I’ve always wanted a waterproof camera which I could take with me to the beach but since I don’t go to the beach that often it wasn’t worth the investment. But with all the waterproof cases available for the iPhone right now I realized that might be my best option. I ended up buying and trying two very different cases, the Aquapac and the LifeProof.
The Aquapac isn’t really a case but more like a bag in which you slip your phone into and then seal with two knobs. Even with the phone inside you can still control it from the outside and since the case is transparent on both sides you can use the camera as well. You can throw in your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phone or whatever else you want since because it’s more of a bag you can just throw different sized devices into it. The case comes with a bright yellow lanyard which you can use to hang the phone around your neck or tie it to your jet ski or whatever. Also depending on how much air you leave in the bag before sealing it you can have it float on water which is handy in case it falls off the boat. But I did have one major issue with the bag and that’s underwater shooting. Because the case is made of soft plastic, once in the water it flexes and if it flexes in front of the lens which with me it kept doing then all the photos come out distorted. I also had a hard time using the volume buttons on the phone because I had to bend the bag to get to them and although you can make and receive calls with the bag on you’re not going to hear your caller well nor will they. But the case costs just KD9 so it’s a very affordable way to waterproof your phone.
The second case I got and tried was the LifeProof. This is a proper hard case that comes in two halves, you place your phone into one of the halves and then seal it by clicking into place the second half. The case is slightly larger than the phone so it doesn’t add much bulk and it allows you to fully control the screen and all the buttons while inside it. In fact I know someone who uses this case as his day to day phone cover. There’s a Goretex material covering the mic and earphone so it stops water from seeping in but allows you to talk and listen with just a slight decrease in volume. There’s also a solid glass piece over where the camera lens is so you can take pictures underwater without having to worry about any distortion. If you want to use waterproof headphones with your phone you can also do that since it comes with a special waterproof headphone adapter you just screw into place. The disadvantage with this case is the fact it only works with the iPhone 4/4s which means if you sell your phone you can’t use it with another one. It’s also more expensive than the Aquapac costing around KD15 on Amazon and it doesn’t float on the water and neither does it come with a lanyard.
Between the two covers I personally prefer the LifeProof. Although it’s more expensive it’s only by a few Dinars and the fact I can shoot underwater or use the case as my day to day case is a huge advantage. But, the Aquapac does have it’s own advantages as well namely the fact you can use it with a variety of phones and that it’s really easy to slip in or take out a phone from the case. Below are links to both products on Amazon where I purchased the cases from. When I ordered my LifeProof case the cheapest price in Kuwait was KD27. After I placed my order Blink dropped the price down to KD22 which is basically the same price it cost me to get my case from Amazon.
