Canon S3

[Amy]

I have the S3, and you can't use a remote shutter release. The best you can do is use the self-timer. I used to have a Pentax SLR and there was a screw in the center of the shutter button where you could attach a remote shutter release; the S3 doesn't have that.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks for the replies. I've seen plenty of shutter releases for Canon cameras, but it seems as if they're just for the SLRs. Bummer. Good suggestion to try the self-timer, Amy. I will.

 

[Sanka]

Hey with a little bit of duct tape, and straws, and a coat hanger, I bet you could make one!


I too have the s3, and there is no shutter relase option for it. Not without a homemade solution anyway

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hey with a little bit of duct tape, and straws, and a coat hanger, I bet you could make one!

Now there's a thought!

 

[AbbysFamily]

I have the S2 and they removed it for that model.. The S1 had a remote (IR) release. Unfortunately, I don't think enough non-slr people use them

Bummer for us.

 

[2DDprincessesforever]

Hey Guys:

Going to WDW on Jan 14 for 10 nights.
Want a much better digital camera. One that can take pictures right away - one after another. One that takes the picture when I push the button with no delay - Like my Canon Rebel 2000 regualr camera. And I LOVE zoom.

Liking the Canon S3 or the Fuji S5200 (which is about $80-90 less).

I am a mom with 2 DD ages 6 and 3 1/2. Just want a good camera to catch them on the go. And to take lots of pictures to share with the family online.

Which do you experts suggest? Everytime I go to a store they always tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly so that I buy one or the other that they are selling. I want a non bias opinion from people that USE the cameras.

Thanks for your help!!!!!!!

 

[Master Mason]

Take a look at Steves or dpreview.

I think that anyone here that I am aware of that has either camera really likes them. I have seen fantastic photos with both.

I personally just ordered an S3 that I plan on giving my wife. When I travel and take my camera, it leaves her without one. Which she informed me of several times the last time I did that.... So she will have a great camera, that I would be willing to take with me if she needed the XT.

One thing to think about is the canon interface would already be familiar to you, which would make your learning curve a little less I would think.

 

[YEKCIM]

I have an S5200 and have been generally pleased with it, although I'm soon to make a move to dSLR-world. The S5200 has very little shutter lag, unlike many P&S models. However, it does *not* have the image stabilization that the S2 and S3 have. In addition, I find the flash to be unreliable. I have made some decent flash pix with it, but some have been terrible. Beyond just a very few feet, it's basically useless. On the other hand, its ISO800 capability is really very good for such a low price point. ISO1600 is pretty noisy, but might be the difference between a "noisy" (grainy) shot and no shot at all. I should add, too, that there is something of a learning curve involved, in order to get the best results, so you should spend some time practicing with the Fuji, should you decide on it, before you hit The World. Be sure to get adequate memory card(s) and a couple sets of rechargeable AA batt's. Battery life is very good, though. In six days in the parks in July 2006, I never ran a set "dry", although I always carried an extra set, just in case.

Examples of what the S5200 is capable of, even in the hands of a non-pro:

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/fasteddiew/DisneyWorld 2006/

Feel free to visit any of my other albums, if you like.

~YEKCIM

Edit: Have you considered Fuji's S6000fd, or is it out of your price range? It is a big improvement over the S5200 in many ways. A buddy of mine has one and says it is awesome.

 

[AbbysFamily]

I've never used the S5200, but given the above owners report, I'd 2nd the vote on the S3IS. It has a slightly longer zoom (12x vs 10x) and the IS. It is a great camera overall. I've been shooting digital for a long time, but when I got my S2 is when I finally got rid of my 35mm Rebel.
In my opinion, the S2 beats my Rebel in almost every way (the only things I miss are external flash and my remote trigger.)

 

[garris3404]

After lots or research (and reading this board), I bought my DW the S3 for Christmas.

 

[woodlandsparty]

I don't know anything about the Fuji, so I can't make any comment on that model, but I do have the S3.

The zoom is really incredible...it's one of my favorite features of the camera. I also really love the IS feature, it has really helped my photography a ton. The shutter lag time, is still not up to par with dSLR's, but it is fairly quick in comparison to my Sony CyberShot....though there still is a lot of hesitation in low light situations when using the camera in Auto mode.

All in all though, I am really pleased with the S3.

 

[ajwomic]

Well we broke down and bought an S3 to replace a kodak 4330 3.2, 3x bought in 2002. We mainly got it for the zoom features for school programs and sports,etc. But here is the rub...With my old, I consistently got really good, crisp, colorful pics without pre-focusing. My results with the S3 are inconsistent. Many more blurred, or with noise, even though I am now using the pre-focus.
I am also getting too many bright, I think overexposed pics like the flash is too bright. It seems that it's auto setting is not as good and being a novice, I do not always know what setting to use. Is this all user error? Why the incosistancy verses my old Kodak?? Any help appreciated!
Alicia

 

[2DDprincessesforever]

Thanks for all your input and opinions. They really did help.

