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December 5, 2008 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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An increasingly popular and more widely available accessory lets consumers take pictures everywhere -- even in the wettest of places. Just about anyone with any common sense would hesitate before taking a shiny new digital camera with them on deep-sea dives or into the pool on vacation. After all, the average digital cameras are complex electronic devices that cost anywhere from $200 to $500 and up. Water would do some very serious damage, indeed. That problem is well on its way to being solved. Digital photographers can now more easily take to the water by purchasing an increasingly popular accessory that will protect their cameras from the elements. Well-known companies such as Canon, Fujifilm, Minolta, Olympus and Pentax and others are manufacturing sturdy plastic camera housings that fit around digital cameras like a glove. They work by keeping water out while still allowing light to reach the shutter. Canon The goal: To make digital photography a take everywhere hobby. But it’s more than that: Digital cameras in some instances are superior than film underwater, according to a special Canon web site devoted to underwater digital photography. >>Click Here to learn more about Underwater Photography... The Canon site suggests that certain closeup shots are easier with digital cameras because photographers can compose the shot using the LCD screen. Then there are the obvious advantages always true of digital imaging: You can see the picture right away, send it to family or friends via e-mail and take your memory card to a retail store to make a print. Canon’s site contains numerous other suggestions for the aspiring underwater shooter. It also has links to a message board where you can trade ideas about equipment and other experiences. One extremely important point that the folks at Canon stress on their site: The waterproof housings are sealed with a rubber "O-ring" between the front and back halves of the casings. Canon says you should check the O-ring’s integrity -- and seek to maintain it -- every time you open and closing the housing. Canon's WP-DC500 Underwater Casing You’ll have to type in a search in the search box for underwater housings. Here’s some of what you’ll find. (Some of the following cameras may have been discontinued):
Each casing is rated as safe to use underwater up to 30 meters or 100 feet. Canon sells the casings on its web site for $240. >>Click Here to visit Canon's 'Accessory Annex' ...  Optio Waterproof Case O-WP1 Pentax USA Inc.is selling a housing that will fit its Optio 330 and 430 digital cameras as well as the company’s new RS line of cameras. The Optio Waterproof Case O-WP1 will keep the camera dry up to 131 feet. Pentax sells the case with a strap, silicone grease, silica gel, balance weight, and O-ring. A price wasn’t available.  PT-014 Underwater Housing Olympus Optical Corp., like Canon, has several housings for sale to fit the company’s extensive line of digital cameras. They are all rated to work to a depth of 131 feet, and Olympus boasts that they come with easily accessible controls such as the shutter button and other levels. A rundown of the casings and the models they work with: --PT-014 Underwater Housing (for the C-50 Zoom.) This model will be available later this summer. Olympus is selling it on its web site for $259.95. -- PT-015 Underwater Housing for the C-5050 Zoom. Also will be available later this summer for the same suggested retail price of $259.95. --PT-016 Underwater Housing for the Stylus Digital Cameras. This housing fits around Olympus most popular point-and-shoot models and sells on the Olympus web site for $199.95. Company says it will be available later this summer.  Marine Case MC-DG100 Minolta Corp. late last year unveiled the Minolta Marine Case MC-DG100, which fits the company’s sleek and compact Minolta DiMAGE X and DiMAGE Xi cameras. Those cameras will be protected from the elements down to 100 feet below sea level. Minolta also bills the case as a protectant for hearty digital camera users who are mountain climbers and other thrill seekers. The suggested retail price is $199.00 Last month, Minolta moved up a generation with the introduction of the DiMAGE Xt. That camera should be used with the company’s new Marine Case MC-DG200. The company has not announced a suggested retail price on this model yet.  What if your digital camera manufactuer doesn't make an underwater case? Buying from the manufacturers themselves isn’t necessarily your only option. Underwater photography is a hobby that tends to attract enthusiastic followers, and wherever such people are, companies are too. Some interesting Web sites that will get you either more information or allow you to shop for underwater casings for your camera made by third parties: UnderwaterPhotography.com is an information site operated by Benny Sutton of the United Kingdom, an amateur photographer and former owner of a photo processing store. His site contains tips, opinions, product reviews and more. Sea and Sea Underwater Photography USA is probably the best known provider of products and services for the underwater photographers. The California company manufactures its own housings for various digital cameras. It also offers training classes, tips, seminars and has a network of dealers through the United States. www.seaandsea.com. For the budding underwater photography enthusiast make sure you check out the Nikon School of Underwater Photography. >>Click Here to learn more about Nikon School...
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