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I ordered the WP700, yet I received the WP711. This review sits separate from the 3-star review I gave the company who sold/shipped this to me via Amazon. See the WP700 product page for which company that is.
That said...
NOTES AND TRICKS
I was concerned I'd run into issues fitting my Sony TX-7 into this case, however after a weekend of underwater shooting I can't say I've had any problems. I highly recommend watching the youtube videos for this product to make sure you're properly sealing the pack after inserting your camera. On a full touchscreen camera like the TX-7, getting the air out of the pack as much as possible before sealing it up ensures a) the camera won't move around much, and b) there's no air or air bubbles to interfere with the controls on the back. Also, and I'm no scientist, but it seems logical that the less air that's inside the pack, the less room there'd be for condensation buildup. Dicapac includes a minuscule silica packet to counteract any humidity, though I have a hard time seeing how effective a small packet like this would be for a very prolonged period of time.
ACCESS & CONTROL
This section definitely depends on your individual camera, but here's my experience.
Once you've properly sealed the pack, and you've double checked that the rectangular "window" around the lens and flash isn't blocking either one of those components, you're good to go. Using a fingertip, I was able to change my settings at will through the plastic of the Dicapac. The TX-7's mock rotary zoom wheel on the upper-right corner of the camera was slightly difficult to reach through the plastic, however once I realized what sort of pressure worked in what place (working somewhat blind given the right edge of the Dicapac obscured the very right edge of the camera's hardware) the zoom controls became moderately comfortable.
QUALITY
Again, this will depend largely on your camera, but I was quite happy with the results through the Dicapac. There was a very minor sheen when I used the "incandescent light" scene mode on the TX-7 which didn't exist with the camera outside of the Dicapac, but much of your success or failure in high detail shots will depend on the space between the plastic and the lens. If you press directly down on the shutter, the plastic may bulge out a bit in the front, adding unwanted distortion to the shot. Damping down the plastic, going from the front of the camera over the top toward the back, will keep the plastic from bulging out. Shooting underwater with a $30 waterproof pack will certainly create a small amount of degradation but nothing which would lead to an undesirable photo. Video seems sharp as well, and (I say this as a novice) it seems that you'd notice the difference in quality less during video given how artifacts are more likely to show up in a frame rather than in fluid motion.
THE AFTERMATH
I left the camera in the pack for a few days. At the end of those few days, moments after last using it, I took it out to watch the results on my tv. I was quite surprised at how much water was absorbed by the velcro. Hours later, there was still a small bit of residual moisture. A smart move might be to grab a hair dryer, set it on low, and from a distance dry out the velcro. The plastic seems heavy enough to be unaffected by a hair dryer set on low, but you can't be too careful with something tasked with protecting an expensive camera. The realization from this was that the ziploc-style seal is, in the end, the only thing keeping the camera from becoming an expensive paperweight. It's rolled up many times over, and it's something I feel I can trust, but if you like your camera MAKE SURE THAT THE SEAL IS TIGHT.
I'd feel comfortable buying this again, especially since if I'm ever in a weird bind it would also work perfectly well as a cellphone case or a carryall for my keys/credit card/ID as I'm out at the beach & in the water. Just make sure you're getting what you ordered.
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I recently bought a WP711 for a trip to Hawaii to use with my Fuji FinePix Z30. This is my backup camera and did not cost much, so I did not mind risking it. I tested the WP711 as soon as I received it, and it worked fine in the sink. I then used it on 6 salt water snorkeling trips (ranging from 30 90 min) over a 2 week span with no leaks. This was mostly at the surface, but also included a few quick trips to 6-8 feet underwater. Based on the other reviews, I was cautious: I made sure everything was well sealed and downloaded all pictures after every use. I don't think I'll use it again for a few months, and I'll definitely redo the sink test before putting my camera in again.Fitting the FinePix Z30
My Z30 is not a perfect fix in the WP711. There is definitely extra room in the case; however, I found that to be useful. The Z30 on/off mechanism is sliding the front cover to the left/right, which is not easy to do through the case (the case material tends to suction to the camera, which is good for keeping the lens lined up, but bad for sliding pieces around). Having the added space to shift the camera around allowed me to get the camera on/off when needed. That was a chore, so on later trips I made sure to start with a full battery, turn the camera on before going in the water, and leave it on for the whole trip.
