THE WP-DC300 WATERPROOF CASE

The WP-DC300 case is clear ABS plastic with bright yellow and green buttons and a blue latch.

The buttons allow control of all the camera functions except on off. Before you put the camera in the housing, you need to slide the clamshell cover from over the lens, which turns on the camera. The camera then fits snugly into the case, and the clasp closure puts a reassuring bit of pressure on the seal. Unfortunately, there is no way to turn the camera on and off once the camera is inside the case. To save power, I turned off the LCD display with one of the case buttons, and used the viewfinder for picture taking on-the-water. Canon recommends opening the case only in a place "of low humidity well away from salty sea air." It might be a good idea to tape a (very) small desiccant packet inside the case. With the LCD on only intermittently, a fully-charged battery lasted for a day trip. By evening the low-battery warning flashed when I turned on the LCD. It's too bad this top-of-the-line, waterproof-case-compatible digital has this limitation. Canon's other cameras and Sony's DSC P1, P3 and P5can be powered on and off by a button in their waterproof cases.

The case is about the size of a 35mm SLR film camera with a small lens and has enough buoyancy to float the camera. Its thickness makes it awkward to wedge inside your PFD and it's too big for a PFD pocket, so a deck bag or day hatch would be good stowage options.

On a sunny day, I found the LCD hard to see, even with the display brightened. It's easy enough to frame a picture, but not to see details. In overcast light this isn't too much of a problem. I found I didn't like relying on the optical viewfinder exclusively, though, even though it saves energy. The view is small and about a third of the wide angle view is blocked by the lens extension. Whether I used the LCD or the viewfinder, I found I wanted to check the replay to be sure I got the shot.

The housing really shined at the pool. The LCD screen was easy to see underwater. Recording little movies of roll practice was a snap. Toggle to replay-and hey-there's my paddle digging too deep on an offside roll.

The case, with a $179 to $199 street price, comes with anti-fog liquid for the front glass and silicone grease for the door seal. The manual is full of warnings about handling that "may cause leaks." Don't expect Canon to warranty the camera if you screw up and trash the camera.

The waterproof case, aside from the camera's lack of an on off button, is superb. The combination of the new compact submersible housings and new versatile digicams offer lots of possibilities especially for day trips, or weekends where battery life is not an issue. If you're a point-and-shoot photographer, you'll find the Canon S30 easy to use, but probably more camera than you'll need. If you're a dedicated SLR shooter looking for picture-taking control in a small package, the Canon S30 camera is probably the smallest camera in its class that gives you so many features. You won't find any complications, and will be thrilled at the possibilities.

Gary Luhm is a professional photographer and sea kayaker living in Kirkland, WA.
He can be reached at http://www.garyluhm.com