Canon S100 Underwater Enclosure

[radagar]

Hello all,
I was looking at purchasing a Canon WP-DC43 underwater enclosure for my Powershot S100 to take diving with me. However, it comes in at a rather hefty price (around $250 AUD).
I found a cheaper alternative on the internet (around half the price) – a 'Meike' branded third party enclosure. Please see link:

Meike 40M DC Underwater Waterproof Case for Canon WP-DC43 PowerShot S100 camera | eBay

Has anyone had any experience with these Meieke enclosures for their cameras?

Thanks!

 

[Larry C]

Never heard of it, but the description says it's a "universal" housing. In other words, they'll give you a lot of shims and such to make your camera fit in it and line up, but the buttons are designed to be all things to all people. Canon's dedicated housing will have only the buttons that correctly line up with those on your camera and will offer you the camera functions you use underwater with the easiest access. Sounds like false economy to me. If you had a camera that had no dedicated housing available, you might try it, but I doubt that the hassle you'll go through trying to make it work will be worth the $100 you save.

 

[supergaijin]

AU $250 is not at all expensive for a camera housing.

I have never heard of the brand but it seems to be a Chinese imitation of the traditional Canon housing. At US $113 it is very very cheap.

I think that alone would hint at sub-standard machining or parts. Personally I would pony up for a housing from a more established company rather than risk my camera. Sometimes though you get lucky, and new companies can make good gear for introductory prices.

 

[ivakdiver]

Get insurance on your camera !

 

[flareside]

Whether it is worthwhile or not is ultimately based on how you perceive the camera you put into it. If you perceive the powershot line as essentially disposable, (i.e. you will likely replace it in a year or two anyway when newer and better comes along) I really don't see anything wrong with buying a disposable case to go with it. If you plan to keep your camera for quite some time and also plan to get a lot of use out of the housing, buy a good one.

As far as the price reflecting quality, I have to disagree. Based on what Canon charges for its cheap hunk of injection molded plastic, they should have gold plated fittings. As they don't, all I can believe is that they are grossly overpriced and this case may be priced based more on reality than what they can get away with.

The final issue is warranty. If it floods due to mechanical defect, will this company take care of you? Probably not. But realistically that leaves you no worse off than if you had paid twice as much for a Canon housing. If you want a manufacturer that takes care of you should a manufacturing defect result in loss of your camera, don't settle for anything less than an Ikelite.

Ultimately, if you decide to be the guinea pig and give one of these a shot, be sure and take it empty on a couple of deep dives (operating all the controls along the way) to verify it is safe prior to ever putting a camera in it.

 

[radagar]

Thanks for all the advice. I took a punt with the el cheapo version, shold arrive in a week or so.

I will do a couple of tests with a towel or something inside to ensure the integrity of the enclosure.

Will keep you updated.

 

[supergaijin]

Tissue paper is better as it's much easier to see water droplets. I noticed that the ebay advertisement talked about lubricating the O-ring. Remember that lube is just to keep the rubber supple. you should see nothing more than a shine on the O-ring.

There are plenty of threads on housing preparation and plenty of guides on the web such as this one which walks you through the jargon.

http://www.divephotoguide.com

 

[knifebox]

Hi Radagar.

Were you able to test the housing? How was it?

cheers!

 

[supergaijin]

Possibly the housing imploded, sucking him in....

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

how much worse can it be than a Canon housing? That one doesn't have a flash diffuser, only uses a single o-ring, etc.