Canon WP-DC21 Underwater housing for Canon G9 Digital Cameras
 |   Release Date : 2007-10-05 Publisher : Canon Cameras US Company : Canon |
Features
- Can use camera's internal flash to control external strobes
- Includes - Neck strap, wrist strap, silicone grease
Product Description
The WP-DC21 Underwater Case for Canon G9 Digital Cameras protects your camera from sea water, sand or whatever else you can throw at it. This All-Weather Case offers a new shooting possibility to help you realize the full potential of digital photography. You can also use it to take pictures where it is snowing, raining, dusty or excessively humid.Customer reviews
Fantastic case for protecting the camera in and out of the water! 
This case is awesome! That's all there is to it. You get access to all the controls on the camera except for the thumb-wheel control on the back, but you can still do everything since you have the directional buttons to navigate the menu. It of course makes the whole camera bigger and heavier, but it doesn't really effect the usability or handling of the camera at all. I got this for taking diving and snorkeling, but after touching and handling it, I'm going to even use it on the beach too!
Surprisingly, the case doesn't noticeably effect the image quality, as long as you use the included flash diffuser. Without it, the glare from the flash naturally goes everywhere, and looks horrible.
One thing Canon could have done better is the icons on the back for the various buttons. They are made from slight raised icons, but they are not colored in any way, making them VERY hard to read. They used yellow markings to identify the case at the top, I would have thought they could have colored the icons.
Canon doesn't sell silicone grease, or silica gel packets to toss in the case, but you really should. The silica gel packets will absorb any moisture inside the case that may occur due to temperature shifts and condensation. The silicone grease is a necessity for keeping the o-ring in good condition. Olympus sells both of these, and it's worth the $10.
Excellent value for your money!
I am an avid Photographer and own a few Canon cameras, so I am very familiar with the quality of most of their products. Still, I was surprised at the superior quality of this housing for the relative low cost. It fits my Canon G9 perfectly and most of the controls can be accessed easily. The flash diffuser works amazingly well. If you shoot a flash photo without it, you'll see a pronounced shadow on the lower right of the photo, caused buy the lens part of the housing being in the way. Add the diffuser and problem solved! Only 2 negatives; there should be a protective rubber lens cover to protect the lens window when carrying or storing. (I would even be willing to buy one if Canon decides to make it) Also you can't control the thumb wheel on the back of the G9 while it's in the housing. This only restricts the use of manual focus and manual exposure compensation while in the housing.
With all that said, I have used the housing while kayaking, tested it for leaks, but have not yet used it underwater. I'll update this review after I do.
The photos I've taken with it are only slighly inferior to those taken without. I am very pleased.
You cannot have anything better at this price
After one thousand underwater photos in Read Sea and Maldives Islands, I am still very happy.
The light of the flash of the camera is very well distributed (even if it works as far as 1.5 meters/4 feet), and no artifacts come to the G9 lens even against sun light.
All the commands of the G9 are usable, even if sometime I had to study the 273 pages of the G9 manual for a "backdoor" solution.
For the best result, apply the old "Nikonos" techniques: manual exposure, 1/60, flash (when subject is less then 4 feet from you) and play with the aperture and ISO.
Most I used 100ASA/f5.6. Try also other combinations (light condition varies from place to place) until you will be satisfied then apply your best guess before to start the diving - underwater there are a lot of think to care, and usually there is no time for changing settings. Use the Underwater filter of the G9 also with the flash.
I am so satisfied that I did not use my Nikonos anymore.
Good housing, with video reservations 
This is a nice, compact, functional housing that works very well for still photography. I've used mine to 150' without any mechanical or leak problems. However, users should be aware that when using the video capabilities of the G9 camera, there is a fair amount of audio "creaking" resulting from case compression that gets recorded along with the video.
cayman diving
finished 2 weeks in cayman. little and grand. housing and the G9 worked very well. no problems with the housing or camera. do get the weight kit that goes w/ it.