On-land analysis of the Recsea WHC-SX210 housing

The Recsea housing for the Canon PowerShot SX210 is constructed with particular accuracy and attention to details. Built not by die-casting, but by numerical control machines out of a block of polycarbonate, it looks an feels robust. The optical-glass port is mounted on an ABS base, again obtained by machine milling, like the other parts of the same material. The port is wide enough to avoid vignetting at the wideangle focal, and it sticks out by more tha 6 cm from the housing body to contain the entire extension of the 14x zoom (28-392 equivalent). A port of this size tends to obstruct light diffusion from the on-camera flash, therefore the port offers slots for the push-in insertion of a semicircular diffuser included in the package. The diffuser makes it

possible to use the flash with the zoom from moderate to high tele position, for macro usage, or with the teleconverter function of the camera to expand the whole tele range (see user manual). The housing is locked thanks to a cam wheel with a blocking button, very safe and handy. The back of the camera is not hinged but it slides into a seat that favors its positioning. The o-ring is well dimensioned and ensures a good tightness. The controls are grouped in two ABS panes: the one on the top contains the shutter button (slightly undersized, and with a short run), the ON-OFF button, and, at the center, the zoom seesaw lever, very handy, as it can be easily operated with index and thumb without changing the hold of the camera.

The controls on the back are concentrated in the other ABS pane and ensure access to all camera controls. They are very tightly packed, making it difficult to operate with gloves. The pane allowed the designers to introduce an interesting detail: the control wheel for the exposure selection dial is slanted for a better grip and therefore higher precision. Another interesting detail: the wheel is concave, giving the thumb a comfortable setting, which, in combination with the front-right relief, ensures a strong grip of the housing, especially to those who don’t have a big hand. The buttons have no indication on the function, but a small pane on the left of the display shows an easily understandable list of the symbols. Operating the video button requires moving the hand, as it is placed lower and very close to the

other buttons. Finally, the housing has two loops for attaching a strap and for accessories (e.g. the diffuser), and on the top it has a bracket for accessories, and at the bottom the classic socket for a flash mounting shoe, or for a tripod. The top contains also the optical cable socket for an external strobe, indispensable if you want to use one or more flashes over the whole range of lenses, starting from a wideangle. However, considering the characteristics of the Canon SX210 IS, an acceptable underwater performance requires at least one external flash, as at long focals of the optical zoom the minimum focusing distance is 1 m, too much for a good result with the internal flash only, particularly underwater.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS As soon as we will have the camera for an underwater test, we will be able to be more specific about the actual performance of the camera-housing ensemble. The housing is certainly well built, robust, although very compact, and shows

interesting solutions for control operation, more similar to those of classic aluminum housings, than those in polycarbonate. The owners of a Canon SX210 IS can consider this housing a very good solution for their underwater shots.

2011