Includes Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC8 bracelet flash diffuser neck strap silicone grease.
Buy Canon WP-DC8 Waterproof Case for the Powershot A640 and A630 at Amazon
Canon WP-DC8 Waterproof Case for the Powershot A640 and A630
October 4th, 2009 by Camera reviews Leave a reply »
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I bought the WP-DC8) housings for my Canon A630 for a vacation trip to Oahu, Hawaii (especially Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. The mine also has a Pentax Optio S4i OP-WP2 housing and WP-DC8 compare them.
The WP-DC8 enables full operation of the A630/A640. One peculiarity I do not understand is the viewfinder is wrong with a plastic lever – the lever has a hole, but not allow the use of the viewfinder underwater. The WP-DC8, such as Pentax OP-WP2 is difficult to use the LCD screen water from the glare from the water (underwater diving is better), it is difficult to see the image. The optical viewfinder is also useless, your best bet is practical "point-and-shoot" on land makes the water.
The WP-DC8 housing is huge and can be used for purposes other bulky (such as surfing, etc.). I use the much smaller Pentax surgery WP2 (see my Amazon review on this one) for surfing as WP-DC8 would be too burdensome.
This WP-DC8 housing goes well in harsh environments, as given boat at sea (salt fog near my wife unprotected Minolta F100) destroyed environments pollutants (such as Moab, Utah, USA), and muddy areas (Hawaii Ranch ATV Tours). It is a high-quality construction, although the Canon WP-DC8 has plastic keys, while Pentax surgical stainless WP2 has my keys, functional and endurance-wise is OK but seems a bit difficult. Time will tell on this one.
The ability of high quality 8 Mpixel underwater photos at a price of $ 199 with housing is very nice. I could not afford to spend up to $ 800 for the Canon Rebel XT my underwater housing so that the combination A630/WP-DC8 offers the advantage that the majority at a much lower price.
Operational Notes:
Be sure to select "fish" state when using water. When you switch back and forth in movies and still should be put back into "fish" mode. Movies work quite well, highly recommended. Flash is not so bad, I got some good photos with the unfiltered flash, Pentax surgery WP2 get rather strange picture torches reflected in the lens assembly.
Even when the camera seems to be locked, make sure that the "complaint against a switch mode camera is located in 'camera-mode" – can be confusing when you're snorkeling / diving.
Since the batteries for more than 2 GB card, you may want one or more 4GB SD-HC card holders (the change of batteries or memory card is not recommended on the beach or the water surface).
END
Previous owner of Canon A85 & Lodging Canon, will update the Canon A640 & Canon housing. Output from the new operation macro 1 centimeter, I was soon on the "hot spot" and is disappointed that no light is required in underwater photography. The case casts a shadow over only about half of the picture when they are very close for macro shots. Also, "upping" the lightning-power, not helping, it is only a "hot spot" in the upper left of the photo to create. What happens is that the lens is a black box, enclosed within the housing. The flash can not reach the section is in the shadow of the lens. Earlier models of this problem, probably not, because it is so short macro focal length. Definitely a big design flaw from Canon!
I got my A640 last dive trip and I got great pictures and video clips thanks to this case. It works well and the cost is a good alternative. I used it for a wreck at 100ft depth and there were no problems. It is designed specifically for the buttons on the camera, and I found it very easy to use. The video and photos on the shark dive went great. On a cloudy day or at a depth of about 90 meters above the photos, the flash will be needed if you are very close to get good color. GREAT event – thanks to Canon!