Waterproof Camera Case?

[cruising_rocket_scientist]

My husband and I are planning a trip to the Western Carribbean in November (HAL Ryndam). We've talked about cave tubing in Belize, and I would also like to try snorkeling in one of the ports. We have a Canon Powershot camera - and if we're going to do these crazy things, we'd better have pictures to prove it. Do I need to get the $$$ camera housing from Canon, or can we use something like the DiCAPac. We don't do underwater sports at all usually, and I wonder if it's worth the investment for the more expensive one.

 

If the DiCAPac isn't a good idea, is there a cheaper alternative to the $170 Canon case?

 

This is our first Carribbean cruise and I'm trying to figure out all of these new things.

 

Thanks

[satxdiver]

If all you are doing is snorkeling or cave tubing in Belize (I just did that again last month and really enjoyed it), the DiCaPak will work great. The housing that Canon sells is for SCUBA diving where it can go to 130 feet below sea level. I would not spend the money unless I was SCUBA diving (I did and it works great). On the cave tubing adventure be sure to have some way to attach the camera to your wrist so you don't loose it.

 

An interesting story was from a friend who is a dive instructor. Ten or so years ago he took a disposable waterproof camera down to 35 feet or so. The camera would take the picture but he had to ascend to 10 feet to advance it for the next picture (old film type). Every approximately 33 feet, the pressure doubles so that at 33 feet you are at 2x atmospheric pressure. The camera would literally squeeze up.

[cruising_rocket_scientist]

Thanks,

 

I really appreciate that. That saves us money so we can do something else fun!

[girlguide]

We used the dicapac on our Nikon in March snorkeling in Bonaire. Protected the camera, but it takes a bit of practice to actually get what you wanted photographed. My DH was using it & he couldn't see the viewer at the back to make sure what he wanted was in the frame - combination of mask, bad eyes & plastic casing. Practice before you try it under water so you have better aim!:p

[CMOTO]

I have a sony camera and got the dicapac off ebay, it worked great. I have never snorkled with it but i would not hesitate. I agree with the other post you need to pratice cause when the view finder has little water spots on it makes it hard to see what your taking a picture of. All in all i am glad i have it.

[RogerCalgary]

I'm beginning to sound a bit like a broken record, but allow me to once more recommend the Olympus 1030SW which is a compact digital camera rated to 10m/33 ft underwater. It works great, and it's cheaper than a good waterproof housing for an SLR. They make similar cameras that are only rated to 10 feet, but my recommendation would be to go with the 33 feet version.

 

 

Cheers,

Roger

[bluegirlum]

I just used the Dicapac 2 weeks ago in the Cayman Islands, and it was perfect. It does take practice--I accidentally had my camera in "movie" mode one time while snorkeling--but it's pretty easy to use.

 

A word of caution: I ran into a woman on the beach who said that you should not have your camera in the pac for more than an hour, as hers "exploded" (her word). I think the pressure got to be too much for the camera, so I just made sure I took my camera out of it for air after I was done using it for snorkeling. Otherwise, it's great! Enjoy!

[BostonGal07]

So glad I found this thread. Just ordered it for my Canon SD200 for $29.99 from www.tigerdirect.com

 

Thanks ! ! !

[Tricky Diggy]

Hi,

camerasunderwater (google the company) will have or make a diving housing for it

 

cheers td:)

[dvan68]

Just another vote for the DiCapac. We were able to get fantastic pictures of the sting rays at Grand Cayman. As well as getting used to the view screen, make sure that the black plastic that surrounds the zoom portion stays away from the view finder - it can slide around a little when the lens is not zooming on something.