Canon G11 underwater housing

[chachee99]

I want to buy an underwater housing for my G11 camera. However, I am looking at two different housings. The first is the wp-dc34 from Canon, shown here ---> Amazon.com: Canon WP-DC34 Underwater Housing for Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Camera: Gateway

The second is a housing made by 10bar, shown here ---> Aug 2009 Newsletter


How is the Canon housing? The 10bar housing is about 200 dollars more than the Canon housing and is made out of aluminum where the canon is made out of plastic. I am wondering if it is worth the extra money.

I used a plastic housing with my old Fuji F31-FD camera and had no problems with it. However, the casing is really scratched up.

If anyone can give me some info on picking up a housing. That would be great. I would like to pick one up before I leave for Asia in a couple of weeks.

 

[slowhands]

The Canon DC34 housing is OK. You can find it from many sources for about $180. See:
Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC34 for PowerShot G11 - Underwater Photography - Helix Camera & Video

With heavy use, it will get scratched up, but still work fine if you keep sand and hair out of the O-ring (true for any housing). These are obsolete before they wear out anyway.

The Ikelite housing at $600 is worth considering, since it has a wired TTL strobe converter built in. See:
Ikelite 6146.11 Underwater Camera Housing for Canon G11 - Underwater Photography - Helix Camera & Video

The 10Bar housing is much more expensive, about $750. I've heard it is good, but I don't know if I would invest in a more expensive housing since the G12 has been announced - might obsolete the G11 soon. See:
10Bar Canon G11 Housing - 10Bar Underwater Housings - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo - 800-359-1295!

The FIX housing is better quality still, but much more expensive. See:
FIX G11 Housing for Canon G11 [fix.g11] - $1,099.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

I'd suggest getting the Canon housing and investing the extra in a low end strobe, like the Intova ISS2000, about $150, or the better Fantasea Remora, about $200. You're going to be much happier with a strobe than a fancy housing.

 

[chachee99]

The Canon DC34 housing is OK. You can find it from many sources for about $180. See:
Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC34 for PowerShot G11 - Underwater Photography - Helix Camera & Video

With heavy use, it will get scratched up, but still work fine if you keep sand and hair out of the O-ring (true for any housing). These are obsolete before they wear out anyway.

The Ikelite housing at $600 is worth considering, since it has a wired TTL strobe converter built in. See:
Ikelite 6146.11 Underwater Camera Housing for Canon G11 - Underwater Photography - Helix Camera & Video

The 10Bar housing is much more expensive, about $750. I've heard it is good, but I don't know if I would invest in a more expensive housing since the G12 has been announced - might obsolete the G11 soon. See:
10Bar Canon G11 Housing - 10Bar Underwater Housings - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo - 800-359-1295!

The FIX housing is better quality still, but much more expensive. See:
FIX G11 Housing for Canon G11 [fix.g11] - $1,099.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

I'd suggest getting the Canon housing and investing the extra in a low end strobe, like the Intova ISS2000, about $150, or the better Fantasea Remora, about $200. You're going to be much happier with a strobe than a fancy housing.

Thanks for the reply.

I know the g12 will be released soon. I didn't know what the spec would be on it, but I got a great deal on the g11 so I decided to pick it up. Anyways, I can get the 10 bar housing for around 500 bucks. I know the Canon housing is selling for 180 dollars. I also read that the wc-dc34 housing will be able to hold the g12 camera, if I ever decide to upgrade. I don't know if the 10 Bar or Ikelite housing will do the same. A strobe would be a nice feature. I don't know how well the plastic defussior will work on the Canon housing. Many people who factory housing say the the defussior doesn't do much on them. I just want to know if a good quality housing will protect the camera underwater and make te camera easier to capture shots underwater.

Like I said, I have a housing for my Fuji f31. It is ok, but I never taken the camera below 35 meters. I don't know how well the housing will protect the camera from water leakage. I read that some people experienced leakage in the wp-dc34 housing.

 

[Nemrod]

For the G11 these are the housings I know of:

1. Canon OEM DC34 -- no wide angle but can take a Fantasea bubble lens corrector and macro capable
2. Patima G11 -- wide angle lens and macro capable
3. FIX/Fisheye G11 --wide angle dry port lens and macro capable
4. 10Bar G11 -- ?? haven't a clue
5. Ikelite G11 -- corrector lens and macro capable

There are actually several more available in other places but not here in the USA.

N

 

[PatW]

Well, I went with the Ikelite housing. I like it and it works well with the G11. The 10 bar is not what I would think of as an aluminum housing in that most of them are molded to the camera. But those housings are at the $1000 range or higher for the G11. The 10 bar appears that it might have some things that the Ike housing does not have.

The G12 has a more advanced video performance than the G11 but otherwise it seems to be the same camera. So the G11 has a number of years left in it. Heck, the G10 is not obsolete.