2026-04-05 The Canon WP-DC-16 Underwater Camera Housing

Six years ago I collected a Canon PowerShot A720 IS camera*. Last month I collected a Canon WP-DC-16 underwater camera housing. The two are designed for each other.
The case will allow you to shoot up to 40 m (130 feet) underwater.
Of course there are some problems you should be aware of.

   Viewing the camera’s screen through the housing’s back can be tricky in bright light. You sometimes use an underwater housing above water to ensure your camera is protected in marine environments. Some kind of hood would help.
   You have to be careful if you are shooting above water while around water that droplets of water that are on the lens port will show up in the images.
   Under about 3 m (10 feet) of water the light starts to shift towards the blue end of the spectrum. Twice that depth and the light starts to fall off a lot. The camera’s flash will work as is—although it doesn’t cover to the corners of the widest zoom setting—but the housing had a separate diffusor that didn’t come with this one. The internal flash can trigger external waterproof lights from all sorts of suppliers.
   Then there is the fact the camera in the housing has a positive buoyancy. If you strap the housing to your arm the camera will be fighting to get to the surface much like a balloon full of Helium will drag a child’s arm up if tethered to their arm. Evidentially weight kits could be purchased. Something more than two weight kits but less than three would make the underwater rig stay in place depth-wise where it is released.

   You should have some silicon grease to treat the O-ring before closing the housing. The whole procedure of examining, cleaning and sealing O-rings makes underwater housings sound like real problems to manage. The housing is made clear for a reason. If you see any water in the bottom of the housing while underwater—turn off the camera and surface, preferably with the housing held level.
   Another criticism was poor visibility in water—through a diving mask—of what all the buttons and levers do. It was recommended you do some shoots on land until you become familiar with the controls you need for what you are trying to capture.
Comments went all the way from delight in the images they could shoot in swimming pools of the grandchildren to a little frustration with the difficulties of working underwater.
   In a curious side reference a “CHDK” hack was recommended if you wanted the best performance out of the camera in the housing. Maybe someone with better research abilities could help with that.

*The Canon PowerShot A720 IS is an 8-megapixel camera with a 6x zoom

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