Canon WP-DC8 Waterproof Case for the Powershot A640 and A630

by Canon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000KIR9F6
• Item model number: 1592B001
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

Waterproof case designed especially for the PowerShot A630 and A640. Capture those underwater shots or use worry-free during inclement weather. Case also provides protection from sand, dirt and dust. Waterproof to 130 .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Versatile uses; takes pictures in multitude of harsh environments, January 4, 2007

By 

E. Berin (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews
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I bought this WP-DC8 housing for my Canon A630 for a vacation trip to Oahu, Hawaii (specifically for Hanauma Bay snorkeling). I also own a Pentax Optio s4i OP-WP2 housing and will compare the WP-DC8 to this.

The WP-DC8 allows full operation of the A630/A640. One quirk I do not understand is the optical viewfinder is misaligned with a plastic lever - the lever has a hole, but doesn't allow use of the optical viewfinder while underwater. The WP-DC8, like the Pentax OP-WP2, is hard to use the LCD underwater as the glare from the water surface (snorkeling; diving may be better) makes it hard to see the image. The optical view finder is also useless; your best bet is to practice 'point-and-shoot' on dry land prior to going underwater.

The WP-DC8 housing is huge and can be bulky for other uses (e.g. surfing, etc.). I use the much smaller Pentax OP-WP2 (see my Amazon review on this one) for surfing as the WP-DC8 would be far too cumbersome.

This WP-DC8 housing is also going to be used in harsh environments such as open sea boat uses (salt spray nearly destroyed my wife's unprotected Minolta F100), dirt environments (e.g. Moab, Utah), and muddy areas (Hawaii ranch ATV tours). It is of high-quality construction, although the Canon WP-DC8 has plastic buttons while my Pentax OP-WP2 has stainless steel buttons; functionally and durability-wise, it's OK, but seems slightly delicate. Time will tell on this one.

The ability to take high-quality 8 Mpixel photos underwater for the price of a $199 housing is very nice. I could not afford to spend $800 for my Canon Rebel XT underwater housing, so the A630/WP-DC8 combination provides most of that advantage at a much lower price.

Operational notes:

Make sure you select 'fish' mode when using underwater. If you change back and forth to movie and still mode, you must reset back to 'fish' mode. Movies work pretty well; highly recommended. Flash is not too bad; I got some good photos with unfiltered flash; the Pentax OP-WP2 tends to get weird image flares reflected back into the lens assembly.
Also, if the camera seems to be locked up, make sure the 'display vs. camera mode' switch is in 'camera mode' - it can be confusing when you're snorkeling/diving.

Since the batteries last longer than a 2 GB card, you may want to consider a 4GB or larger SD HC card (since changing the batteries or memory card is not recommended on the beach or on the water surface).

END

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad "hot-spot" and no-light, January 15, 2007

By 

CG Scalliet "Charlie" (South Africa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Previous owner of the Canon-A85 & Canon-housing, I upgraded to the Canon-A640 & Canon-housing. Being exited about the new 1cm macro feature, I was soon to be disappointed about the "hot-spot" and no-light as called in underwater photography. The housing casts a shadow over just about half the picture when doing very close macro shots. Even 'upping' the flash-power, does not help, it only manages to create a 'hot-spot' in the left top section of the photograph. What happens is that the lens is encapsulated in a black section within the housing. The flash can not reach the section lying in the shadow of the lens. Previous models probably did not have this problem, because it does not have such a short macro focal lenght. Certainly a huge design flaw from Canon!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WP-DC8 Awesome results for the cost!, February 22, 2007

By 

E. Hender (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Canon WP-DC8 Waterproof Case for the Powershot A640 and A630 (Electronics)

I took my A640 on my last dive trip and got great pictures and video clips thanks to this case. It works great and for the cost was a great alternative. I used it for a wreck dive to a depth of 100ft and there were no issues. It is specially designed for the camera buttons and I found it extremely easy to use. The video and pictures on the shark dive came out great. With a cloudy day or depths over 90 ft. the pictures will require more than the flash unless you are very close to get good color. GREAT case - thanks Canon!