I purchased a Canon S2 last night for $250.00 - I thought that was a good price because the best online price I could find was @$280 including shipping.

I liked the fact of the 12x zoom and the IS. Then I saw that it had a fireworks mode and I was sold.

I would have loved to have gotten the S3 - but since I am doing all this so last minute before we leave I figured I would save a little $ with the S2 use it for a year or two then upgrade to the S3.

Now my big question: How large of a SD card do I need?????? And can I use any brand of SD card - or are some better than others?????

When I was in WDW last Jan I took over 350 pictures with my Fuji S3000 and a 512mb XD card - not and SD card. That was using the best resolution of the pictures.

Can anyone help me with this confusion as I leave in 10 days??

Thanks so much!!!!!

 

[jann1033]

don't have that camera so if it's camera specific i don't know but i am wondering if you are getting it on all the auto modes? are you sure you are using the right auto mode for the circumstances?..the only reason i wonder is if your kodak was the easy share my daughter had the 4 mp and while some of her shots were fine,( outdoor bright light) low light were awful and i've seen some very good shots on here with your new camera. so it could be something wrong with your camera. can you change the iso on that camera?

 

[ajwomic]

It has a "main" auto and then several others, like night, sports, indoor, portrait, etc. The main auto is mainly what I was referring to, although I have not gotten ANY good ones with indoor, sports or night settings.
The iso on "auto is 80 or 100. You can raise it on manual to 400, but it is noisy.
Alicia

 

[AbbysFamily]

How big of a card? In general - it depends how you shoot. In my S2 a 1 gig card is about 450 pictures. If you have nowhere to download them, I'd spring for 2 for a trip so you don't have to worry about running out ( -- then again I shoot way more than average).

I personally stick to brand name cards, but in general you can't go too wrong overall. For example best buy has some PNY on sale right now (2 gig for $35 or a 3pack of 1 gig for $50).

As for the 'fireworks mode'.. Just a warning. I find it has too long of an exposure and doesn't work without a tripod. What I do is switch it over to Tv on the dial and try some different length exposures (1/30 to 1/2).

The mode you may love in that area is "night snapshot". Put up the flash and it flashes to light up the person, but is a slightly longer exposure to pick up details in the background.

I'd love to answer any other questions (but will you take me with you?? )

 

[AbbysFamily]

Seems a bit weird. My S2 (very close to the S3) doesn't allow much tweaking in the "auto" setting and does very well overall. I too wonder if you have a flaw/defect.

If you can, I'd suggest taking it to a camera store and trying it side by side with another S3. If the other one takes significantly different pictures, you may have a defective unit.

 

[Amy]

I have an S3, and I've also noticed a problem with noise & blur. I went from a Canon A70, 3mp and 3x zoom, to the S3, 6mp and 12x zoom. When using the zoom at its fullest, the depth of field is very shallow - I noticed it mostly when taking shots of my boys in marching band using the Sports mode and not adjusting any of the other settings, just letting "auto" do the work.

The noise surprised me - I just wasn't used to seeing a lot of noise with my A70. I'm no expert, and I don't know why, but I found this in The Missing Manual for Photoshop Elements 4:

Noise, the appearance of undesired graininess in an image, is a big problem with many digital cameras, especially those with small sensors and high megapixel counts. It's rare to find a fixed-lens camera with more than 5 megapixels that doesn't have some trouble with noise, especially in underexposed areas.

I don't understand why, but I guess going from a 3mp to a 6mp is the reason for the extra noise.

BTW, the Missing Manual goes on to say that if you shoot in RAW format you can correct a lot of the noise. I have no idea what RAW format is (a lot of the "good" photographers on this board use it), but I DO think there's an option on the S3 to let you shoot in RAW format.

 

[Amy]

Another thought - I think I remember reading in the S3 manual that in some of the modes the camera will automatically adjust the ISO depending on the lighting situation. I'm not near my manual right now, but one page had a little chart showing what ISO settings are used in the various modes. I haven't played around enough to figure out how to tell the camera to use only certain ISO's; last time I played around with some of the settings, I inadvertently set my camera to take wide-angle shots and couldn't figure out what I did until somebody here on the DIS helped me out!

 

[jann1033]

i just reread the review on steve's digicam...( hadn't read it for awhile) and it particularly mentions the sensor and processor as reducing noise over the s2, which i know was good as it has the same sensor and processor as my daughter's canon which takes great very noise free photos in low light( i think the s3 processor is the same as my rebel xt but i don't know about the sensor)..it also said on auto or high iso it picks the iso so if you are using high iso it would be noisier. it said the highest iso is 800 which would be noisy on most cameras... higher iso =more noise...it could be the night time modes and sports modes use 800 so you can get a faster shutter...i think it's a good idea to do what abby'sfamily suggested...take it back or if you got it online, just go check some out in a store and see if they all have the same problem although if they did i think you'd hear about it on more photo sites. i added the link to his sample pics...if your 's don't resemble these, i'd get your camera checked out
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is_samples.html