Canon S3

[jann1033]

I had an S3 and the things I liked were the zoom, great for getting pics of the mearcats and tigers at AK.
The swivel LCD allowed me to get awkward pics as in a flower against a blue sky without me having to bend much.
I used it on P mode and mainly kept the ISO at 100 except for the parade where I used 400 and used free noiseware when I got home to clean up the pics.
As far as quality went, the night shots were very good, the others taken in the day at the parks were just average.
What I did not like was that it would hunt for ages to try to focus in some conditions and these to me were vital. On our tile at Epcot it failed to focus as they are all grey. On rides like POTC and Pooh where you go by quite quickly, it would not take the shot at all or only when you had gone past. Others in our group had ordinary compact cheap cameras and had no trouble.
So based on this and the fact it is rather big if you want a camera to take with you every day, I have got rid of it.

sorry to go ot and in no way is this meant to imply anything about the post i quoted but it brought this up in my mind & i wonder about this...i see people all the time with their little easy share type cameras taking photos i know i would have a difficult time getting with a f2.8 lens...i have come to the conclusion either1) they don't care if their photos look like crip and only print them at 3x5 so don't realize how bad they really are or 2) they know something i sure don't..and with the nice little graphic by groucho i really don't see how they could be getting a decent shot ... ie our zoo has a rainforest that has very low light but then bright light, basically to mimic a tree canopy that is murder to get evenly lit with out either over exposed or underexposed. i just have a hard to believe they are getting decent photos with their $150 cameras. any thoughts about this?( not trying to be mean about cheaper cameras just saying something has to be off there)

 

[shirleyb]

Thanks, I am getting ready to buy this camera, and that's a good price. It's about the same at newegg right now, I'm just checking all my bases.

 

[Groucho]

sorry to go ot and in no way is this meant to imply anything about the post i quoted but it brought this up in my mind & i wonder about this...i see people all the time with their little easy share type cameras taking photos i know i would have a difficult time getting with a f2.8 lens...i have come to the conclusion either1) they don't care if their photos look like crip and only print them at 3x5 so don't realize how bad they really are or 2) they know something i sure don't..and with the nice little graphic by groucho i really don't see how they could be getting a decent shot ... ie our zoo has a rainforest that has very low light but then bright light, basically to mimic a tree canopy that is murder to get evenly lit with out either over exposed or underexposed. i just have a hard to believe they are getting decent photos with their $150 cameras. any thoughts about this?( not trying to be mean about cheaper cameras just saying something has to be off there)

I agree 100% - I think the really "cheap cameras" that seem to be getting the shot no matter what are probably producing quality that none of us would be satisfied with... and if they're focusing easily inside a dark ride, then they're probably set to focus on darn near anything and you'll definitely get a blurry, noisy, dark photo. Usually the real cheap ones will just hunt and hunt for focus in such an environment, though... or you'll see a lot of focus assist lights flashing around!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

 

[Pea-n-Me]

They lowered the price to $309.95 - updated title.

 

[nbodyhome]

I have an S2 (which I got for Christmas, it was almost this same price!) What is the difference with the S3/S2 besides the MP's?

I love my S2!!!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The differences probably aren't significant enough for you to upgrade, but here they are, from the Amazon link:

Successor to the popular PowerShot S2 IS, the latest addition to the PowerShot S-series incorporates a 6.0-megapixel CCD sensor, Canon's renowned optical Image Stabilizer technology, and video functionality rivalling that of dedicated digital video camcorders. Sporting a striking new finish in gunmetal grey, the compact PowerShot S3 IS answers the demands of advanced photographers with several improvements over its predecessor, including an increased sensitivity range of ISO 80 to ISO 800, a larger 2.0-inch vari-angle LCD screen, widescreen (16:9) recording, new movie features, and an additional Sports mode.

 

[Soupermom]

What kind of memory disks/cards does this camera use? The little "postage" stamp ones? Any deals on these anywhere? TIA

 

[jann1033]

sd card,
from an email i got this morning:
.s. Our favorite SD memory card, the fold-it-up-and-stick-it-right-in-your-USB-port Sandisk 2GB, is now at an absurdly low $37 on Amazon. Get it while it’s hot, it used to be $90!

yoowsa, great price wonder if they think s4 is coming soon

 

[CookieGVB]

I have the S2 - I think it only goes up to ISO 400. Hmmmm...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

sd card,
from an email i got this morning:
.s. Our favorite SD memory card, the fold-it-up-and-stick-it-right-in-your-USB-port Sandisk 2GB, is now at an absurdly low $37 on Amazon. Get it while it’s hot, it used to be $90!

yoowsa, great price wonder if they think s4 is coming soon

Yes, I also think the Sony model has given the S3 some competition!

 

[Soupermom]

the fold-it-up-and-stick-it-right-in-your-USB-port

Okay...maybe another dumb question...what do they mean by "folding it up"?

 

[budbeerlady]

Wow, that is a decent price.

 

[jann1033]

the fold-it-up-and-stick-it-right-in-your-USB-port

Okay...maybe another dumb question...what do they mean by "folding it up"?

I didn't check it out as mine uses compact flash but i think that part might have been a joke since it was on a page about how to make a folded up paper pin hole camera

 

[Soupermom]

Well, I'm not sure but I just received an add from Radio Shack and they have flashcards that are bent at a 90 degree angle. What is that about?

Oh, BTW...Radio Shack is having a big sale on all of their memory cards for digital cameras. My add came in the paper, not sure if you can see it online. A 4GB, normally $180 I think was down to $50 or something like that. HTH someone! They had 9 or so to choose from.

 

[Soupermom]

I just checked Amazon...price is up to $314 this evening. Does anyone know how many batteries this takes? I've read 4 and 2.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I saw the price went up, LOL, will have to update title again.

It takes 4 batteries - I just bought it myself in November.

 

[shirleyb]

I researched this camera for a few months, and I am still blown away by some of the features! I can't wait to get time to actually go out and play with it.

I remember seeing once a site that was pretty much devoted to the S3 with forums and tips etc, but unfortunately I didn't bookmark it. Does anyone else have this site bookmarked?

 

[Jeanne B]

Amazon will refund the difference if the price drops within 30 days after you buy from them so if anyone here buys the S3 make sure you keep watching the price even after you buy it!!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm glad you mentioned that, Jeanne. I knew they had a good 30 day policy about something but I couldn't remember exactly what it was and didn't want to post unless I was sure. I bought my camera from them.