Customer Reviews

Aquapac 420-Aquapac Small Underwater Camera Case - As Shown

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I snorkled with this AquaPac case for a week in the Galapagos Islands and learned some valuable lessons:

(1) Over the seven days of surface snorkeling - the AquaPac kept my Lumix FX3 camera "bone dry".

(2) With this AquaPac - one needs to set both the "camera" and "video" settings to infinity - otherwise you will take some nice shots of the camera bag itself - or any water droplets on the camera bag itself.

(3) I followed the recommended advice to add the silica/desicate bag to the AquaPac. This turned out to be a major faux pas (e.g. DISASTER). The silica/desicate bag burst and sent the "sand" particulate into the bag and into my camera - rendering the camera inoperable - since the lens could no longer close/open - nor could the auto-focus focus. The silica bag was added on the last day of trip and the silica bag disintegrated on the last day of trip. So I was able to shoot some nice photos of sea lions under water - but my camera is now "hosed" (e.g. it is a now a $179 piece of garbage due to silica bag sand entering the lens).

(4) The sea lion shots that I took underwater were phenomenal.

I just got this item yesterday but I can verify that it will accommodate the full zoom range of a Panasonic ZS3 camera. I'm only giving 3 stars for now because the pack is very small and I had a lot of trouble getting the camera in with the wrist strap attached. That might not be a big deal for you, but I found it annoying. Also, the flash on my camera is blocked by a blue part of the pack so my pics with flash were all messed up. Again, might not be a problem for you.

I am going on vacation in 3 weeks with this and will post an updated report after that.

Edit: 12/16/2010
I've used this case several times now and I've revised my rating to 4 stars. The waterproofness works wonderfully, but the flash issue still holds true. Also when I'm zoomed out to the widest angle on my camera, I have to make sure to hold the lens piece on the case close to the camera body or else I get a "porthole" effect in the pictures.

Bought this before we went to Mexico to use with the Lumix TZ-5 in the water. Whether we were in the pool or in the ocean snorkeling, this tiny waterproof case worked perfectly. Simple and gives you peace of mind near water and produces great shots you'd otherwise never get.

Just returned from a snorkel vacation. I used this case with a Canon Elph 300. As other reviews have pointed out, the camera is tricky to align in the case. It becomes easier once the lens is extended. It is also difficult to use the zoom; I was concerned that the pointy lever might puncture the case. The areas I snorkeled had sandy entries with sand suspended in the water close to shore. Even though the locks were completely closed, small grains of sand worked their way around the posts of the locks and into the seal area of the case. It was difficult to remove all of the sand and to take the camera out of the pouch, without getting sand on to it. No water leaked into the case, but be very careful when opening the case after use. Open it with the locking side down; make sure that any sand is cleared from the seal area before removing the camera from the case. I purchased this case as a cheaper alternative to buying a special purpose, underwater camera. Next trip, I will spend the money on an underwater camera in hopes that it will be easier to use. Overall, I have had good use out of previous Aquapac products. However, getting your money or a plastic room key wet or sandy on occasion is not the same problem as getting a camera wet or sandy.

I have own this bag for over 4-years and it still works great. Take special care to dry and store safely after each use. Regulary replace the silicon baggies, which absorb any humidity in the bag, as these baggies can become britle, open and equate to having dumping sand in your bag.

I bought the Aquapac 420 to use with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 that has a 12x zoom lens. The camera fits easily into the bag and the controls can be used although it's sometimes awkward. However, when I use the zoom the barrel of the lens encounters resistance because it's impossible to align the lens barrel exactly in the center of the hard plastic lens enclosure of the bag. When this happens the camera displays an error message and has to be turned off and on again. This makes the zoom useless. The bag gets two stars because it can be used just as long as you don't use the lens zoom feature. It may work for other cameras but you'll have to pay nearly $50 to find out. Is it worth it? It wasn't for me.

This is what I feared in the first place when purchasing a plastic bag for the camera: a major leak between the hard lens and the bag ruined my brand new $200 Canon camera the first time I went snorkeling on our Hawaii trip. The leak was so bad that when I later filled the bag with water, a jet stream would shoot from the thread between the hard lens and the bag. Within 10 minutes in the water, my camera was literally swimming in a bagful of salty water from the Pacific Ocean.

For those who got a working product, great. But I would never take my chances with this product with my camera and let it ruin an otherwise perfect vacation in Hawaii.

Only four stars until after the case is put to use; don't plan to use underwater, just for rain protection in Amazon. Must be patient in getting the camera into the bag, but sample pictures I took around the house were clear and I could zoom the maximum distance.

I just used this case for the first time on our vacation to the Bahamas. I worked very well. I had no issues with water getting into the case and damaging the camera. I took some good pictures and videos underwater. They came out great.

Only a few drawbacks which I expected with the nature of this product. You have to be careful when turning on the camera to not allow the lens to get jammed behind the lens port of the case. Also, the edges of the lens port sometimes comes out in the corners of the pictures. Like I said, I expected these to be issues going into this so I was not overly disappointed.

Overall, I think the case served its purpose quite well.

As another reviewer confirmed it works for the ZS3. You just need to be sure the lens part is held down or you'll get a minor porthole effect to one side. This is only when you're at 1x zoom(no zoom). This appears to be far better than any other waterproof case I've read about with the ZS3. This case will also take the ZS3's full zoom. You can operate all camera functions easily except for the mode dial. Decide where you want it before it goes into the case and don't take it out on site because even the air where you'll be is still going to be a harsh environment. On the ZS3 there is even an Underwater selection in all of the scene mode options. Try that one and mess with the white balance and just see what works for you.

The closure is simple and solid. You flip the two little wings open/closed. They are solid and stout. Other cases I looked at involved a velcro roll-up system to seal the end. Both likely work fine. This one is just slim and clean.

Always test it before each trip. Put a tissue in it, close it up, submerge it in the sink and squeeze it and shake it just a little. Dry the outside and open the case. The tissue should be bone dry of course. People sometimes forget that since it's mandmade it's guaranteed to be imperfect. It can't be anything else. Just like your camera, some day it won't work.

Two bouyancy setups to consider. If you make an effort to squeeze some air out as you seal it then it will handle better at depth, but it won't float. If you just close it normally it will float with the amount of air that's left in it. It might be a little puffy in some spots though. The flotation option was awesome during one trip when it got away from us in the surf. We got surprised during a hand off with a hard wave but there it was about 20 yards away heading towards the beach.