Canon S3

[Soupermom]

Thanks!

 

[klmall]

I have Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP and Cody, Wyoming pictures taken with my Canon PowerShot G5 (similar in some features to the S2). Many of the shots were taken in Auto or Landscape mode and it's hard to go wrong in taking pictures in Yellowstone! I got so many of the hot springs etc. that I could easily paper a 12 x 12 room! I enlarged a couple to poster size in Snapfish for my wall at work.

Here's 3 of my favorites:

 

[Groucho]

Your A85 has a sensor size of 1/2.7" and the S3 has a sensor size of 1/2.5" - so the S3 has a slightly larger sensor. However, the S3 is packing in 50% more pixels - 6mp vs 4mp.

To put it mathetically... the A85 sensor is 5.371 x 4.035mm, the S3 is 5.76 x 4.29mm. The area of the A85 sensor is 21.67mm, the S3 is 24.71. So the S3 sensor is about 14% larger.

So... cramming 50% more pixels in an area 14% bigger means that you will be seeing more noise with the S3 than with your current A85. So, you're going to a camera that you can expect to perform worse, not better, in low light. What you'll gain is a more responsive camera with a lot more zoom, but at the expense of image quality.

If you're considering a DSLR, know that you can probably get one for cheaper than you think... for example, the Pentax K110D can be had for just under $400 after a $50 rebate. The current rebate ends today but there will probably be another one in a few weeks. You won't have the long zoom of the S3 (at least, not until you buy another lens) but you'll have a DSLR and everything that that entails - not only much more control, but a sensor that's nearly 15 times larger than the one in the S3. That means significantly better image quality especially in low-light situations.

Of course, if you spend a little more, you can get the K100D instead of the K100D, and get image stabilization, but that's another $75-100... it's very easy to get nickel-and-dimed with DSLRs. You'll want more lenses, then a nice tripod, plus a nice bag, maybe some filters, remote shutter release, more memory cards, etc, etc... it's a slippery slope.

 

[bethbuchall]

This is exactly the explanation that I needed. Now I'm really on the fence. A long time ago in my previous life (before children) I used to shoot with a 35 mm SLR (Canon AE-1), so I know that slippery slope. I really want that zoom...

I guess I have some serious thinking to do before laying out the money, and I should tell dh not to surprise me with an S3 quite yet.

Thank you very much for the information!

 

[AndrewWG]

Beth,

I was hoping that Groucho would chime in on this as he very technically savvy when it comes to these explainations! Thanks Groucho.

Also, I have a question about the Canon AE-1. If you still have the camera, would the lenses work with a digital rebel? I'm pretty sure that my old lenses from my film rebel will work with the digital rebel. That is making me re-think why I never bought a rebel DSLR to begin with. Granted, my lenses were not top of the line, but they would have given me a bit of a jump start. Perhaps the AE-1 has compatible lenses? Something to look in to. Does anyone here know if her lenses would work?

Andy

 

[AbbysFamily]

Unfortunately the AE-1 was FD mount, not EF... Not only was there the advent of the Electronic Focus, the mounts were different - bayonet vs breach.

So if she does have her old lenses, there is now way to bring them into the digital world.

 

[AndrewWG]

Beth,

While you are trying to decide on this, I will stick with the thread and try to show you different lighting situations with both cameras as often as I can. I don't shoot many pictures, so who knows how often I can post. Here are some pics I took tonight with both cameras at the same (or real close) settings. All pics were taken on a tripod.

Big Dipper with the A85:

Big Dipper with the S2 IS:

As I suspected, there really isn't much difference in the two images. I might actually like the A85 better due to the fact that I have some stray dots from the S2 for some reason. Possibly bad pixels that I never knew about or dust on the lens? They showed up in every picture I took at the same place on each pic so something is up with that. I took a pic of the inside of the lens cap and really only see one of them in that situation, so I just don't know. I erased them in photoshop on the big dipper shot above. The moon below didn't show them because the moon is right where the dots were showing up.

Moon with the A85:

Moon with the S2 IS:

Now this one is pretty obvious. The S2 simply rocked in this situation, due to the zoom.

Well, that is it for now. I will try to post as many pics as I can.

Andy

 

[AndrewWG]

Unfortunately the AE-1 was FD mount, not EF... Not only was there the advent of the Electronic Focus, the mounts were different - bayonet vs breach.

So if she does have her old lenses, there is now way to bring them into the digital world.

Bummer. There goes that idea.

