Customer Reviews

DicaPac WP510 185x118mm Large Alfa Waterproof Digital Camera Case with Optical Lens (Clear)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I like this case because it doesn't cost a lot and it allows you to use your own digital camera. I used it few days ago and it worked well. It takes some getting used to because it is sometimes difficult to push the buttons through the hard plastic cover.

I took the Dicapac out with me on a surfing trip to Green Lake and I lost it once when I fell off my surfboard. Luckily it floated on the surface so I could retrieve it. The unit did a good job keeping water out.

Different cameras have different lenses. For me I use Panasonic ZR1 and the lens is kind of small. When I turn the camera on I have to make sure I don't get the black round corners in the picture. To avoid this I can either zoom in with the lens which makes it protrude more and move it closer to the edge of the ring, or I can simply manipulate the black ring so that it isn't so close to the edge. Sorry, I don't have any "guaranteed" work arounds for this, you just have to work with it.

Sound comes out well even though it's encased in the plastic.

When I first put the camera inside I didn't realize the lens cover came off the Dicapac as well (you twist it). Not sure what this does, but it may help you to put the camera in if it's a tight fit. There wasn't an instruction manual.

I've used disposable waterproof cameras by Fuji and Kodak and I would much rather go with a digital camera. This way the pictures come out better, assuming you have enough light, and you can also shoot video.

Shooting underwater is tough. If you've ever done it before you know how challenging it can be, especially in moving water. The hardest part is having enough light. I would not go more than 3 or 4 feet under because you lose light in a hurry after that. If you are 6 feet or deeper then don't be surprised if the picture doesn't turn out.

If you are shooting in a place with lots of moisture like under a waterfall or at a beach where there's lots of sand, you can use this case to protect the lens and camera.

Tips
- Tie a string or something to the Dicapac and attach it to your arm or wrist. The worst thing you can do is lose it in the water and watch your expensive digital camera and/or waterproof pouch sink.
- If you shoot video and you get the black ring showing in the picture you can use video editor like Sony Vegas to zoom in on the picture and crop out the black part. For pictures you can use Photoshop.
- When you put your camera in, make sure there's some air inside. This way if you ever lose the camera, it will float.
- If you are really paranoid about water getting inside you can put alka seltzer tablet in with it. This way if water gets inside it will start fizzling and you'll know it's leaking.

DicaPac listed the WP510 as being the appropriate size bag for the Powershot A590 but I was a little hesitant to take their word for it because other reviewers were saying this bag is really big and you will need to pad the bag to keep the camera from moving around. I took a risk and bought the WP510 because I needed it for a water park party my daughters were invited to in about a week (either I spend for a bag or a new camera.)

When it arrived I was sure the bag was too big for my camera (why didn't I listen the reviewers!)

The bag tested well when I ran the preliminary underwater test in my bathroom sink; no water seeped into the bag despite numerous dunks under water.

I then put my A590 into the WP510. It takes a little finesse to carefully and gingerly slide the camera into the bag despite the bag being pretty big. The camera fit PERFECTLY into the WP510 once positioned properly. The lens casing did not intrude into any of my pictures and framing my pictures through the LCD screen was easily done (if you have a camera with a viewfinder - very hard to find these days - the lens casing of the WP 510 does obstruct your view but isn't seen in the actual picture itself.) The WP510 although appears large is really not large at all because after you finish folding and sealing your camera in it, much of the sense of "bigness" is gone.

I did not have to pad my camera in the bag to keep it from moving around because the bag actually sticks to the camera preventing it from moving around. During the water park party I had the camera hung around my neck and was chasing my two daughters around and was getting hit by water cannons and water falls and the camera never moved from its initial position and water never entered the bag despite over three hours of water time.

Be sure to put a silica packet into the bag with your camera to prevent condensation from forming inside of the camera bag.

This product is sturdy and very well made and much cheaper than spending $300 for an underwater camera.

My only dissatisfaction with this product is if you own a camera with wheel controls if is very difficult to spin the wheel to the appropriate setting ie. from camera mode to movie mode. This is due to the stickiness and density of the WP 510. Pick a setting on the camera and stick with it. Pushing the camera buttons is easy to do.

I took this on a sea kayaking/camping trip in Maine this summer and I have to say that I was truly impressed with the case! Through salt spray and a couple of drops in the water (doesn't float too well, be careful!) the case worked very well! I have a Canon Powershot A75 which fit perfectly into the case with no problems, and not a drop of water came in! Very good purchase.

