Inside Scuba Issue #60

AuthorAuthor

Andy Deitsch & Byron Conroy
May 17, 2026

Welcome to Issue #60 of Inside Scuba

Welcome to Issue #60 of Inside Scuba! If you enjoy reading these editions, please consider forwarding them to your dive buddies so they can join our community too. We have a packed issue for you this week. First, Byron shares a personal, hands-on DIY project born out of sheer frustration: how he finally tackled a fifteen-year battle with severe diving ear infections by retrofitting his beloved Hollis M1 mask with an IST ProEar cup system. Next, we check in on the global dive community with our curated round-up of recent news. For the macro lovers, guest author Martyn Guess takes us behind the lens to show exactly how he captured the iconic, minuscule "Shaun the Sheep" leaf sea slug. Finally, Alex Mustard and Matthew Sullivan drop a breaking "hot take" on Sony's surprise announcement of the Alpha 7R VI, weighing what its new 67MP stacked sensor actually means for underwater image makers. Let’s dive in!

What’s happening in this edition?

Solving Ear Problems for Diving: How I Converted My Hollis M1 to the IST ProEar System

I have dealt with recurring ear infections for my entire diving career, losing many dives to swollen ears and the massive pain that comes as pressure builds against tightening ear walls. Liveaboard trips reliably ended with a week of antibiotics. Multi-week trips always had to be broken up by a course of medication, and I’ve even lost 50% of the hearing in one ear due to scar tissue on the eardrum from all the infections.

Over the years, I have tried almost everything to fix it: swimmer's ear protection, ear-drying routines, fresh-water rinses, alcohol drops to evaporate stagnant water, Doc's Proplugs, surfer's ear plugs, hoods, and more. Yet, on last month's trip to Lembeh, I still ended up with three ear infections over 21 days of diving—even after using a hood, earplugs, swimmer's ear drops, and cleaning daily.

The Solution? A PRO IST ear mask?

There was one solution I was aware of, though: the IST Pro Ear mask, affectionately known in the dive industry as the “Mickey Mouse mask” or the “Princess Leia” mask. Years ago, I had spoken to awesome photographer and friend of Inside Scuba, Nick More, who famously uses this setup. He told me that without it, he might well have had to quit diving altogether; it has literally saved his main hobby and passion.

The IST Pro ear mask and ear cup system

How the IST System Actually Works

The IST ProEar mask, in its factory form, is essentially a standard silicone-skirted dive mask with two dome-shaped silicone cups attached on either side. These cups seal against the side of your head, covering each external ear. A flexible silicone tube, about the diameter of a pencil, runs between each cup and the main mask body.

In each issue of our newsletter, we will curate some top dive news from around the world. Links to each of the original articles are available.

Mangrove Photography Awards: The 2026 competition is currently open with submissions closing on June 1st. Entry is free and open to all photographers around the world at any age and experience level.

Divernet: “‘Stereophoto’ divers capture Stone Age man-made island. Archaeological divers have excavated a large timber platform hidden beneath an artificial stone island constructed in a Scottish loch more than 5,000 years ago – and used a new technique to record it three-dimensionally.”

Dive Magazine: “Emperor Explorer liveaboard destroyed by fire in Maldives. Popular luxury liveaboard Emperor Explorer has been destroyed by fire in the Maldives while moored near Hulhumalé, the reclaimed island adjacent to Velana International Airport and a common embarkation point for Maldives liveaboards.”

Divernet: “Flag up but boat-strike kills Florida Keys diver. Florida authorities are investigating the death of a female scuba diver following a boat-strike in the Lower Keys on Friday, 8 May. Jocelyn Brown, 27, had been diving off Little Palm Island near Big Pine Key at around 11am when the vessel hit her, according to statements attributed to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).”

Dive Magazine: “Divers set two underwater Guinness World Records in India’s Andaman Islands. Scuba divers in India’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands have set two underwater Guinness World Records in consecutive days as part of a campaign to promote the archipelago as a diving tourism destination.”

Divernet: “Runaway boat struck diver’s leg: diving doctors saved his life. When an unmanned dive-boat circling out of control caught 24-year-old German scuba diver Brian Pethke’s leg it resulted in an amputation – but he could have lost his life had three doctors not been among the divers on a second boat that came to his rescue.”

