Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon WP-DC18 Underwater housing for Canon A650IS Digital Cameras

I purchased this case along with the camera prior to a Caribbean trip where we made 8 dives up to 80 feet. Had no problems with the housing (or camera - separate review of A650IS). The housing gives you access to all functions of the camera, including power on/off so you can load the camera in the comfort and dry air of your room.

Instructions say to not leave the case sealed when not in use so the gasket doesn't lose its seal. As it may be months between uses, I am keeping the gasket ring in a small zip-lock bag, inside the housing which I lock shut. I plan to clean and re-apply the silicon grease before each dive trip.

I searched for many hours on the internet, reading forums and investigating dive sites where people were kind enough to share information about their camera setups. I eventually settled on this casing because it was the only one available for the canon A650 IS at the time of purchase.

The case works well and the flash diffuser serves it's purpose. I took the case to 27M depth. The first time I tested the case without the camera to ensure that there were no manufacturer defects and I advise everyone else to do the same. You can put a piece of tissue inside the case to test for leaks. One of the advanced divers on my first dive with the case shared a horror story about his first case (different model/make) and how a manufacturer's defect resulted in a loss of his brand new camera. Remember to take special care of the o-ring and always grease it with silicone before a dive. Make sure no dust gets on it.

One o the things to note is that this housing does not have functionality to attach a macro lens or an external flash that connects directly to the camera. I have seen a lady on a dive with a strobe that has it's own sensor. Perhaps this casing would not suit one interested in professional underwater photography.

Here are some pics I took with this camera on my first underwater photo shoot! Taken on the South Coast of KZN, the Aliwal Shoal.

http://www.godwriting.org/godwriting/guest-entry-under-the-sea.htm

Santhan Naidoo
Khanyi Media

www.khanyi.com

We bought this camera housing for a vacation to Florida, and it worked like a charm. Set up is very easy - you apply some of the provided silicone gel to the rubber seal (as you would with any other underwater camera housing), and other than that, you simply stick the camera in and close it. The housing has buttons to allow you to use all the functions of the camera - power, zoom, camera settings, menus, etc, etc. We had a full day of swimming/snorkeling in both fresh and saltwater environments, and the pictures turned out great without a drop of water inside the camera housing. Definitely recommend.

Since the A650 is not being made anymore I wanted to get the underwater housing before it too disappeared. Have not had an opportunity to go diving with it yet (and that's why 4 stars instead of 5, I can't rate it's deep water abilities) but put the camera in it and took several photos (dry land, not underwater) to test the ability to access all the functions (buttons, zoom, on/off, etc...). No problems at all. Can apparently do everything you would normally do. Looks and feels like it's well made. Looking at the photos you can not tell that the camera was in the case when they were taken. Now if you let the glass of the underwater housing get foggy or smeared, obviously the photos will suffer.
Protection from dust, rain, excessive humidity, etc....
I'm pleased with it.

Bought this for a dive buddy we'll check it out them the weather gets warmer