Sony SPK-WB Sports Pack for DSC-W290 Cybershot Camera
Posted by hdtv on February 18th, 2010
Sony SPK-WB Sports Pack for DSC-W290 Cybershot Camera Review
Sony SPK-WB Sports Pack for DSC-W290 Cybershot Camera Feature
- Lets you take underwater shots while snorkeling or swimming
- Offers waterproof protection up to 10 feet (3m) deep
- Compatible with Sony DSC-W290 Cyber-shot camera
- Without waterproof adaptor, it works as scratchproof silicon jacket case
- Includes silicone jacket case and waterproof adaptor
Just swapped the APK-WB for this one and am much happier. It’s a lot more versatile and worth the extra (too bad it’s always backordered). You get 4 pieces…a silica housing that molds around the camera, a tough plastic housing that fits over the silica housing and covers the screen and lens (thus making it water tight), a white diffuser, and a strap with a yellow float (so the camera doesn’t sink in the water if it slips off your wrist).
The silica housing itself is great for protecting the camera from nicks and scratches and can be used without the rest of the pieces for day hikes, sports events, or anywhere else that you’d take your camera but risk scratching it. The silica casing allows full access to the buttons on the back of the camera (you press them through the silica) so you’re not losing functionality. The screen and lens aren’t covered so you do risk damage there if you’re not careful. The flash is covered but I haven’t noticed much of a negative impact of this in the test shots I’ve taken so far.
The water-tight housing fits over the silica housing and fits over the screen and lens. It doesn’t wrap around the entire camera (which makes me a little nervous) but it snaps down so tight that I’m sure it’s fine. You still have full access to the buttons on the back of the camera, which is a big bonus over the APK-WB. One of my other beefs with the APK was that the lens housing was so large that it obstructs the flash on the DSC-W290. This is still an issue with the SPK, and can create a shadow effect when you take pictures of things a few feet away with the flash. The diffuser (the white piece that fits over the lens housing) seems to fix this issue pretty well. I took a couple shots using the housing+diffuser and with the camera on its own (no housing) and got pretty much the same image. It’s kind of a pain in that it’s one more piece to keep track of when you’re out snapping pictures, but I’ll get over it. Sony might look into providing the diffuser for the APK-WB as well since it has the same flash-obstruction issue (presuming they can’t just redesign the housing to not obstruct the flash).
Overall, I’m still not satisfied that the flash is obstructed at all…it seems like such a basic design flaw that it surprises me Sony didn’t correct it when they tested these cases prior to mass production (rather than doing a band-aid fix with the diffuser). Of course, fixing this issue might be a detriment to some other feature, so I don’t know. Overall, I still like this housing better than the el-cheapo universal housings on the market and love that Sony finally brought the price down and offered a line of these housings rather than a one-model-fits-all for 0 like they’ve done in the past. The versatility of the SPK-WB is also a big plus if you’re like me and you take your camera in a variety of settings and would appreciate a couple of protective options (the silicon housing by itself or with the water-tight housing).
Sony SPK-WB Sports Pack for DSC-W290 Cybershot Camera Overview
Sports pack for DSC-W290. This sports pack not only protects your camera, from unexpected splashes or downpours, but also let you shoot pictures at depths up to 10 feet.
Sony SPK-WB Sports Pack for DSC-W290 Cybershot Camera Specifications
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Feb 18, 2010 22:20:28
