Charlton, back to winning ways last week with a 2-0 success over Sunderland which ended a six-match losing streak, were missing Jay Bothroyd after his mystery black-out. But 11-goal Darren Bent was fit despite a slight hamstring strain earlier in the week. So Curbishley kept an unchanged side for the Premiership clash. Skipper Luke Young make his 200th Premiership appearance while centre-back Chris Perry brought up the 350 league match milestone.
Bent had the first chance of the game but his dribbling effort and left-foot shot lacked power and Mike Pollitt comfortably saved.
Addicks The Scottish international let fly with a fierce shot that beat Kiely all ends up but crashed back off the bar.
There would be no reprieve for the visitors, however, as Camara snapped up the loose ball and drilled home a shot that beat the despairing Chris Powell on the line.
But Wigan took the lead after nine minutes after Charlton were slow defending a throw from the left. Young switched off, Lee McCulloch latched onto a throw-in from Leighton Baines, then drifted inside unopposed and hammered a shot on the turn, which beat Dean Kiely as it thundered against the crossbar. Camara - who had earlier missed the target with a header - swooped on it, firing home off Chris Powell who was stationed on the line.
A couple of minutes later, the Latics could have had a second when Camara's pace again caught out the Charlton defence. But as he tried to find the best angle for the shot, good defending from Perry kept Wigan at bay as the defender got the ball clear.
The Addicks were struggling to make any impact in the attacking third, but they finally conjured up something and were denied an equaliser in the 27th minute when Ambrose’s lofted pass found Bent but his first-time right-foot shot was saved well the alert Pollitt using his legs.
Then Kiely when forced to dive to his left did well to keep out a Bullard screamer from range on 31 minutes. But the Charlton keeper was almost left embarrassed after hitting a poor clearance to Jason Roberts, who breezed past Chris Perry all too easily on the left five minutes before the break but fortunately he had recovered his ground to prevent any damage when the shot came in.
Camara scampered away yet again on 43 minutes and although Kiely could only parry his low shot one handed, lurking Roberts was prevented from tucking away the loose ball.
It came as no surprise to see the introduction of Shaun Bartlett at the start of the second half with the ineffective Thomas making way, while Ambrose switched to the left in a 4-4-2 formation with Murphy moving to the right.
Bent tumbled in the box under Pollitt's challenge but the keeper looked to be quite a way from the ball and television replays showed no illegal contact between the striker and keeper was made.
Then seven minutes into the second period after yet more dire defending by the visitors, Wigan finally got the second goal they had been threatening. From just inside the host’s half Roberts rose well to nod the ball on from De Zeeuw’s hoist. Camara nipped in smartly between Hreidarsson and Kiely as both waited for the other to mop up the danger. Neither did and Camara poked it into the bottom right corner.
It got even worse in the 63rd minute for Charlton as Camara completed his hat-trick by virtue of sheer persistence inside the six-yard area and cashing in on some more laughable defensive work.
Leighton Baines all too easily bustled his way down the left before the ball bounced off the luckless Perry's chest, and Camara tapped it into the net.
Then Curbishley replaced the off colour Ambrose with Jonathan Spector, before Bent had the ball in the net but the effort was correctly ruled offside.