Digital Camera Canon Powershot Review

I have been so hesitant in getting this marine case, after hearing a lot of bad reviews about its predecessors (casings for the g7 and g9) from fellow divers like myself. They claim that Canon makes bad cases, and that they haven't perfected it yet. Taking into consideration that the G10 is a pretty pricey camera, I was so adamant about purchasing the casing lest my g10 gets soaked.
However the options are waaay too pricey for me. They even cost more than the camera itself. And so I took a chance and bought it, assuring myself that I've used about 3 Canon-made housings in the past and they we're very well-built.
I took it diving with me, the deepest at 100 feet, and it never gave me problems. If you are to take it diving, I suggest that you bring down the casing first, without the camera, and put a sheet of tissue in the casing. If the tissue gets wet, then something must be wrong with how you sealed it, and check the o-ring again. I strongly suggest that you search the web for o-ring maintenance tips and follow it diligently. And keep it from impact. Make sure you wrap it in cloth or something to cushion it against blows or scratches.
I guess those that had so-called problems with their casings didn't handle the o-rings properly, or maybe they banged their casings somehow.
I just gave it 4 stars because there's no way that you can manipulate the control dial. The solution would be to create custom settings.
Go get it, take good care of it, and spend the rest of the money on a decent strobe.

UPDATE (Jan 1, 2010): This update is long overdue. Got stuck with so many things. The control dial CAN be manipulated after all. Hold down the "S" button on the G10 (found on the upper left corner of the LCD below the exposure dial), then press left or right button of the control dial. Please see the reviews of "hellfire' and "andres" for this same product. Thanks to you guys. My apologies. I change my rating from 4 to 5 stars.

I am a complete novice when it comes to underwater photography - not above water though... So I had the G10 and was going to Belize on vacation for sun and fun and snorcheling. I decided to buy this case as it actually seemed quite reasonable for what it offers. Let's get to it.

I will list the cons first.

* The plastic of the case is rather soft, so even though I only went on three snorcheling trips with it, I ended up with a ton of scratches on it, and I WAS trying to be very careful.
* The plastic of the case - and across the display - is very glossy. So when you are snorcheling close to the surface and the sun is shining, you can barely see anything on the display, it is just reflecting the brightness of the sea surface above you. I assume this would not be as much of a problem if you are scuba diving and further down in the water.
* Being spoiled from the ability to change just about any setting on this camera while it is in its case, it is a shame you can't manipulate the ring control in the back which changes aperture or shutter speed depending on which mode you are in.

Neutral:

* The flash works surprisingly well under water, however just for very short distances. It is also very close to the lens so that if the water is not perfectly clear, it will light up every dirt molecule and render the picture worthless.
* The case is surprisingly large. Originally I thought this might be a nice combo for the beach or in general maybe in the rain - but the case is about the size of a Canon XTi with a 18-55mm lens on it and really too large to casually carry with you to the beach etc... Also, at a beach in the sand I would be very worried again about scratching the plastic.
* You should know your camera well because the labels on the buttons are just stamped into the clear plastic and you really can't decipher them under water.

Positives:

* Just about everything else. The case is easy to use and all the buttons are accessible (except the ring as I mentioned). The case is completely waterproof, I didn't have one hint of water inside it. I did take it down to about 25 feet a few times.
I really enjoyed taking my G10 under water. It looks like I will keep my G10 for a long time since I don't think I will buy another underwater case anytime soon. The G10/WP-DC28 combo will be my underwater kit for the extended future...

I read a lot of reviews and tips and ended up buying a few silica gel packs from Ebay (very cheap) in order to keep possible fogging in the case to a minimum. I never tried the case without the packs, so I don't know if fogging would have been a problem, but with a pack, I never saw any fogging. I'm not a big fan of RAW with point and shoots, so I used JPG and the underwater setting of the G10. This was a pretty good combo, and I didn't have to do a lot of color correcting in Photoshop. I could imagine that if you go deeper, RAW would become more of a necessity to get the colors right. I also took some videos under water, and they came out quite nice.

All in all, I would highly recommend this underwater case despite the few issues it has. I will upload a few pictures of the case and the photos I have taken.

This is my second Canon UW housing--1st was Canon 860 and this for a G-10. On my first dive (in the tropics)I experienced fogging on inside of case and lost some interesting shots--not sure what caused it but was easily remedied by inserting small silica pack that lasted for the next 7 days. No probs with many dives to ~30M. Suggestions: find a red warming filter to fit housing; shoot in RAW and adjust in computer processing; use and external UW strobe as in-camera flash (even w/diffuser) highlights water particles (scatter) and design of housing blocks 1/2 of flash coverage. Absolutely easy to use and great results for the money!