I won't bore everyone with repeated details by all the expert reviewers out there. I will simply say it works 100% perfectly keeping water out of my Canon Powershot A460. Only thing I have to do is to be careful to try looking through the very easy to see clear back case to see I have the camera "centered" in the housing. Otherwise, the lens shows the lens cover of this case instead of my shot. I am a lousy photographer anyway so who cares! I now go kayaking and have pictures of sea lions, porpoises etc. Oh yeah! The funniest stuff I have is watching all the idiots launching and retrieving their boats (mostly DRUNK!) at the Marina loading docks! Oh the fun of retirement....

Inexpensive but worth it for and underwater camera housing. I was doubtfull about putting my digital camera in a plastic housing but it's not what you think. The housing worked great with it's ziplock and quadfold velcro sealing system. Not a drop of water got inside at about 15 feet deep. I was snorkeling in Maui and got some great shots of giant green sea turtles, it made our trip. Would I recommend this? YES.

Couldn't have been happier with our DiCaPac WP510 for our Canon Powershot A590! We took it on our family's "once-in-a-lifetime" tropical vacation to use for snorkelling. We followed the instructions to test it before use, to make sure it didn't leak. And we were careful to handle it so the vinyl wasn't damaged. We set the camera to Auto so we could use the camera buttons less. Our reef pictures were outstanding, especially when the sunlight cooperated! We checked often to make sure the camera lens was settled into the correct position against the DiCaPac lens. It's pretty easy to avoid the black ring effect once you get the feel for holding the camera underwater. We took proper lens cleaner wipes along to keep the DiCaPac lens spotless. We like to take lots of pictures, but rarely travel where we'd need an underwater camera, so the DiCaPac was ideal for us!

I'm so glad that I had a Dicapac to shoot AMAZING photos on our family cruise! We went snorkling for the first time, and the pictures are priceless! See my picture above (CYNTHIA ROBERTSON) of my son snorkling, on the first day I used the Dicapac. I used a Canon PowerShot A520 and DicaPac WP510 (185x118mm - LARGE). Note that I'm just a regular mom, wanting to take great pics of my sons and hubbie.

TO GET THE RIGHT SIZE DICAPAC:
Go to [...]
Scroll to the bottom of the page to click on your brand, then model number to get the correct size of dicapac that you need for your camera. Then come back to the Amazon site to get the best price and quick shipping!

HOW IT WORKED FOR ME:
(1) It was a little scary taking my camera underwater, but I made sure to do the water test several times before I used the camera with it (yes, I'm paranoid).
(2) I had to work a little with the thick plastic to get the camera placed right, at first, because it's a fairly tight fit, and even tighter to get out, but it was sooo worth it.
(3) I had to get used to how to zoom in and out because the plastic is very thick, but again, it was worth it!
(4) The pictures underwater were great. I took pictures above the water, too, but learned that I needed to wait a few seconds to let the water drip off the case before I took the pictures so that there wouldn't be some blury spots on a side of the picture where there was still water on the case.
(5) One problem that I had was that I was very confused about how to get the extra spacer in the Dicapac for more zooming space. It was like a brain teaser, until my hubbie and I figured it out (I didn't get any instructions for the spacer).

There were SO many others on my cruise who wanted to know where I got the Dicapac... they never saw one before. I'm so glad I bought one! I LOVE that I'm able to take such fun shots to remember great times in the water!

Length:: 0:17 Mins

Got this a few days before our trip to the Bahamas to use with my Canon A590IS. Went to St Thomas last year and bought a disposable underwater camera for ~12$ but for $30 this is much better. The photos came out pretty good although I did touch them up a bit in Photoshop with some minor levels/color adjustments. You can take video too and the sound is not muffled at all surprisingly.

The lens area didn't fit snug around the base of the camera lens but I didn't have any problems with the black shadow some others here have had. No water leaked in at all.

For 30 bucks this is great and I'm glad I found it. Much better than a disposable camera, an expensive underwater camera, or a more expensive underwater hard body.

This camera case worked very well for me in Maui. It kept my Canon A570IS camera dry. I got some nice, clear pictures of the reefs, fish, and fellow snorkelers. The key for underwater pictures with this case is to shoot in nightscape mode.

I have this product (the WP-500) that I used with my Canon PowerShot A700 and I really liked it. Other than the fact that the lens housing created a halo effect in some of my photos because it did not exactly fit flush against the lens (I learned to pull the housing closer to the lens when photographing to reduce this problem somewhat) it was great for the price and allowed me to take some nice underwater photos. I got a new Canon camera and I ordered the next size up (the WP-510 DiCAPac) because I saw this product bundled with my camera on several camera store web sites. Well it just won't work with the camera. The hard lens housing is at least 1mm too small in diameter and the lens of the camera just won't fit into it. Even though it has an extension for the zoom it doesn't matter if the diameter is too small!