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View Full Version : DOUBTS ABOUT HOUSING WP-DC300


antonio
9th of September 2002 (Mon), 04:50
Hello:

I'm thinking about buying a 4 Mb digital camera. One of the things I want is an underwater housing. This reduces the offer. So far, the only housing for a compact 4 Mb "easy" to find where I live (Barcelona, Spain) is the Sony's P9.
I'd rather prefer the Canon Powershot S40, that also has an underwater housing, the WP-DC300. I think I could find it , but I have some doubts about it. I've read messages on the forum, and still have no answer.

1- The on/off problem: I know that, beacause of the sliding port that acts as power on/off button, its not possible to turn on/off the camera inside the housing. I've seen complaints about the authonomy of the battery, that seems that doesn't last for more than one dive.
I'm planning to use the camera in a "relaxed" way. That means that (because of the small size of the camera) I would keep it a great part of the dive inside my pocket, and used it only when something really interesting appears.
I would like to know how it works the sleep mode (how many "time" possibilities are for turning off the camera), and if this would solve the problem, which I think is the most important one.

2-Overheating: I've read quite a lot of messages about this issue. You can solve it dropping the anti defogging liquid, and putting the camera inside the case in a cool and dry place, but I think maybe this will increase the battery problems that I was considering before, because you should the camera turned on before closing the housing, maybe a lot of time before entering the water.

3-Depth limits: The housing is limited to 30 meters. The other housings (Sony, Pentax and others) are limited to 40, which is a more "normal" depth limit. I would like to know if someone has repeatedly went down to 40 meters with this housing, and if you think that this 30 meters depth limit is technical or "political" (safety first...je je).

About access to the menu buttons and other options, I agree with some other messages, but at the moment, I'm more concerned about these three I talked about before.

I'm waiting yor answer, because I like the Powershot S40, but I'm doubting about buying it or not, because of the housing.

Thank you very much.

rcpage
11th of September 2002 (Wed), 13:23
Hi
I have the S40 with WP DC300. It works fine. I had doubts before my vacation and after 10 days of underwater use to 32 metres all my fears went away and I wholeheartedly recommend you buy it. Get a microdrive 340mb and an extra battery from www.batterybarn.com the 700mah higher capacity one.

Heating is not really a problem as the camera switches to sleep mode and heat output is reduced. Keep the LCD off until you need it that produces heat. If you are really concerned take a bucket of fresh water with you and keep it in that. I did that at first but found that it was easier to quickly put the camera in at the last minute and forget the bucket. If you take enough pictures it will die after two 45 min dives and a 30 minute surface break anyway. Once the battery is dead no more heat output! I never noticed any heat problems. If anything that is probably why I did not get fogging!

You MUST get insurance cover that does not exclude water damage! Check this or do not expose he camera to any wet environment. Canon warranty EXCLUDES water and damp damage!

You need a strap with two clips so you can clip one end to the camera neck strap and the other to your scuba BCD.