MY REVIEW OF THE CANON POWERSHOT D10 WATERPROOF DIGITAL CAMERA

Hey, I’m Chad, a mad keen water skier, married with 3 kids under 14 and always planning great water ski holidays for the family. Half the fun of holidays is looking at the photos afterward so I’ve tried quite a few waterproof cameras and always seem to have disaster.  Riding in a fast boat trying to catch a good shot of a water skier out the back has its moments. Recommended to me by a friend I thought the Canon Powershot  D10 sounded too good to be true at first but it’s totally lived up to the hype . So for all those fellow skiers, water enthusiasts and Mums and Dads who are wondering which digital waterproof camera to buy, here’s my experience of the best waterproof camera I’ve ever used.

IS THE CANON D10 REALLY WATERPROOF, SHOCKPROOF ETC?

I first got to test just how waterproof it was soon after I bought. We were coming into shore and I swung the boat around sideways not realizing my young son had left our Canon camera up near the cockpit housing without tethering it. It bounced out of the boat and into 12 feet of water.  Worse I didn’t even realize what had happened until 5 minutes later. I dove down and retrieved it, hosed it down and it was fine.
My kids are fairly young. I teach them how to handle equipment properly but they’re just learning so our camera gets a fair whacking. It gets dropped frequently, accidentally hit and on one famous occasion got dropped into a container of frozen fish where it stayed undiscovered until we went to thaw the fish later to cook for supper.  It operated perfectly afterward.
This is one tough camera and does live up to the waterproof, shockproof and freeze-proof claim. However, I would advise anyone using the Canon D10 to attach a flotation strap, because accidents happen. If my Canon had dropped into 30 feet of water it would have been tough getting it back. You can buy them on Amazon.

THIS CAMERA DOES A LOT OF THE HARD WORK FOR YOU

Some of the guys I hang out with are real camera buffs. They can talk shutter speed and metering with the best of them. I can’t. I point and shoot and hope for the best. But the photos I take have gotten better since I’ve been using the Canon D10. This camera has got Art Imagining Technology that helps adjustments for color and detail. It’s got DIGIC 4 Image Processing which includes face detection technology, face detection self-timer and in conjunction with ISAPS Technology improves focus speed, accuracy, exposure and white balance. This waterproof Canon saves my bacon by selecting the proper settings for each shot using what’s called Smart AUTO which gives me the right settings for each shot. It’s compatible with a whole range of memory cards (SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC Plus, HC MMC Plus) meaning you can use memory cards of this sort to support uploading, storing and sharing photos. (I had to ask one of my camera nut friends to find that out.) I’ve got to be honest here. I don’t understand the technical capabilities of this camera. I can list some of them so those of you who do understand get the gist, but for me it means my point and shoot works well. And it also works well for my kids, so they’ve gained a lot of confidence using this camera.

YOU GET GOOD SHOTS UNDER ALL CONDITIONS

You can get good shots using the CanonD10 up close, under water, in sunlight or dusk and the colors will be good and the image sharp and clear. It lets you do continuous shooting so you can get good panorama shots.  it also has a good video function that works well underwater or on dry land.

ANY DRAWBACKS?

A lot of people with more camera knowledge than me have left great reviews on Amazon of this product but some have been critical. I’ll list those so you know what you’re buying. Apparently it doesn’t have RAW mode which gives more flexibility in adjusting the image than an ordinary jpg file. I gather this is important for people who pay a lot of attention to the fine balance of an image. It has no threads to allow a filter to be attached and it has no lens cap, though in all my years of treating this baby roughly it’s never got scratched.

HERE’S WHAT I THINK

It’s a matter of what you’re after. For me it’s just great. My kids can treat it roughly and it bounces back. It’s very easy to use so both I and my wife and kids have gained confidence in our picture taking, especially the kids. It really does survive all the bumps and it’s really waterproof. And it’s a good looker with its snazzy aqua body. I get a lot of envious comments from friends. It’s a bit bulkier than a normal camera but that’s actually an advantage with younger kids. I thoroughly recommend this camera to you as a really great waterproof camera.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU EXPECT TO PAY

There is anything up to $50 difference in the price of the Canon Powershot D10 so it pays to compare. I found it being sold at $299.99, plus shipping on some sites. I found the best price on Amazon which was $249 plus Free Shipping.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

-Powershot D10 Body
-Lithium-ion battery pack (NB-6L)
- Battery charger (CB-2LY)
-Wrist Strap 9WS-DC7)
-Digital Camera solution CD-ROM
-USB interface cable (IFC-400PCU)
-AV cable (AVC-DC400)

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Amazon gives this Canon Camera a 4 star rating and here’s what reviewers say about it:

“The best thing about this camera? You can give it to your 6 year old to take underwater pics and not worry about it…”

“I’m very impressed with the picture  quality in this camera.”

“I’m very impressed with this camera. It feels very sturdy, takes great photos.”

“Good features camera that functions well in rain/wet environments as well as being rated for moderate full immersion (snorkeling etc)”

“Very fast from turn on to being able to shoot”

“Would recommend it to anyone with kids, vacationers, anyone fond of water, anyone looking for a worry-free take-anywhere camera”

“The battery lasted for a whole weekend with underwater photos and video and it is crystal clear underwater photos.”

ANY COMPLAINTS?

Really serious photographers wanting more features, such as having the RAW feature, and threads for adding filters won’t like this camera as much as people like me. There are also complaints about there being no lens hood. I have seen one or two reviews where the waterproofing didn’t work but in those cases Amazon handled the whole thing really quickly, replacing the faulty camera immediately at no cost. It would be great if everything we bought didn’t break down occasionally but it does so the best backup is an excellent replacement service and Amazon absolutely supplies that.

WHERE CAN YOU READ MORE REVIEWS

I love Amazon. Where else can you read hundreds of reviews and get a Star Rating for a product. They give the Canon Powershot D10 a 4 star rating and there are just a heap of reviews, over 200. You can read them here.