Polaroid Underwater Housing for Point & Shoot with Lens

We recently took a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef and I knew that I wanted to be able to take a camera with me underwater. I was originally preparing myself for the high price of the underwater kit for my Canon S95 when I fortunately came across this housing made by Polaroid.The Polaroid housing is basically two pieces of clear, molded plastic which are firmly held together by the hard, yellow plastic pieces which slide over the edges and lock into place. I kept checking the camera while I was under water to see if it was taking on water, but it never once did, even when I dove down about 25 feet. One would think such a simple design wouldn't work, but it was incredibly effective and I was really pleased with the results. I did remove the strap from the camera before putting it into the housing, thanks to the advice of another reviewer.My Canon S95 fit snugly into the Polaroid housing. The housing is basically rectangular in shape but has a cylindrical protrusion that allows for the cameras lens to extend as it opens. The cylindrical protrusion fit tightly around the outer edges of the lens, preventing my camera from moving in the housing which was ideal. The housing allows just barely enough room for the S95 to open and maybe another few mm would have been better, but the camera did not seem to be damaged by the housing.The back of the housing is made of the clear plastic which is soft enough that you can press buttons on your camera. This allowed me to play with my ISO speed or to change other settings while I was under water. However, with the S95, you have no option to change the program of the camera from aperture priority to shutter priority, for example since you must spin a wheel and so that must be set before you install the camera in the housing.Before using the camera underwater, be sure to shut off the flash of the S95. Otherwise, if it is on automatic, the camera may try to use the flash and the tight housing wont allow the flash to extend out of the camera body. This will cause an error. You either have the choice of taking the camera out of the housing and to allow the flash to reset or to push the flash back into place. But, pushing the flash into place is probably not that great for the camera.Be sure to set your white balance to aquarium to avoid photos with a blue hue. It took me a few tries playing with the settings before I was taking photos with which I was happy. So if you are taking the camera on a big trip, be prepared to experiment a few times underwater first to get the settings correct for what you want to achieve with your photos.The Polaroid housing is bright and people were asking about it since it is such a great idea.The only downside that I experienced was that the first housing that I received seemed to have a defect in the latching mechanism. There are just little, plastic tabs which hold latches on the top and bottom in place to hold the housing together. The plastic tabs of the first housing I received broke the first time that I opened it. At first, I thought that I had applied too much force, but once I purchased a new one, I realized that the tab of the original housing had not been molded correctly. Fortunately, I had the time to order a new one. So, just dont wait until the last minute before buying one of these housings just in case.Overall, an outstanding product and I certainly recommend it for use with a Canon S95 camera.

I purchased this case for use with a Canon S95 for a trip to Jamaica where we'd be snorkeling, swimming and climbing Dunn's River Falls. On opening the case, I was initially disappointed with the picture quality. There was some kind of film that formed on the surface of the case. Cleaning it with a little Windex improved the picture quality to acceptable levels.I first tested the case in the sink, sans camera. It comes with a thin piece of paper that would easily show any water leak, so test your case first. Even squeezed the empty case pretty hard to simulate the pressure down 20', no bubbles came out. No leaking. After the leak test, then I trialed the case in the sink with camera.The case is simply a molded but flexible box. On the S95, you can press the on/off button and the shutter button. You could also kind of press the review button on the camera back, but often times other things would also get pressed, so I suggest not messing with it. Unlike a true Canon Waterproof case, none of the other controls are useable, so you can't change your shooting mode, can't use the exposure dial, or the ring around the lens. You're stuck with one of the automatic modes. Of course, the Canon case is $300+, and this is around $20. You've got to accept some compromises. Because it's just a plastic box, you can't find the shutter button by touch, you'll need to look at it every time you want to take a picture.Fit with the S95 was tight. The Canon's adjustable ring around the lens fits tight into the case's lens hole. It's also tight around the camera's body. The case comes with some foam pads you can use to prop up the camera if it doesn't fit real well. None were needed with the S95.To use the case, you will need to remove the wrist strap from the camera. The case, with camera, does float. I attached my camera's wrist strap to the case.Assembly is pretty easy, unlock the yellow frame and split it in half. Then slip apart the two sides of the case. Put the camera in to the lens side, and place the back over it. Note that the case can only go together in one way due to tabs on each half of the case. If you screw this up, the two tabs would butt against each other, and likely leak. Slide the yellow frame back on and lock in place. Always make sure your case seals are clean. A particle of sand or even a hair can cause a leak.Picture quality is ok. I found pictures outside the water to be darker and grayer than without the case. Underwater is pretty good, as long the subject isn't too far away. I think picture quality could be improved if Polaroid used a glass lens instead of plastic. It'd also be more scratch resistant.Overall, for a truly waterproof (not just water resistant) case, this was a good deal. I would recommend to anyone with a small point and shoot camera.

I bought this thinking it would be ideal for the waterparks and snorkelling on holiday. Yes, it certainly is waterproof, no leakage in the sink or the local swimming pool.However, the claims of "provides access to your camera's key features" are to be questioned.I tried the case with various cameras, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX550, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS35 and a Canon A4000 IS.It was virtually impossible to operate any of these cameras. The two Lumix cameras have a slide On/off which was impossible to operate. The Canon has on push button On/off so that was OK. However all 3 cameras have a slide left/right zoom lever, totally inoperable within this case.As far as I am concerned this has been a total waste of money. I will just have to use the Canon (only one I can switch on) and crop the photos.

Not what I was expecting cheap looking housing and not sure I would risk my camera in this. The housing is made of a poor quality plastic and the only control is you can press the shutter and that's it. It comes with packing to pack out your camera but you will have to cut this to avoid it making contact with the buttons on the rear also the front of the housing where the lens would sit and view through was scratched and as stated not that good of a quality would have been better if a better grade on this part of the housing as taking pictures in the housing out of the water to try made the images blurry. Don't bother and spend a little extra on a cheap underwater camera.

Took this on holiday and got some great underwater picks with my Fuji point and shoot compact camera.Have seen the covers that costs hundreds of pounds but I honestly don't know what they would do differently from this cracking piece of kit.Worth every penny.

I can’t open the case, so I have no idea if it actually works. Cut my finger on the packaging which was surprisingly sharp. Not overly pleased with it at the moment.

Functions great but were a bit confused when we first used it. The instructions were scarce and not clear enough