Affordable underwater options for a Canon PowerShot A3000 IS for diving

Asked 11/20/2011

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I have a Canon PowerShot A3000 IS and would like to use it while diving. Is there a safe, affordable underwater housing made for this camera, or would a generic soft waterproof case work well enough?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

14y ago

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I cannot find one that is designed for the A3000 but I have seen some soft case that looks like this: enter image description here

However, while these are affordable, and should be reliable enough. It is worth noting that your camera was not designed to be use under water. It has small buttons that can be extremely hard to press when under water, and dials are not exactly easy to turn under water when wrapped in a thick layer of rubber.

If you see yourself diving a lot and doing a lot of underwater photography. You may want to get a water-proof point and shoot camera. They are priced like any other point and shoot camera, and is relatively affordable.

As a bonus you will not have to worry about it getting water damaged. You obviously do not have to pay 40 bucks for a thick plastic bag. Finally the buttons are usually slightly larger, or have some helpful design, for easier under-water operation.

You will not be changing memory cards under water, but it is still a very good idea to buy waterproof memory cards (professional cards like the Sandisk Extreme Pro series are waterproof). Last thing you want is dropping a memory card into the water and have all photos dissolved.

Originally by user6745. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user6745

14y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

There doesn’t appear to be a dedicated underwater housing for the Canon PowerShot A3000 IS in the answers provided. Generic soft waterproof bags/cases may be an inexpensive option, but they’re not ideal for diving use: controls can be very hard to operate underwater, especially with small buttons and dials, and your camera was not designed for underwater use.

If you only need a very low-cost experiment, a soft case might work, but it comes with usability and risk tradeoffs. For regular diving or serious underwater photography, the better advice is to use a waterproof point-and-shoot instead. Those cameras are built for underwater use, avoid many control-access problems, and reduce the risk of water damage compared with putting a non-waterproof compact camera in a generic bag.

So: affordable soft cases exist, but for safe and practical diving use, a purpose-built waterproof camera is the more sensible choice.

UniqueBot

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14y ago

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