Canon WP DC800 Marine case Digital photo camera : Read reviews and compare prices at Ciao.co.uk

Author's product rating:

Advantages:	Easy to use, lets you take great photos with little effort
Disadvantages:	You can't feel the half way focus point on the shutter button

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought the WP DC800 to use with my Canon Ixus 500 on a marine expedition to Madagascar. It was a choice between a made-to-fit housing like this, which appeared to me to be quite expensive - I paid around £130 for the housing from Jessops, or the plastic bag type of underwater housing that will fit most cameras.

I definitely made the right decision, the housing is worth every penny. From the first day in the water it was taking stunning pictures. I was a little aprehensive about taking my digital camera into the sea for the fisrt time but after a few test runs with the empty case I took the plunge.

My Ixus 500 fits inside perfectly and all the buttons line up exactly, making use of the the camera and adjusting settings as easy as it is on dry land. From the first snorkel I was taking great, well focused pictures. I found the neck strap a bit pointless and it just got in the way so that came off pretty quickly, and with the camera inside, the housing is slighly positively buoyant, which is perfect because it doesnt affect your control over the camera while its in your hand, but if the wrist strap ever slips off or you let it go it will slowly float to the surface, which makes retrieving it easier.

There are some down sides that I found but these aren't very significant. the main issue I had was that with the resistance of the spring on the shutter button, you cant feel when the half way, focus point comes, and you have to watch the screen to see if you're in focus. This is another problem I found, the screen of the camera is quite small, and with the light refraction through the housing viewing space and a mask, it becomes quite hard to see the screen in any detail unless you bring it quite close. The only other minor annoyance is that the zoom function is reversed when the camera is inside the case because of the way the mechanism works, which takes some getting used to.

The WP DC800 is waterproof tested to 40m, but I only took it down to around 20m on dives. I used it practically every day for the 3 months that I was there and I am so glad I bought it, as some of the pictures I came back with are amazing. The housing comes with spare O-ring grease, which I have only used once, and only because I thought it was probably a good idea, not because there were any problems with leaks.

The housing also includes a removable flash diffuser, and a tripod stand socket which i assume can be used to attach weights or a strobe light

My experience with the product is limited to 0-20m underwater, and only in warm water, but after around 30 dives and numerous snorkelling trips I found it to be a lightweight, sturdy, high quality, and to me, invaluble product.