How many of us have bought those cheap disposable cameras to
take on the water? We leave our really high quality cameras
at home for fear getting splashed or worse, dropping them in
the water. Even salt air can wreck a camera.
Let me give you this scenario;
It's a perfect day for fishing and you and your buddy decide to
go fishing. You stop off and get one of those $4.00 disposable
cameras and hit the water. As it turns out it's even a better
day than expected. Several nice fish and pictures later, it's
time to go home and get that camera into the developer. Some
choose to use the one-hour method, others the three day wait.
Whichever is used, the photos are eagerly received and when the
photos are opened and reviewed - disappointment after disappointment!
Photos out of focus or just not what you expected.
Ever been there? I have. In fact the very first article I ever
sent to FAOL, JC told me to work on the focus. So I went down
and got one of those Pelican Boxes for my point and shoot Digital
Camera. Pelican Boxes are completely waterproof, but I was still
limited on the use of the camera. I had to make sure I was on
stable ground and sometimes the fish was captured longer than I
liked just to get a good photo. Many great opportunity photos
were lost because the camera had to stay in the watertight case
while fishing and moving about in the water. Wonderful shots
of wildlife in action were impossible. I remember being on the
river one day and a large whitetail buck came down for a drink.
I did not seem to be a threat to him and he was about 30 feet away.
When I tried to get the camera out of the case, the loud snapping
of the locks startled him and the photo shot of the day was lost!
I now have a much more expensive digital camera and have absolutely
no fear of having it on the water and out ready for photos at a
moments notice! Why, because of a new product that has made it's
way from Great Britain to the United States. It's called the
"AQUAPAC". It is a soft bag with optically clear plastic sides.
The seals are a patented "Aquaclip Seal" and it really works!
When I first received it I was a little skeptical. However the
directions tell you to put something worthless in the bag, seal
it and submerge the bag in water and squeeze to see if any bubbles
escape. After the initial bubbles from the locking mechanism,
there was ZERO leakage. So far so good. Next was the photo
quality test.
Below are the photos compared out and in the bag.
The next set were taken with the camera in the bag as well as
my polarized glasses held in front of the bag and lens of the
camera.
Although this is not a situation likely to happen out on the water,
I wanted to show the Macro Mode so one can see just how clear the
bag really is. Although there is a bit of blur in the bag photo,
it is insignificant in outdoor shots as noted above.
The AQUAPAC is clearly and proven asset to any outdoorsman who
needs to protect his or her camera from water, dust, sand and snow.
It floats, has UV stabilized material and provides protection down
to -15 degrees F. They do make "Special Edition" cases, which remain
totally flexible at - 40 degrees F. They come in all sizes and can
even handle video cameras. Sorry SLR's are not covered according
to their website.
Now I can get good quality photos on the water and even if I drop
the camera in the water or slip and submerge the camera, I know it
will be well protected from water damage. Just remember this bag
provides NO shock protection.
To view their products go to their
website.
~ Hillfisher
CS ideas
7900-20 103rd Street
Suite 47
Jacksonville, FL 932210
Phone: 877-789-5255
Email: csideas@yahoo.com
Website: www.waterproofcases.net
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