Andy

 

[jann1033]

don't know about ae cameras but any eos ( or ef ) canon lenses will work with any eos camera, including the digital rebels...some third party ie sigma need to be rechipped to work but if they have the chips they will do it( cost me i think $14 including shipping) you can email sigma and they will tell you( they had a list posted but think that is no longer on their site). tokina or tamron, i don't know what if anything they will do.

sorry forgot to go to page 2...again...however, i do see fd mounts all the time on ebay so maybe you could sell them their for enough to get something else

 

[jenr812]

Thanks for the links. I am trying soooo hard to justify purchasing the S3

 

[jenr812]

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

DH just told me about the Sony. Which of course, just frustrated and perplexed me more

 

[jenr812]

For any Mypoints folks out there - Target also carries the S3, for $349.99 - there are codes for 10% off floating around, which brings the price to the same as Amazon's price...and you get 10 points per dollar from Target.

Oooh! Good catch! I am always so disappointed that amazon doesn't participate in mypoints and I loooove Target

 

[jenr812]

This it totally OT, but I went to the S3 website to ask a few questions. Thought I'd ad an avitar to my profile. OMG!!!!!!! I have never seen such offensive avitar choices in my life. ICK! SCARY!!

Be warned if you decide to visit those boards and create a profile!!!

I actually went there and registered JUST to see what the avatars looked like based on your post

 

[bethbuchall]

You are all so nice and helpful here!

Andrew thank you for the photos. They are a big help.

I didn't have the best lenses for my AE-1, because I didn't have a lot of time between struggling college student, first mortgage, and motherhood. I think I'll keep what I have for the moment, though that is a good idea. I can't remember when I last used the camera, but the thick layer of dust on the camera bag suggests that it has been too long. Somewhere around here I have some basic darkroom equipment, too.

My birthday is in May (along with Mother's Day and our anniversary), so that is most likely when I'll need to make this decision.

Thanks again for all your information and patience!
Beth

 

[Soupermom]

Scary, no?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

DH just told me about the Sony. Which of course, just frustrated and perplexed me more

Check out what it uses for memory cards, it may be different than what you use now which would require an additional expense to buy new ones.

 

[jenr812]

Check out what it uses for memory cards, it may be different than what you use now which would require an additional expense to buy new ones.

That wouldn't bother me *too* much if the camera was better. I just can't decide. Of course, I gotta raise the cash first anyway LOL

 

[SplshMtn99]

This link for PBase photo site is for pics taken by Canon S3. They come up randomly, but if you see a similar type subject, click the photo & you'll go to its album. Settings are listed under pics.

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/powershot_s3_is Hard to see, but click "MORE" to get more samples. Its after where it says "Random Canon S3 photos from 21900 samples".


I just LOVE browsing thru pics there. You'll be able to tell what's auto & what's "fancy". LOL

 

[Groucho]

The moon photo isn't quite fair, as the A85 one is blown out - which may be harder to avoid because it's smaller in the actual photo so the camera may have a harder time exposing it correctly... a good "real world" noise comparison would be taking an indoor photo with some varied colors with no flash.

As for the old AE-1, we have one of those sitting on the shelf, too. It was my wife's from when she was taking photography in college... and we only have the single 50mm lens. If you're used to using a film SLR, I would agree that it's probably best to wait a little longer and buy a proper DSLR.

I also know the feeling about the camera collecting dust... my K1000 sat completely untouched for at least 2-3 years, until I got my DSLR, and was able to use my existing lenses, and was also inspired to use the film camera. For much, so much of it is just the tactile sensations of a "proper" lens with a real focus ring (and zoom ring, if it's not a prime) that are a large part of the fun of photography, and the inspiration to try to take better photos. I never felt that with either of the digital PnSs I had (even though they were pretty nice and I was mostly happy with them) and I don't feel it with my wife's pocket PnS digicam.

 

[AndrewWG]

The moon photo isn't quite fair, as the A85 one is blown out - which may be harder to avoid because it's smaller in the actual photo so the camera may have a harder time exposing it correctly... a good "real world" noise comparison would be taking an indoor photo with some varied colors with no flash.

Groucho,

For some reason, the A85 was telling me that it was focusing properly on the moon and I changed the shutter speeds dramatically to try to get a good one but it just kept coming out all blown out like that. It just couldn't handle the shot for some reason.

Just for kicks, I tried the moon again with the S2 last night and got some better ones, but still not totally crisp and clear like I would like despite the night being VERY clear. I imagine that this is mainly due to the pics being shot at "48x" on the zoom. I have never had really great pics going beyond the 12x optical zoom and into the digital zoom. Stay in the optical zoom range, and most pics are pretty decent though.

Andy