HomeGadgetsDiCAPac WPS10 Waterproof Case for SLR/DSLR Cameras 230 x 270 x 190mm |
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73 of 74 found the following review helpful:
 Great for the occasional underwater shooter Jan 08, 2009
By Gary Jean
This case was a birthday gift and I must admit to some trepidation when submerging a Canon 5D body and 24-105 lens for the first time. Of course, the instructions advise testing the case first, which I did in the bathtub. It was bone dry inside, so I took the plunge with my camera inside. Here are my first underwater shots taken while snorkeling in the Crystal River of Florida: http://garyjean.zenfolio.com/p644207162
I set the camera up for "dummy mode" so that I wouldn't have to fiddle with controls. The shutter release was easy to operate. I could not get the zoom ring to turn, but it didn't really matter because wide angle was best for underwater shots anyway. A zoom lens left at wide angle, or a wide angle prime lens would be best.
The case seals at two points. A UV coated polycarbonate lens screws on to the case over the camera lens. At the top, you seal the case like a zip-lock baggie, then fold a flap over several times like a dry bag. This seals with velcro. Finally, a large velcro flap folds over the smaller flap. I would say that the case is more likely to leak from a puncture than from the seals.
It was difficult to see through the viewfinder with a dive mask on, so I mainly just pointed the camera at my subjects. Another reason why wide angle is the way to go.
I had no issues with the lens fogging, but some small packs of silica gel in the case to absorb humidity might be worth a try.
I think this case works about as well as one could hope at this low price point. I will test it before every use. Long term durability remains to be seen, but it seems as well made as any dry bag.
A separate flash would be nice, but that would require a big bucks case. In clear water, plenty of light transmits to the 10 feet depth I was shooting in.
In addition to underwater shooting, I will use this case to protect my camera while shooting from my kayak in rough water conditions. Of course, you could also use it in the rain. The downside is very limited ability to set your camera controls.
Overall, I can recommend this case for the person who only wants to shoot under water occasionally and who can't justify the expense of a dedicated hard case. I have no experience with waterproof point and shoot cameras, so that might also be a way to go.
32 of 32 found the following review helpful:
You get what you pay for... Sep 02, 2008
By Bart Willems
Hard shell cases cost thousands of dollars but give you full control. This bag is a little more than a Benjamin, and gives you almost no control over the camera.
It is hard to look through the viewfinder and virtually impossible to change any settings. So you'll have to set the camera to P-mode (or "automatic") and hope for the best. Even then you'll have to press the glass window against the lens to prevent vignetting. Dicapac is suggesting the existence of lens adapter rings (which would fix the position of the glass window against the front element) but I have not seen those yet.
So, despite all the shortcomings, four stars? Yes, because for a very small amount this bag WILL allow you to use your SLR under water. Although rated for something like 20' I would not try it out that deep, but I felt perfectly safe using it in a pool. Once the sealing is properly closed the camera is perfectly safe and I sense that the recommendation in the manual to test the bag in a bathtub (with a tissue inside the bag instead of a camera) is more to test the user's ability to close the bag properly (it is a bit tricky) than anything else.
Do not expect a perfect product - you will start to appreciate the specialized hard shells when using this. But it is still a great opportunity to use an SLR under water and for that I think it offers great value.
50 of 54 found the following review helpful:
 Don't buy this!!! Sep 23, 2008
By J. McMahon
I bought one of these to take on a snorkelling trip. Despite having tested it repeatedly, it developed a leak around the lens ring the first time I used it in salt water, ruining my brand new $2000 camera. I would recommend either a $500 digital point and shoot, or a $1500 hard case underwater housing. This item simply isn't worth the risk. It may ruin your camera and your trip.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
DiCAPac review Jun 15, 2010
By Stephen Peralta
Considering that a "real" underwater housing for my DSLR costs about $1,300 (which is about what my camera cost), this turned out to be the only real option if I wanted to take pictures underwater with my camera. And since underwater photography is not my profession, buying a real houseing is NOT going to happen anytime soon.
I purchased the DiCAPac WPS10 for our vacation to Maui this past May (2010) and I honestly have to say that being able to take pictures underwater was one of the funnest things that I did on our vacation! The pictures came out exceptionally well. I was somewhat surprised. And the "case" worked great (you will have adjust your expectations). I had no problems at all with the "case" sealing. The company stresses to make sure and test it before putting your expensive DSLR into it and taking it underwater and I would heed their advice. The "ziplock" type primary seal does not seem very good... at all. However, you roll the bag around the seal about four or five times and then use a velcro flap that keeps the rolled seal in place. Then there is another flap that secures this. With all that and being very careful I never had the slightest leak. But I still felt I was taking my cameras life into my hands. If the primary seal seemed a little better, it would give me more confidence.
They market it as a "case". In all honesty it's a bag. This model, WPS10, is supposed to be big enough to fit various models of cameras. And considering how big it is, I'm sure that it has no problem fitting a full frame DSLR. So for my Nikon D90, it was rather big. But I was able to make it work.
The biggest drawback for the product is that it is a bag. It has no rigid support and my camera kinda flopped around some. The bag has three sleeves where you can place your fingers to operate the shutter button and adjust the focal length/focus on your lens. The two for adjusting the lens are for the most part useless. There is no room inside the lens sleeve to move you fingers and be able to adjust the lens. So I just set the lens to the widest aperature and set the camera to auto focus. Again, because it's a plastic bag you won't be able to see clearly enough through the clear plastic to use your view finder or the screen in live view mode (even with a mask or goggles). I just aimed in the general direction and hoped for the best. I was not dissapointed at all with what I was able to capture. The video we took under water also came out great. You even get the under water sound pretty clearly.
One tip on getting no leaks I can pass on is to make sure that you get as much of the air out of the bag that you can. The deeper you go with it, the increasing water pressure will want to squeeze the bag and try to push the air out. If the air does get pushed out, that means the seal had to be broken and I can imagine you WILL get water in the bag. After I put the camera in, and sealed it, I would remove the clear lens on the bag and squeeze the bag around the camera as tightly as I could and then place the lens back on the bag. I could tell this helped a lot, especially as I went deeper with the camera.
For $90 and a working camera in the end, I was rather pleased. The only reason I didn't give the product 5 stars was because of the camera functionality you lose (they advertise you being able to adjust your lens). So for the price, compared to a real underwater hard case, it was a good buy. Just adjust your expectaions down a little (if you thought you could use your camera the same outside the water) and you might not be dissapointed.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Overall Worth It Oct 12, 2008
By Joe
Overall I was happy with this purchase, as it was a good price for what you are getting. I was happy with the good shots I got underwater and it absolutely protected my camera from the water and other elements. The furthest I went down was 10 feet and I used the casing about 4 times in total during a snorkeling trip.
A few drawbacks to this product were:
-Too dificult to use a zoom lens underwater. There are holes for your fingers to rotate the lens but it is too hard to do while you are underwater and even if you zoom out the pressure seems to always push the lens back to its lowest zoom. I was using a 70-300mm lens.
-If you plan to use flash underwater you really have to figure out the right amount of air in the bag and where the flash will have room to actually get light out of the bag. Its tricky.
-Nothing mentions it in any manual, but it is a good idea to use an antifog spray for the housing's UV filter. It will get fogged up imediately without it.
I do absolutely recommend this product if you don't want to spend the money to get a custom housing or more expensive one. It definitely does the job. And I do like that you can always unscrew the housing's filter if you quickly want to get a clean shot before going back in the water.
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