Inexpensive Camera Housing for Underwater Shots?

[Leo Jay]

I'm planning to experiment with snorkeling on my next cruise, and I'll have a regular digital camera with me. Is there some kind of inexpensive waterseal I can use to take pictures in shallow water? I don't want to invest in a 'real' underwater housing because I don't know if I'll ever use it again, and since I'll be just under the surface of the water, I don't really need anything built to withstand a lot of ocean pressure. Could I use a Ziplok bag or something like that (they're watertight, right), or am I being ridiculous? :)

 

I'll take an underwater disposable, too, but I was hoping to experiment with the digital just for the instant gratification factor. :)

[Leo Jay]

As I scout around the boards, I hear good things about the Aquapac, which I should be able to get for ~$35, so I'll probably go with that one.

[kchesneylover]

There are some great, inexpensive waterproof cameras out there. Kodak and Fuji come to mind. They take great pictures too. I have a collection of over 100 underwater shots with disposable waterproof cameras. Never a bad shot.

 

I, personally, would not risk submerging my digital camera in a waterproof case - but that's just me.

[CaliforniaAC]

We bought an Aquapac and used it on our Volendam trip. We took it snorkeling, and when we swam up Ti-tu Gorge. I was pleased with the results.

 

A couple of tips-

 

1. Put something like a small paper box into it, seal it up and weight it down in a sinkful of water to make sure you are sealing it correctly, and it doesn't leak.

 

2. Take it out to your backyard with the camera in it and familiarize yourself with working the camera in a bag. With my long fingernails it took a little getting used to.

 

3. Make sure your autofocus lens can move freely within the bag. If it can't, you may get an error message on the camera.

 

Here's the site we bought it from, which has some useful info:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=5237

[Mim Lloyd]

Good tip about testing out the Aquapac. I ordered one over the weekend and it should be here tomorrow. I'll use the paper box tip to test it before trying out my Fuji Finepix.

 

Thanks!

[Leo Jay]

I ended up getting a dicapac case on eBay for $34.95+. It seemed to be a bit better than the aquapac, and got some very positive reviews on a website I found.

 

If anyone's interested, though, a cruisecritic member on the snorkeling/scuba board recommended the Pixtreme camera, which looks pretty nice and is bargain-priced at $89. I couldn't justify it yet myself, since this will be my first attempt at either snorkeling or underwater photography, and don't know whether I will do either again. :o

 

Thanks for the responses.

[when7576]

I got a underwater housing for my digital olympus on ebay for $32. Used it kyaking and it worked great. I will be taking it with me when we go rafting.

[cruisinbuddy]

When on 1 excursion I asked the man with the fancy underwater housing, about it. He said the housing was almost as expensive as the camera. I went and found the Aquapac and will try it with my point and shoot camera, canon powershot

A70. DW bought me a realy nice digital slr for my b-day and there's no way in he!! I'm even thinking about putting that in the h2o. Thanks for the tips CaliforniaAC. I've used many different underwater cameras and the only time I had a problem, the housing was cracked, hence, one picture. So check the cameras before you go on your trip. And yes buy the cameras at home, Walmart etc. you'll save a ton of $$. I actually got one in Aruba that is re-fillable. It's a basic camera and took great shots. Remember to use high iso (whatever that stands for), supposed to get better pics. I wonder when they're going to come out with digital disposables, that would be cool.

[booboo4031]

I just bought one similar to the dicapac for my canon powershot digital. I bought it not so much for underwater but for excursions like catamarans and things like that that have splashing or accidental drops in the water. It said to put a piece of paper in the pack and then immerse it in water for 5 minutes to be sure there were not leaks before using it for your camera. I'm looking forward to trying it the end of the month!

[hancock]

Before ordering an Aquapac, go to their website and look at the list of cameras it will fit. They have 2 sizes.