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has anyone used the clear camera cases that you can take pictures with the camera inside the case? Are the pics as good inside the case and should I trust it underwater, or just buy a cheap disposable underwater camera? The case I'm looking at is an Aquapak and is waterproof up to 15 feet. It has some type of "Lenzflex" material that says the pics are clear thru this material. Found it on the Waterproofstore.com for $44.95. Any comments? I just bought a new digital camera and don't want to ruin it the first time I take it on vacation. Also, would the case just be handy for keeping the sand and crap out of it, even if I don't actually take it underwater?
thanks!
Got your PM and PM'd you back 😀
We bought the Sony underwater case for our Sony camera. It was only like $40, and works up to 10 meters I think. Look to see if your camera Manuf makes a custom case for yours too. That way, you get all access to the functions while it is in the case, AND you can keep the sand and stuff out. We Kept ours in the case most of the time just for that reason.
You can check the pics we took here http://www.bowwowandmeow.com/album
Mine is a sony also - a DSC -H5 Cybershot. Could you PM me and let me know how much a custom case costs? There is a case for larger cameras on the website I was looking at - for over $100, but I think mine will fit in the $45 one.
thanks!
We bought one from B+ H last year for my new Sony WSC-7(?) and used it on St. John last year. It worked well and I have also used it at my job (I teach swimming) Have gotten great pictures and never a problem. I was nervous about it leaking, but everything works just how it's supposed to.
Next time you buy a new digital camera, consider the Pentax Optio. They have a waterproof version that is absolutely amazing. I got this camera for xmas last year, and I LOVE it. It doesn't look like it should be waterproof, so it was scary putting it underwater the first time, but I was happy to see how well it takes pictures both underwater and on land. It's a great camera for shooting around the Virgin Islands.
We purchased an Olympus hard case after reading about them on this website, got mine for $96 vs. retail $300. It was great and we really enjoyed taking as many pictures as we wanted while snorkeling. It was also great for taking land pictures, the case kept sand and wet hands off of the camera and the pictures turned out great. I think we'll use it for lots of things where you just don't want to worry about the camera. It also makes the camera float which is nice.
We also enjoyed taking the camera out in the water and taking pictures standing in the water or looking back at the beach.
MG - there was a hardcase available for my camera, but for first trip in 05 I didn't know what the snorkeling was really like and I didn’t want to spring for the $$ Canon housing for the PowerShot, so I bought the UK made underwater camera bag called AquaPac . Google it and it will pop up if anyone is curious.
This is actually a pretty well engineered product that I tested for water tightness before I left but was unable to test for true functionality like in a pool or something.
When trying to use the Aquapac in 05, I found out the Canon is apparently VERY sensitive to the extra humidity created in the bag and kept shutting down. Maybe silica packs in the bag would help that.
Second, even though the Canon has an LCD screen that swivels out from the camera at various angles, I was pretty much unable to use it to see what I was framing.
Thirdly, the bag seemed to play tricks with the lens and auto focus and I had troubles with exposures, tried different ISO settings, white balance, etc. It finally dawned on me the last day of the trip to try my older 2mp simple Kodak digicam that I let my daughter use and that worked somewhat better.
It was so frustrating to me (but I'm pretty picky about photography) that I got the Canon hardcase housing for the 06 trip with excellent results and regret spending the money on the Aquapac, although I have it in case I need it for other situations at home and travel involving bad weather.
Hope this helps your decision process.
JMQ
Several people have commented that the hard cases are the way to go, but I can't find one for my camera any where online.Its a Sony cybershot DSC-H5 with 7.2 mp, 12x zoom. The LCD screen doesn't swivel out (I don't think) but it has a 3" screen that is really easy to see. If anyone runs across a website that has cases for this camera, let me know. Aquapac is the brand of the cases I was looking at. I doubt I'll spend the $$ for one of those cases.
thanks for responding!
I purchased two Fuji F700 digital cameras on e-bay and an underwater housing on Amazon.com I bought the second camera just to get the instruction manuel, extra power pack, memory and to have a second camera just incase something happened to the first. They work great and Amazon has the best prices on the housings.
