Canon Powershot S3 IS Compatibilty with S1 IS U/W Housing

[mach2plus]

Hi Folks. New guy here with my first post. I have been researching underwater photography options for 3 months now, and everytime I'm about to bite the bullet and make the purchase, something new pops up, whether it be a new product, or a technical question that needs answering...

OK, so here's a few questions that I'd like to ask of you folks with a heck of alot more experiance than yours truely.

-- Is the Canon WP-DC20 housing for the Powershot S1 IS compatible with the newer Powershot S3 IS ? (my calls to Canon have gone unanswered)

-- If you manually shutoff or override a camera's flash, how is an external slave flash unit triggered (assuming no physical cable connection) ? Is their some kind of communication (IR, RF, etc) from the camera to the flash?

Thanks folks. I look forwardto hearing from you -- Bob

 

[Larry C]

Canon doesn't support the S2IS or S3IS with an underwater case, but I believe Ikelite can help you with that and it's a better housing anyway. If you use a slave flash, you have to use the built in flash but cover the face with black tape or film, then normally you use a fiber optic cable exposed to the flash to fire the slave. If you buy an Ikelite housing and the camera has a hotshoe, you can use Ikelites ttl strobe system.

 

[mach2plus]

Thanks for your feedback Larry. With regard to the S1/S2/S3, everything that I've been able to glean via my research so far indicates that they are exactly the same externally (with the exception of an additional button) -- but you know that goes. So I was hoping to use an S1 housing (canon wp-dc20) with the S3. By the way, I am still awaiting a reply from Canon on this question. Price is somewhat an issue, with the canon housing costing, on average, about $165, versus the Ikelite, which will set me back about $500+, or about $350 more, money which could be spent on an Ikelite strobe unit (assuming that the Canon housing is compatible with the Ikelite Strobe). So, more to follow on that one...

I understand the fiberoptic system that you mentioned, though, as you are probably aware, Ikelite sells both a manual and ttl slave sensor, which I've looked at also.

I just noticed on your post the system that you are using and that you have some photos posted also, so I'm going to take a look at them. Thanks again -- Bob

 

[Jamdiver]

Question - Why are you set on the S3 IS?
Is it the 12x zoom??

 

[catfish]

I think it's highly unlikely that the S3 will work in the S1 housing. You can see a side by side picture of the S2 and the S1 here:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons2is/

They do look similar, but this quote from the aforementioned website tells me the S2 will not work in the S1 housing:

"Unlike most 'upgrades', the S2 IS is not only better specified than its predecessor; it's larger (much deeper) and heavier too. Most of this is down to the slightly larger sensor, which leads to a slightly larger lens (which also has a wider zoom range). Overall styling is very similar, though some controls have been re-positioned, and there are an extra couple of buttons."

You can then see a side-by-side of the S3 and the S2 here:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/

The S2 and the S3 look to be almost identical in form. A quote from this page:

"The most immediately obvious difference is the color; very dark gunmetal as opposed to shiny silver. Sat next to the S2 IS the new camera looks a lot more serious, and is a lot more inconspicuous when you're out shooting. Externally the cameras are otherwise almost identical (the S3 IS is fractionally heavier, not that you'd notice)."

Since the S2 and S3 seem to be almost identical, and the S2 seems to be larger than the S1, I think you are out of luck. In addition, button placement has undoubtedly changed enough to make the controls useless even if you could squeeze it into the housing. I could be wrong, there is a slight chance you could make it work, but I seriously doubt it. I wish Canon would make a housing for the S3. I would buy one in a heartbeat. It would be a great topside camera, and probably pretty good underwater as well. I'm too cheap to buy an Ikelite housing.

 

[mach2plus]

Thanks Jamdiver and Catfish. Yep, you're right, they are different. The reviews that I read showed that they had the same dimensions, but a Canon rep did get back with me and said that it was a typo, and that the S1 uw housing wouldn't fit. Actually, what I did find interesting about the S1/S2/S3 was both the image stabilization and, like you said, the optical zoom capability. But I have now ruled out the S1/S2/S3, given the new info. Your help is much appreciated. Thank-you. Bob

 

[Jamdiver]

Thanks Jamdiver and Catfish. Yep, you're right, they are different. The reviews that I read showed that they had the same dimensions, but a Canon rep did get back with me and said that it was a typo, and that the S1 uw housing wouldn't fit. Actually, what I did find interesting about the S1/S2/S3 was both the image stabilization and, like you said, the optical zoom capability. But I have now ruled out the S1/S2/S3, given the new info. Your help is much appreciated. Thank-you. Bob

No problem mach.
Just a note the image stabilization is perhaps of not much use underwater as the water would tend to dampen your movement.

If you're still looking i'd recommend the Canon A620, Canon S80, Olympus Sp-350, Fuji E900 and so on..
You're sure to find a camera that fits your needs and budget.

 

[mach2plus]

Thanks again Jam. Spent several more hours on line and hit a great site called www.bhphotovideo.com, which really helped put a lot of equipment compatibility issues in better focus. For the present time, I've narrowed it down to either the Canon S2 IS with the Ikelite housing, or the Olympus SP-350 with the Olympus housing and accessories, much like the setup that Larry C has. Just noted that you have a gallery also, so I'm gonna take a look at that. Tanks again -- Mach

 

[mach2plus]

Jam, whoops, also thinking of the Canon A620 with the canon Housing. canon is offering a $50 rebate right now, and it would only cost $190 (after rebate) from B & H, which sounds almost too good to believe. Need to do some research as to what trays and strobes will work well with it. Mach