Divernet: “Speardiver prop deaths in Bahamas and Bali. The Royal Bahamas Police Force is investigating the death of a 64-year-old male diver thought to have been injured by the propeller of the boat from which he had been spearfishing. The incident occurred a week after another speardiver died after being struck by a boat, this time in Indonesia. The 34-year-old Norwegian male had been part of a group spearfishing off the coast of Bali when a passing snorkelling-tour boat struck him, according to local authorities.”

Divernet: “Five Italian divers die in Maldives cave disaster. Five Italian scuba divers died after entering a cave system at a depth of around 55m yesterday (14 May), in what has become the deadliest single incident in Maldives’ diving history. Only one body has been recovered so far.”

ABC News: “Maldives military diver dies while trying to recover scuba diving victims in underwater cave. A Maldives military diver has died while working to recover the bodies of victims who died while scuba diving in an underwater wave, according to the Maldives National Defense Force.”

Divernet: “Sat-image technique exposes 1,000 ‘invisible’ coral reefs. More than 1,000 previously uncharted coral reefs have been discovered and mapped in northern Australia by a team of Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) researchers – without them having to leave their offices.”

Phys.org: “Hairy new fish species discovered in the Great Barrier Reef. Swimming among the corals of the Great Barrier Reef is a fish that could be a doppelganger for the famous Sesame Street character Mr. Snuffleupagus. This bright orange-red, hairy, long-snouted ghost pipefish is a new species that has been hiding in plain sight for years, often confused with other ghost pipefish.”

Divernet: “Finnish cave-divers reach Maldives on recovery mission. A team of Finnish cave-divers mobilised by DAN Europe has arrived in the Maldives to carry out a search and recovery mission for the four Italian scuba divers still missing in a deep-lying cave in Vaavu Atoll, and are preparing their equipment to start diving tomorrow morning (18 May).”

DAN Europe supports international search & rescue operations in the Maldives

An international task force of specialists has been activated to support local authorities in the recovery of divers in Alimathà.

Malé, May 16, 2026 — Following the tragic incident involving five divers in the waters of Alimathà, Vaavu Atoll (Maldives), DAN Europe has activated an international task force composed of highly specialised professionals in technical diving, cave diving, and special operations in overhead environments, with the objective of supporting the delicate search and rescue activities currently underway.

Entrance to the cave (Photo: Shaff Naeem; Courtesy of DAN Europe.)

DAN has always stood alongside the international diving community, including the Maldives, providing medical assistance, emergency coordination, and operational support in the event of diving accidents. It is within this context that the organisation has decided to make resources, expertise, and specialised personnel available to support the ongoing operations. The team mobilised by DAN includes operators with international experience in highly complex recovery missions, including interventions in deep cave systems, confined environments, and high-risk scenarios, gained through participation in some of the most challenging underwater rescue operations of recent years.

The DAN task force will operate in full coordination with the Maldives National Defence Force, which is leading operations locally, and in constant contact with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the competent Italian Embassy, and the Italian Consulate in Malé, since all victims were Italian nationals.

The accident site presents highly complex operational characteristics: access to the cave is located at a depth of between 55 and 60 meters, while the underwater system extends for hundreds of meters through multiple chambers and internal passages. The victims may be located in areas that are difficult to access, requiring extremely careful planning of every phase of the intervention. Maldivian authorities have described the operation as “high risk.”

“In moments like these, every consideration gives way first to our sense of humanity and community. Before being doctors, researchers, or emergency specialists, we are divers helping other divers. This tragedy deeply affects the entire international diving community of which we are part, and we will do everything within our power to support the ongoing operations. I am deeply grateful to the international search and recovery specialists we have engaged, who were ready to depart immediately upon our request. In the meantime, we are working to make the specialised equipment required for this highly complex operation available on site. We also wish to thank the representatives of the Italian Consulate and Embassy for their valuable assistance in coordinating the logistics of this intervention.”

— Laura Marroni, CEO, DAN Europe

Operations have become even more dramatic following the death of a member of the Maldivian Navy involved in the rescue efforts. DAN extends its deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and local authorities. This tragic development further confirms the extreme complexity of the intervention and the importance of highly specialised support.

