Canon WP-DC30 Waterproof Housing for PowerShot A75 and A85 Digital Cameras

by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 4 x 4 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00024XPK6
• Item model number: 9433A001AA
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 23, 2003

Product Description

Front Loading - Polycarbonate - Clear - Camera Case

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Need a great underwater picture? This is only the start!, May 22, 2005

By 

Michael Horn "mikie" (US Army Combat Support Training Center, Dublin, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Canon's Waterproof Case WP-DC30 is designed for both the Powershot A75 & A85 and works as advertised. It remains water tight to over 130 feet and allows the diver to shoot underwater pictures. Almost every camera function is allowable through use of watertight plunger buttons on the case. I'd like to give the case 4 stars. I enjoy what it does. I'd buy it again if I had the opportunity - but..

Here's the rest of the story:

1. Digital cameras give off heat from battery use. Combined with the lovely humidity of the tropics (in my experience Maui, Aruba and Bonaire) - you have a guarantee of case and lens fogging unless you include a dessicant/silica gel pack in the case and acclimatize the camera and case to water temperature prior to diving.

2. Weight kit. Sold as an additional accessory for the WP-DC30. Canon's weight kit should be packaged with every watertight case. The case makes the camera bouyant - this being quite annoying when on a dive without the weight set. Reaching over your head to find the camera - or finding it hard to hold steady depth when picture taking is a pain. Weights should be adjusted BEFORE the dive for neutral or slightly negative bouyancy for the camera case. Fresh water requires a different weight combination.

3. You can never have enough light. The built in flash of either the Canon A75/A85 (I own both and both are margainal at best when on land-never mind underwater) is inadequate. In low light situations - the A75's computer logic can hunt forever before making up it's mind to give you a bad exposure. Underwater is even worse. The A85 works better - but don't expect anything to brag about at depth greater than 25' - even in the BEST of circumstances. Relegate the A75 or A85 to shallow water when sunlight can penetrate and assist the camera's anemic flash. For serious work - professional underwater strobe units that slave from the camera's built in flash are the best way to go. These are pricey - approaching $500 to 750 for adequate units.

4. Required maintenance after every dive requires thorough rinsing and cleaning of any salt,sand and grit along the O-ring seals around the case. Maintenance includes running a preservative around the O-ring seal to keep it from drying out.

5. I do not recommend the WP-DC30 as an all weather case. In high heat situations - the pressure inside the airtight case will blow the seal.

6. The large number of watertight buttons duplicate every single function of the A75 and A85. These features are virtually worthless underwater. With limited air supply and decompression time - reviewing your pictures - erasing, etc are really not needed. A slimmed down number of function buttons would make operation of the case easier.

7. The A75 low light pictures tend to get very noisy. Upgrading to the A85 gives better low light rendition. Plan to spend a LOT of time in photoshop rectifying pictures taken deeper than 25 feet.

8. As of May 2005, the Powershot A75 has been discontinued by Canon. The A85 is now the oldest model in the Canon Powershot line - no longer carried by many vendors. With the many shapes and sizes of Canon's offerings - buying a specialized case is only good for the life of the camera model. Choose your point and shoot wisely - and don't buy an expensive ($160-185) case if you are a casual underwater user. Also as of May 2005, many larger retailers are phasing out this case - along with the Powershot A85. If you have a need for an underwater case, time is running out for availability of new product. It might be cheaper to purchase disposable underwater film cameras before you travel - losing not a lot of picture quality to the anemic flash of the A75 or A85.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product, October 13, 2005

By 

Robert J. Meidenbauer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I am very pleased. I like the way I have full camera controls and can do everything with the camera that I can do with it outside of the case. I think it is a mechanical engineering work of art...

I bought this housing just before I went to Cabo San Jose for week of fun in the sun and water. Before I went I went to a local dive shop to talk to them about special precautions to prevent fogging and they recommended some moisture remover capsules which Ikelite recommends for their housings. These help remove the humidity and prevent fogging. Plus, if the case leaked, they would abosorb the water. I bought them and fit two in the housing with the camera.

While in Cabo San Jose, I went snokeling and the housing worked great though I only went down twenty feet or so. And the pictures I got were great (via the camera A85) and the camera stayed dry (via the case). I can't speak of deep water performance yet, but I am very pleased with the case so far.

BTW I also bought the weight set and with no weights the case floated and with one (of the four that come in the package) the case sinks... For snorkeling, I did not use any weights...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underwater Case Wonder, July 6, 2005

By 

Jere Alm - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This case is wonderful. Fairly priced and I got great underwater as well as land lubber pictures. I can recommend this producted without hesitation.