Kevin Whitworth / Jacurutu

Since I started playing octopush again, I've been dying to mix octopush and photography. Sure, I could shell out lots of money and buy a full waterproof dive housing for my Nikon, but I simply can't justify the cost for the amount of use it would get. I've looked around for waterproof housings for my Minolta G400, but with very little luck. There are many dedicated solid housings around for other point-and-shoot digital cameras, jut not mine. The best option I came up with (until recently) was the D-MM housing from ewa-marine, but that's about £50.

So, rather than splash out on that, I got myself a couple of disposable underwater cameras from Boots. I've had some success with these before (they were actually from Max Spielman) when out in Jordan a couple of years ago. However, the results this time were non-existent. They don't have a flash on them, and there simply isn't enough light inside (let alone underwater in a slightly murky swimming pool) to get anything resembling a half-decent exposure. Cue one strip of practically unexposed negatives.

After that, I thought long and hard about the ewa-marine housing. However, having realised that flash was key to getting a good exposure, that housing has a potential design flaw - the entire front of the housing (which is really just a heavy-duty waterproof bag) is made from a sheet of transparent acrylic. The downside to this is that the flash could reflect off this and on to the lens - causing flare and other artefacts.

A bit more research turned up a Korean company called DiCAPac. They make very similar housings to ewa-marine (ie a heavy-duty waterproof bag), but there design is slightly different. They have a dedicated lens port, which is enclosed in rubber - helping to isolate the acrylic plate from the flash (similar to dedicated solid housings which are available). Whilst some of the ewa-marine housings also have a dedicate lens port, it tends to be made of transparent material, again risking lens flare etc. Plus, with shipping from Hong Kong from Digital Rev's eBay shop it only cost £21.00. The model I got was the DiCAPac WP-400, which seems to be designed for zoom cameras (it appears the lens port is slightly longer to allow extension of the lens).

As I said, the WP-400 is basically a sealed heavy-duty plastic bag with a port for the lens. It's sealed with a zip-loc closure, which is then rolled over several times and held shut with velcro (the ewa-marine housings seem to have a more substantial closure system using two metal bars to clamp the bag shut). Having guessed on this model, the camera fits in it OK, but the case design has the lens port slightly off centre, whereas the G400 has a more-or-less centred lens. At wide angles the port can cause vignetting if the camera isn't in exactly the right place, but it's manageable.

I tested the case in the pool down to 2m, and there was no sign of leaking (no air bubbles, and the tissue paper inside wasn't wet at all), so I tried it with the camera. Taking photos is a bit tricky - the focus speed isn't particularly fast, and the shutter lag is terrible. (Is this because it's underwater, a bit dark, or just because I've become spoilt by the D200?) Also, the housing has some buoyancy, as do I, so it's difficult to stay still. The flash seems to do the job, but there are a few artefacts in the photos - probably from dust on the lens. However, with the camera set to full auto, the results are only acceptable. Shutter speed seems to end up at 1/60s, and as the flash isn't lighting the whole scene (much of the exposure is from ambient light), there's noticeable motion blur (octopush is a fast moving game!). The G400 is also set, on full auto, to automatically select the ISO, so given the lack of light, it's turning it up a bit resulting in quite noisy pictures. I might try it on full manual next time and see how I get on. Failing that, my next project will be to work out how to trigger an external flash (I don't think I can get an optical cell and Skyport in the DiCAPac case as well) and build a case for one of my Nikon Speedlights.

I should also report that I noticed a small amount of moisture inside the housing after a few minutes use with the camera, so rather than risk the camera, I quit whilst I was ahead. I suspect this was condensation as it really was a small amount of moisture, and there were no sign of air bubbles. I'd loaded the camera into the housing on the pool side - a warm, humid environment - and then taken it into the pool, which is significantly cooler. Next time I'll stick to the shallow end I think (where there's more ambient light as well).

All in all, I'm pleased with the DiCAPac WP-400. It has it's problems, but for £21.99 I can't complain. It's much cheaper than a new camera + housing, or a waterproof camera (even a second hand one like a Nikonos V - and I have seriously considered that!). I'll persevere with it to check it is condensation on the inside (easily fixed with some silica gel) and not a leak, and to try and get the hang of taking decent photos underwater with it. Watch this space!