DAN Europe: Research, Emergency Response, and Prevention

DAN Europe (Divers Alert Network Europe) is an international nonprofit medical and scientific organization founded in 1983, dedicated to research, prevention, and safety management in complex and high-risk environments.

Core elements of the organization include:

  • Mission: improving diver safety worldwide through research, medicine, and assistance

  • Structure: a 24/7 global emergency operations center managed by emergency medicine specialists and recognized in Italy as a second-level emergency alert center; assistance is provided in over 30 languages

  • Membership: over 400,000 members worldwide

  • Network: an international network of more than 180 medical specialists

  • Activity: thousands of emergencies handled each year

The organization is one of the regional foundations within IDAN (International Divers Alert Network) and reinvests all generated resources into research and the development of tools and services benefiting the wider community.

How I Got the Shot: Shaun the Sheep, Costasiella Kuroshimae – The Leaf Sheep

By Martyn Guess

This characterful critter appeals to viewers as its face resembles the character “Shaun the Sheep”. Often described as a tiny nudibranch, it is actually a sap-sucking sea slug (Sacoglossan) rather than a true nudibranch. They can be found in shallow, warm waters across the Indo-Pacific region, including Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia and even in North America (Blue Heron Bridge in Florida). Found at depths of up to 10m (30ft), they live directly on Avrainvillea green algae, which is their primary food source. This is a solitary fan algae found on sand or muck and is easy to spot as you swim across the seabed. Individual algae fans will often have whole “herds” of sheep living on them (see images 1 and 2).

Image 1: Found at depths of up to 10m, Shaun’s live directly on Avrainvillea green algae, which is their primary food source.

Image 2: You can often find “herds” of sheep living on a single algae leaf.

They are incredibly tiny critters, ranging from 3–8mm (1/8” to 5/16”) depending on their location; in my experience, examples in Lembeh and Bali tend to be much smaller than those in the Philippines. The first time I was shown a “Shaun,” I did a double-take—what on earth was the guide pointing at? With practice, and by looking through the camera’s viewfinder with an added magnifier, you begin to see them more clearly.

Hot Take: The New Sony A7R VI

By Alex Mustard and Matthew Sullivan

The camera rumors have been swirling for a while, and while we were right in the middle of recording another episode of The Underwater Photography Show, Sony officially dropped the Sony A7R VI. As a successor to the A7R V, this is a camera certain to appeal to many in the underwater photography community. We’ve had a chance to look over the specs, and while it’s a "hot take," there is a lot to be excited about—and a few things to consider in the frenzy of gear-lust!

The New 67MP Stacked Sensor

The most significant update is the brand-new 67-megapixel fully stacked sensor. There was a lot of talk that Sony might jump to 80 megapixels, but honestly, we are very happy they stayed in this range. For underwater use, 60+ megapixels is more than plenty; jumping to 80 would just mean massive raw files that most of us don't really need.

The "stacked" nature of the sensor has the potential to be a double-edged sword:

  • The Good: It brings much faster readout speeds and higher frame rates—up to 30 fps with blackout-free shooting, and no rolling shutter issues. This makes the camera incredibly versatile for action shooters hitting bait balls or traveling to spots like Magdalena Bay or the Sardine Run.

  • The Unknown: Some of the previous stacked sensors have lacked the ultimate image quality of more traditional sensors. However, the R range has always been aimed partly at landscape photographers who demand high image quality at low ISOs so we suspect and hope that Sony are totally on top of this and image quality will be exemplary.

Sony also claims 16 stops of dynamic range and improved noise reduction at higher ISO over the predecessor. The A7R V’s has great dynamic range, so improving this is impressive. The older camera’s main weakness was noise at higher ISOs, so if they’ve tamed that, it’s great news for versatility.

Our Video of the Week is from 60 Minutes. Why have Great White Shark populations around South Africa plummeted? Tagging Great White Sharks off the coast of Boston. Check out this episode of 60 Minutes to learn more.

Summary

That runs us to the end of Issue #60! Whether you are out there meticulously hunting for tiny 4mm leaf sheep on the algae fans, debating if it's time to upgrade your camera housing for Sony's latest high-res powerhouse, or patiently waiting for your ears to dry out between trips, we hope this edition gives you plenty of inspiration for your next underwater adventure. As always, stay safe, watch your dive flags, and we’ll see you in the next issue.

Andy & Byron

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