Lowepro D-Pods 30 case for Canon G9 compact digital camera

Since I bought the Canon G9 I have been using an old HP calculator case (see photo below) to protect it when I’m on the move, but I have now finally received the case I planned to use; a Lowepro D-Pods 30 – this is my short review of it in use.

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Description and specifications
The D-Pods 30 was designed by Lowepro for small digital cameras. It is made from a black stretchy, water-resistant fabric and weighs (without the shoulder strap) around 70g; it has a Velcro secured belt/SlipLock™ compatible loop on the back, a battery/accessory pocket on the front of the case and a memory card pocket in the inside of the front flap. You can also slip something under the memory card pocket (as shown in the photo below). It also comes with a removable shoulder strap and the table below lists the dimensions. In the UK it costs around £7.99.

	Interior - Inches / cm	Exterior - Inches / cm
Height	4.9 / 12.5	5.4 / 13.8
Width	2.8 / 7.0	3.2 / 8.2
Depth	1.4 / 3.5	2.5 / 6.3

Lowepro D-Pods 30 case with Canon G9 in it, a spare battery in the front pocket, a spare SD card in the memory card pocket; also showing the extra slip in pocket behind the memory card pocket. The G9 has an Op/Tech Cam QD wrist strap fitted.

What is it like in use?
Well the good news is the G9 fits snugly into the pouch; it is a tight fit, but being stretchy it is easy to get the camera in and out. Being a tight fit, however, means that you can feel the shutter release button, dials and flash bracket on the top surface of the camera quite distinctly.

While you can fit a spare NB-2LH battery in the front pocket (as shown in the photograph) it does make the whole package rather bulky so I actually keep it in the bottom of the case, with the battery cover on, where it nestles in making the case more streamlined in use. Also having the battery in the front pocket makes it quite difficult to slip the camera in and out of the case – I found that I had to take the battery out, put the camera in and then put the battery in again.

The weight of the whole package in the photo above is 500g (1.1lbs).

A SD card fits neatly into the memory card pocket, which is made from stiffer material than the stretchy outer case. If, however, your camera takes Compact Flash (CF) cards then it might be worth knowing that the memory card pocket is not big enough to take a CF card. CF cards will slip in behind the memory card pocket, although it is not as secure as the proper pocket and might easily fall out. The front pocket takes a SD or CF card in a protective case quite securely.

I have not used the neck strap so have no comment to make on it other than it looks like the standard one that Lowepro supplies with most of its small cases.

Conclusion
All-in-all it is a pretty good choice for a Canon G9, being a snug fit it is no bulkier than it needs to be and gives good enough protection against accidental knocks and abrasion that occurs when these things rattle around inside bags, glove compartments and sundry other places day-in and day-out.

There is, however, no room for any much larger accessories such as a Lensmate, wide angle attachments or optical finder – for these you will need a bigger case.

I have now tried the D-Pods 30 with a Ricoh GX100 - click here to read the post.
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