Image quality
This obviously depends a lot on the camera (and mine is not great), but I did not find the WP711 to noticeably reduce the image quality. It did affect the flash, so I learned not to use that. Here's one of my clearest shots, taken in about 5 feet of water with lots of light:
I found that I got clearer shots when diving a few feet below the surface and shooting more horizontally. This probably has more to do with my camera and lighting than the WP711, but I don't know for sure.
Conclusion
I would recommend the WP711 to anyone who wants underwater pictures has a camera they're willing to risk. It's given me a lot more and better pictures than the underwater disposable cameras I've used in the past.
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I bought this for an older sony cybershot..hoping it would work..but figured if it didn't no worries..it's an older camera anyways!! It worked like a charm!! We took it snorkeling with us in Honduras and Belize and had no problems with leaking..the camera stayed dry and we got great coral, sting ray, fish, etc underwater pix!! Definitely recommend this product..just be careful not to leave too much air in the bag or the camera will "float" around in it and you take the chance of the lens moving right in front of the line..which will mess up your pix. :)Honest reviews on DiCAPac WP711 145x95mm Small Inner Zoom Waterproof Case with Soft
I bought this to use while snorkeling. After the second day, there seemed to be moisture in the bag, and the plastic no longer looked clear. I must say that it did keep the camera dry and I took a lot of underwater pictures and videos and they came out ok, but I will look around for something else for my next trip. I didn't love it.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for DiCAPac WP711 145x95mm Small Inner Zoom Waterproof Case with Soft
I bought this for my Olympus 720 SW. "But it's a waterproof camera!", you ask. Reading reviews online for the CAMERA, it seemed about 10-20% of the time, water would leak into the camera and ruin it, so I bought this Dicapac pouch as an added layer of protection.Unfortunately, I had a few problems with this pouch.
1) When doing outdoorsy things that might require a pouch like this, the user is also likely to be wearing sunscreen and insect repellent. As such, it was easy to smudge the outer plastic just by inadvertently touching (i.e., if the pouch hits my arm or leg) so that it made photos very cloudy. It was difficult to "wash off" while in the water, so generally photos were cloudier than they should have been. Even when the pouch was perfectly clean I found that taking photos through the plastic distorts photos somewhat.
2) The pouch itself isn't quite the right fit for the Olympus 720 SW, even though the WP-711 is the recommended size by the Dicapac manufacturer for this camera. As a result, I struggled with the camera moving around inside the pouch, and often the rectangle on the front that is intended to take photos within would migrate so that the edge of the rectangle was right in the middle of the photo lens. This also ruins a fraction of photos.
3) It's a little unwieldy to take photos through the pouch.
4) Yes, my camera stayed absolutely dry within this pouch.
5) My Olympus 720 SW was indeed successful when NOT using this pouch at remaining waterproof. My best photos from snorkelling are WITHOUT the pouch much sharper and clearer.
Having the pouch and having cloudy/blurry photos with a camera that didn't get wet is still somewhat better than the blurry photos that I generally take with disposable water proof cameras, but removing the pouch and successfully being able to use the waterproof feature of my camera made the pouch seem useless. Other users who don't have naturally waterproof cameras whose cameras may fit this pouch a bit better may still find value from using the pouch.
I just with the rectangle on the front of the pouch weren't there that seems to only be a potential barrier for anyone using this size.
Overall no issues with Ocean Reef Electronics. The item was shipped promptly and in new condition.
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