The product is very well crafted, with good finishing, and it comes with good instructions on how to keep it. It also comes with a lubricant for the O-ring, and teaches exactly how to do it.
Maybe it should come with something like a sheet with the sayings "read this first" and advise you not to make the first underwater trial with the camera in the case, like i stupidly did, and try something like it was suggested in the first review. Lukily, nothing went wrong, and the O-ring was very well placed.
Also, i missed pictures of the straps of the product and the other parts of the product on the net.
About the dial, sure it's not something as easy as the other buttons, but i had no problem working with it.
I also missed information like how to keep it when not in use, if i should take the oring out and keep it closed or not.

The Canon WP-DC28 Waterproof Case for the Canon PowerShot G10 Digital Camera is an excellent buy.

Over the past several years, I have used the Canon G6, G9, and now use the G10 for 75% of my outdoor photography. In general, my G10 lives in its fabulous waterproof case virtually 24/7, and I rarely leave home without them. This case keeps my G10 clean, dust free, and protected from virtually all elements.

Yes, Canon's waterproof cases could be made stronger - with high-impact materials, but price may greatly increase under such development.

In appreciation for this case and its technology, Canon's engineers really did a great job taking countless man hours to design a waterproof, fully functioning case. There aren't many companies, if any, whom took time decades ago to create such a product.

Olympus and other companies are [finally] now pioneering the creation of waterproof, shock resistant cameras. However, they do not compare to the features of the G10 yet. It is only a matter of time before innovation improves, and until then the Canon waterproof case proves to be the best.

The Canon WP-DC28 waterproof case works as advertised... no leaks. It's very well made, and complements the rugged construction of the Canon Powershot G10 it is made for. All the external controls, and menu access, are provided by large, bright blue & yellow buttons and knobs. It is well engineered. There are 2 downsides. The unit with camera inside is pretty bulky and heavy, so it may not be a great choice for skiing. The other thing is extra weights are needed for comfortable use underwater, and these are not included in the already pricey package. The weights are over-priced (around $40) as well, in my opinion.

To use the dial all you need to do is hold down the "S" button and then press left or right (macro/flash)buttons and you are done... this is the way you can use the dial function with the camera inside the case!!!!!

I just wanted to add this information because i read on the other reviews everyone was complaining about not being able to use the dial function... the case is 100% a go!!!

Canon offers this in their line of OEM U/W Camera housings, and it was way cheaper than any of the aftermarket units... by $600 and more. Some deride it as having clunky looks and peculiar rainbow colors, but for this price, I'm not complaining. (It fit into the same BC pouch I formerly stuffed my Oly 5050 in) The controls were easy to operate, the latch mechanism is secure. I especially liked the diffuser panel for the on-board flash. I was shooting all macro and with the airlines the way they are, I wanted something that didn't "need" external flash. This worked really well. You're prolly going to want the slip on adapter for the front of the lens port to hold macro add-on lenses. It did need the weight system as it was positively buoyant, but I just taped a few automotive wheel weights to an "L" bracket that I had left over from my 35mm SLR days. There is a lot of room on either side of the lens to stash some moisture absorbent canisters (from old pill bottles) if the water is chilly and you're shooting fast with flash- a common problem in any housing- but this one has the extra internal room to secure the absorbents in place. Throw a piece of clear packing tape across the rear view screen area to shield it from scratches-0 something you would do to any housing. Looks like the same guys that made the Olympus housings had a hand in this. Simple and inexpensive- does the job.

wanted to dispel a myth that's been perpetuated in the prior reviews.

while it's true you cannot rotate the control wheel at the back of the G10, you can simulate left/right scrolls by holding down the "S" button (AKA custom control, AKA print button) and pressing left/right on the scroll wheel. this nugget of information is hidden on pg 14 of the manual. i believe this basically puts all of the camera's functionality at your disposal while it's sealed in the case.

some quick notes after a whitewater rafting trip with this:

1) it's relatively large and bulky. on par with a rebel body and kit lens.
2) the back will get scratched up fast.
3) water droplets on the front will show up quite dramatically in your images. pack a microfiber cloth or something to wipe the front down with.
4) i was able to switch pretty quickly between shooting modes to adapt to what was happening. turning the dials backwards was the biggest mental challenge for me.
5) removing the G10 straps up front can be a pain : i now use the wrist strap that came with the housing as my main strap for the G10. it goes on and off much more easily, and i find it more useful than the stock neck strap.

overall great experience and i'm looking forward to using it skiing and on rainy hikes.

This case is pretty much awesome, it allows me to take shots of my buddys while we're surfing, i can take pics when snorkeling, and also when I'm commercial fishing I can have my camera ready on deck with out worrying that its going to get ruined. The only thing that i can say negative about it is that when in a selected scene mode you can not change between scene modes because there is no dial.