
I was browsing my gallery of images from the DEMA show, and found this truly, truly stunning picture I had clearly overlooked. Well...maybe the word "stunning" is a bit strong, but at least it gives a sense of the kind of variety Metalsub offers in terms of dive lights. Strong and sturdy-feeling in your hand, Metalsub's lightweight metal housings are fashioned with a chemical-hardened surface layer that makes the torches practical for both sport and technical divers. Individually pressure-tested to 825 feet before leaving their manufacturing facility, Metalsub's cable lights can be attached to your tank via a bracket (the rectangular strips on the rear of the table). Featuring variable light power and a no-brainer battery capacity indicator, I was really impressed with the rugged-ness of the lights.
Underwater shooters will dig the Unilamp, which is a light developed for photo and video recording (sorry, not shown). They also have a variety of hand-held lights that fit nicely in the palm, feel fantastically solid, and can be easily handled -- even wearing gloves.
Of course, although I strove to cover everything on the show floor, there's no way I could do that. If you were looking for something else about DEMA, check out some of my peers who were also attending and reporting on the event.
Want the low-down on all the latest underwater camera equipment? Wetpixel is where you want to head. Featuring a very organized overview of all the displays related to camera gear, Wetpixel also has a cool gallery of "people" images.
DigiDeep has an excellent day-by-day report, with lots and lots of pictures. Most of the shots are of beautiful, shiny camera equipment, but many are of people. Don't p[ass up the chance to see DigiDeep's favorite image!
SeaBotix ROVs kick ass! Here's a short video of the SeaBotix in action at the DEMA pool. I was really amazed at how fast the unit could travel, and how nimble it was.
The ROV is controlled via a joystick. Users watch the live video that the ROV feeds to a monitor topside.
I was totally drawn into Ocean Reef's booth, too. However, there was something a bit creepy about it. Maybe it was the fact that the shelves were lined with heads.
For my coverage of DEMA 2006, I focused on "the stuff." However, many other attendees were as interested in the people as they were in the stuff. Take, for example, DivePhotoGuide's Jason Heller. When I strolled the floor with him, we couldn't move 10 feet without someone stopping to speak to him. It was amazing.
When I was thinking about what kind of 
Of course, not everything on display at the 
Wandering the 
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