Canon WP-V1 Housing!

[gunsrunner]

1. The hf200 has a 37mm thread for wide angle lens. You may be able to find an adaptor, but i would be a little worried about the weight. Here is a link scoll down to view the lenses avaliable.
Canon | VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory High Definiti | 3536B001 | B&H

2. I use the silicon lube that i put on my o-rings, don't use much!!

3.Yes the lens does self prime, if you look at the lens mounting ring on the housing, you will see 2 slots going through to the outside of the ring at the top and bottom. I found that as long as you hold it level when going under it works fine. I have had to take the lens off underwater a couple of times in dirty conditions to get dirt out from between the lenses.
Also i use my camera in P mode so i can focus closer and some times
it will focus on the lens until something better or with more contrast is in front.

 

[Conchchowder]

I bought a wide angle sony lens at Walmart for about $20 or so. Make sure you don't use auto focus in low-light. It will focus on the inside of the lens, and on moderate distance subjects, it will go in and out of focus constantly with no moving subject so use manual focus with the wide angle. Watch out for vignetting.

 

[sguft]

nwflyboy: Regarding priming, I have experienced shots being ruined by tiny bubbles. One of the first things I do after jumping in the water is to unscrew the W-20 lens just enough for bubbles to escape (you don't need to fully unscrew and risk dropping it). If you don't do this, the bubbles will still escape sooner or later - but you may see bubbles on some of your first shots of the dive.

My experience anyway

 

[aquaspider]

Are you speaking specifically about the WP-V1? I've never had any problems with bubbles in this particular camera with a wal fitted. If you clean the lens and port before assembling, bubbles will be less inclined to form and adhere to the surfaces. Also, with a proper wal you will not have vignetting. I shoot in natural light only and have not experienced the auto focus problems described. However, it was a problem with my old rig, a Sony DSC-P200/Ikelite/wal. Perhaps one tradeoff with inexpensive lenses is reduced light transmission. Auto focus can be a problem even in good light when you are shooting in an area with a lot of depth of field. Small white objects like nudibranchs seem to give this camera the fits where it wants to focus on more colorful things nearby.

 

[sguft]

Yes, I am talking about the WP-V1 and the Ikelite W-20 wal. I should probably add that I suspect my entry to be related to the formation of bubbles. I usually enter the water holding the camera in a protective position. If you have someone hand you the camera off the boat instead, bubbles may be less of a problem.

It's not a big deal though, I have just made it a habit to slightly unscrew the wal and have the bubbles escape once in water - that way I'm sure it wont ruin any shots

 

[diversteve]

There's now a webpage on the Canon site for the WP-V1. Or maybe it was always there but not linked from the camera page?

It has limited control descriptions and the same u/w video saved in 4 resolutions for comparison.

 

[nwflyboy]

I received my WP-V1 housing and got the instructions for setting the underwater mode.

The instructions are a Japanese cluster ******.

HF200
remove SD card
set to "video" mode
turn on camera
make sure you are in menu/settings mode
move joystick to the right so you are under the "photo" icon
press photo snap, photo, and the start/stop button on the back of the camera body (not on the screen) all at once.
A new screen will pop-up
click yes and then "set"
the camera will turn off
reset the date and time
you only need do this once.

Can someone translate this into accurate English for me?

1. Removed SD card - check.
2. Set to "video" mode - well, there's "movie" mode, that must be it.
3. Turn on camera - check.
4. make sure you are in menu/settings mode - Hunh? There are menus and modes all over the place - which one? What do you press to get there? I'm lost...
5. move joystick to the right so you are under the "photo" icon - I see no "photo icon" - the camera is in video mode. WTF?!
6. press photo snap, photo, and the start/stop button on the back of the camera body (not on the screen) all at once. - Good god, WTF are they talking about? There's no "photo snap" button on my HF200. There's a "photo" button on the top of the body (used to take a still); there's a "video snap" on the left side of the camera body opposite the screen. The only "start/stop" button I see (triangle/two-vertical lines, eg Play/Pause) are on the flip-out screen, not the body. I have no idea what they are saying here. Which buttons where?!
7. A new screen will pop-up - haven't see that yet
8. click yes and then "set" - can't get that far
9. the camera will turn off - OK, sure
10. reset the date and time - really? you have to reset the date/time? Really? That seems bizarre.
11. you only need do this once - well thank heaven for that.

I'm about to head off on a trip with my new HF200 and WP-V1. Can someone please explain WTF they mean with these cryptic instructions? I'm stuck right after "turn on the @#*! camera"....

Thanks for the help.

 

[nwflyboy]

And one more dumb question - I'm having trouble getting the camera to seat correctly in the housing. Am I missing some sort of a mounting bracket? I had assumed that the cam just slid in and fit in an obvious place, but I'm not finding the sweet spot. And I'm looking around and not finding any documentation that came with the case. What's the trick to get the cam in there seated properly?

Thanks!

 

[mrivken]

You need to mount camera on plate and slide it in, if you looking into housing you will see obvious place where plate need to go

 

[jeja26]

"Can someone translate this into accurate English for me?

1. Removed SD card - check.
2. Set to "video" mode - well, there's "movie" mode, that must be it.
3. Turn on camera - check.
4. make sure you are in menu/settings mode - Hunh? There are menus and modes all over the place - which one? What do you press to get there? I'm lost...
5. move joystick to the right so you are under the "photo" icon - I see no "photo icon" - the camera is in video mode. WTF?!
6. press photo snap, photo, and the start/stop button on the back of the camera body (not on the screen) all at once. - Good god, WTF are they talking about? There's no "photo snap" button on my HF200. There's a "photo" button on the top of the body (used to take a still); there's a "video snap" on the left side of the camera body opposite the screen. The only "start/stop" button I see (triangle/two-vertical lines, eg Play/Pause) are on the flip-out screen, not the body. I have no idea what they are saying here. Which buttons where?!
7. A new screen will pop-up - haven't see that yet
8. click yes and then "set" - can't get that far
9. the camera will turn off - OK, sure
10. reset the date and time - really? you have to reset the date/time? Really? That seems bizarre.
11. you only need do this once - well thank heaven for that."

This thread worked for me

"Read the thread and you will learn a few things about what you are asking (especially post #24 http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4610547-post24.html ) "
originally posted by conchchowder