Aqua Pac vs DiCaPac

[Victress2007]

Has anyone used the Aqua Pac case for underwater photography? I've seen a couple of reviews of the DiCaPac. I have an Olympus FE-340 for p&s that I'd like to use. We have an upcoming Mexican Rivera cruise and then we're planning one to Hawaii, I thought I'd test out the case on the MR and upgrade to a "real" camera if necessary for Hawaii.

 

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Vic

[tandaart]

I have used the dicapac with a Olympus 370, the only problem was seeing the LCD screen thru the plastic, luckily i had a second p&s a Panasonic LZ7 that worked out much better.

[MDSue]

My sister and I used the Dicapac and had overall very good results. However, some the lens cover cut off the corners of some of the shots. It was also quite difficult to see through the viewfinder [i've read this is true no matter what you use]. When we compared our shots to our table mates who had the underwater Olympus camera, their shots were much better. I'm hoping to have the Olympus model for my next trip, but the Dicapac worked well.

 

Here are some examples with missing corners. You just need to make sure the camera is centered properly to avoid this

 

[waterbugohio]

I also used the DiCapac and yes you have to be careful that the camera fits in tightly or you get the black corners from it moving a little. I have found that if you use a papertowel and fold it up and put half above and half under the camera, it fits in the bag much more snugly and than you don't have to worry about the corners. With a little practice you can get pretty good with it. I too would like to get a Olympus waterproof someday, but for now the $ I spent on the DiCapac has been well worth it.

 

Some examples:

while not a true water shot, this was taken while parasailing above Orient Beach in St Maarten. Since we had to ride a jet ski out to the boat and then when taking off we "touched into the water, this was the only "safe" way to take photos.

 

And I have also gotten use out of it besides on the cruise, here is a couple of shots from Niagara Falls last weekend.

 

 

[Victress2007]

Thanks. So no one has yet used the My Aqua Case? It's a harder case I've found, about $10 more in most cases. The one negative the reviews say is don't use the flash. Maybe I'll get both and test them out.

 

Vic

[Victress2007]

The "My Aqua Case" is a much harder, yet still flexible case. It fits my Olympus FE340 much better. The only thing I can't do is turn the wheel for the scene setting. As long as it is on auto I think I'll be fine.

 

The DiCaPac is really a bit too big for my camera. I would have to use someones tip and put something in to hold the camera in place, maybe a bit of cut sponge or some sturdy foam.

 

Now, I wonder if I can take some time off from tiling the kitchen floor to get to the beach this weekend?

 

Too bad it's so expensive to get out to Catalina!

 

Vic

[cruisedude135]

i just got my dicapac frm amazon for my nikon d90. it fit my 18-105mm lense perfectly. To get rid of tht black border rim i zoomed all the way. Also i found it very easy to see through the viewfinder

 

[MDSue]

Great shot CruiseDude. The DiCaPac is a great solution if a new camera isn't in the budget. One thing I really liked about it was the long strap that made it easy to swim with. Mine survived many underwater trips [only my sister had a problem with the corners being cut off.] You just have to be careful the camera is centered correctly.

[MrOCT31]

Outside of buying an underwater camera you can't beat the Dicapacs for performance or price! I have one for my Canon 880IS and yes I use the paper towel trick and have taken great pictures and video with it!

[flamomo]

I really like my DiCaPac bag. I used it during a cruise to Tahiti and French Polynesia last fall. I am fortunate that both of my point-n-shoot cameras requite the same size bag, so I can switch between cameras if needed. It's going with me on my cruise to Alaska in a few weeks, so I can protect my camera when it's raining, should the need arise.

[Victress2007]

So, I went to the beach in California this weekend and tested my Aqua case. It worked great, no water got into the case I had no problem with turning on the camera or taking pics. The only problem was the quality of the water! The surf was kind of heavy, this really is what the water looked like. Guess the other tests will have to wait til out cruise to the MR in Sept.

 

Vic

[Victress2007]

I'll post some pics later, but the Aqua Case was so much easier than the Pac. My camera swam around in the pack and would turn itself on and off a couple times before the zoom liked the fit of the case. I even put foam inside the Pac so the camera wouldn't shift so much and it was still a pain (the foam did make it float though).

 

The Aqua case also floated, which was nice, since I jumped in the water and the clip came undone, but it just floated nicely waiting for me to notice. It fit my camera very nicely. I couldn't use the zoom and I didn't need the flash - it was great, cheap, easy to open and close and I got the best pictures with the greatest ease ever in the water.

 

Vic

[Victress2007]

Here are a couple of pics. I just pointed and shot, many times at arms length to get closer, as long as you don't want to play with the camera settings I recommend the Aqua case.