Canon S3

[Amy]

Has anyone been able to get some good shots of the Bird hat does the aerial ballet in FoLK? This is something I hope to get on my next trip especially if it is a specific performer that we know from when my daughter was in school.

Is this who you mean? This is the only semi-good shot I got of her in action, and it's not very good. She was moving way too fast!

Here's another where you can see her face in the background:

Both were shot using the Sports mode on my Canon S3, and I ran them through Noiseware.

 

[Amy]

Well, I lied back when I said I didn't use Program mode for any of my night shots - I found one. I DO remember that I used the top of a garbage can and set my camera on it since I didn't feel like digging out my Gorillapod.

Here you go - used Program mode, ISO 200, aperture 3.2, shutter 0.6:

Hmmm, looks like I need to crop out those annoying street lights on the left and right.......

 

[fan_of_small_world]

Amy, I'm looking at this thread with my DD5 next to me. When she saw your shot of the castle at night, she said, "Ooh, I think I want to live THERE!"

I'm really impressed by the pictures on this thread. They make a really good argument for the S3, which we're considering. I have to admit, though, that we're also thinking about making the jump to a DSLR, so I'm not sure yet what we'll do.

 

[Precious1971]

These are all wonderful shoots. I have been thinking of crossing over to digital (I know I am a few years behind the times ). I currently have a Canon Rebel and was think about the XT or XTi but I can even begin to imagine spending that kind of money So I started to look at the S3 IS and I think you guys are pushing me towards it more and more. I love the zoom you can get with that camara, can't get it with the XT unless I spend more money . Thanks for all the great pictures.

 

[Precious1971]

I haven't posted pictures before, so I hope this works!
(All of the photos are unedited.)

WOW!!!! Those are wonderful pictures. Love the black and white with color. If those are unedited how do you do that with just the camera.

 

[madge]

WOW!!!! Those are wonderful pictures. Love the black and white with color. If those are unedited how do you do that with just the camera.

there's a setting that allows the camera to pick one color (of your choice) and makes the rest of the shot black & white. It's very cool.

I took this one yesterday - I was focusing in on the yellow slide, but my grass is so dry, the camera picked up on that as well. LOL.

 

[DISFANSHAN]

I recently purchased the Canon S3 IS after all of the info I received here!
Anyway, we are leaving in 4 days for Disneyland and Hawaii, and I was wondering if someone could tell me the features on my camera that would:

1. Be useful on my trip (taking pics of rainbows, waterfalls, the kids at the beach, etc.)
2. Not take long to learn or understand

I do fully intend to learn everything about this camera, but right now I don't have enough time to read through the entire manual. I have taken a few pics on the Auto setting, which have come out great! But for now I just want your opinion on what I should be concentrating on to take excellent pictures on my vacation!!
Thanks everyone!

 

[jann1033]

i'd read the manual on the plane trip over if not before. do it with your camera in hand because that is the only way to get familiar with it...usually it tells you in the manual what auto modes work best for what situation
no offense but 4 days pretrip is not enough time to really get familiar with your camera to the point i would want to be setting my own shutter etc if you haven't ever done that before. you want great photos and would be better off sticking in auto or p at the very least then spending time when you get back learning to really use the other feature.
sorry, i know this is not what you want to hear but you don't want the bad photos anyone would get from experimenting either

 

[Precious1971]

there's a setting that allows the camera to pick one color (of your choice) and makes the rest of the shot black & white. It's very cool.

I took this one yesterday - I was focusing in on the yellow slide, but my grass is so dry, the camera picked up on that as well. LOL.

Thanks for the info.
I think i am going to love this feature. I am already thinking of using this setting in different ways.... Can't wait!!!!
Thanks again

 

[DISFANSHAN]

jan1033,
No, I appreciate your honesty. I have been "playing around" with the camera for a few days. I have no problem leaving it on the Auto mode (I've been VERY happy with those pictures I have taken in Auto so far). I just thought if there were one or two settings or features that might make some pics a little more special, then I would concentrate on learning them pre-trip. I am travelling with a 2 1/2 year who loves to touch my camera, (and who I have to occupy on a VERY long flight), so I can't really play with the camera on the plane.
But thanks for your tips!!! I do appreciate it!!!

 

[AndrewWG]

jan1033,
No, I appreciate your honesty. I have been "playing around" with the camera for a few days. I have no problem leaving it on the Auto mode (I've been VERY happy with those pictures I have taken in Auto so far). I just thought if there were one or two settings or features that might make some pics a little more special, then I would concentrate on learning them pre-trip. I am travelling with a 2 1/2 year who loves to touch my camera, (and who I have to occupy on a VERY long flight), so I can't really play with the camera on the plane.
But thanks for your tips!!! I do appreciate it!!!

Nah, the 2 1/2 yr old will be asleep before you know it. Planes are boring and the hum of the engine usually will do the trick. Then take out the camera and start playing!

I use the S2 IS right now and I would most likely keep it on AUTO if I were you. You will get great photos and will not mess with a setting that you forget to set back to normal and mess up a ton of shots afterwards. I have done it and, now that I am used to the camera, don't do it anymore but it takes time to get used to it. Just enjoy the trip and shoot on AUTO as much as possible. If you can learn a trick or two before you go, all the better, but be careful to set the camera back to AUTO before taking other pics.

Andy

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I recommend looking at what options you have in the P, Av and Tv modes. That's where I started, and it's where I take most of my pictures. I only use full Manual if I can't get what I want with any of the other modes.

I like Av mode the best as I like the ability to pick the largest apertures for getting the best low-ISO, low-light pictures I can. I let the camera pick the Shutter Speed, and simply be careful that it's fast enough for what I want to do before bumping up the ISO. Once you hit ISO400, you're going to need Noiseware (or something similar) to get a good pic.

Also, study how to use the Macro and Super Macro mode ... you're bound to see a flower or something small that you'd like a nice close-up of.

 

[madge]

I recently purchased the Canon S3 IS after all of the info I received here!
Anyway, we are leaving in 4 days for Disneyland and Hawaii, and I was wondering if someone could tell me the features on my camera that would:

1. Be useful on my trip (taking pics of rainbows, waterfalls, the kids at the beach, etc.)
2. Not take long to learn or understand

I do fully intend to learn everything about this camera, but right now I don't have enough time to read through the entire manual. I have taken a few pics on the Auto setting, which have come out great! But for now I just want your opinion on what I should be concentrating on to take excellent pictures on my vacation!!
Thanks everyone!

as a new-ish S3 user (less than a month) - my advice is to use the P setting, paying attention to your surroundings. You can set the ISO at 80 (or maybe 100, for an inside shot) and also choose between sunny, cloudy, different kinds of lighting, etc. settings. I've had much better pictures doing that than I have with using the AUTO button. I know I've seen settings on the camera for beach and fireworks, but I don't know how well they work.

You might want to invest in the .pdf version of the S3 short courses book - and take it to Kinko's to make a copy you can refer to while on vacation. It's specific to this camera, and it might give you the information you need in an easy-to-read format.

 

[ukcatfan]

From a very basic look at it, try the P mode so that you can control the ISO and when the flash goes off. Do not over use the flash. Also, if you plan on any fireworks shots, invest in a tripod. Even a tabletop version will work.

Kevin

 

[meliahz]

I can't decide!!! I'm leaning towards the Canon S3 because I LOVE the features it has, but it's sooooooooooo BIG!!! I have a few questions about the video on the S3. How is it (quality wise)? How long of a video can you take? When you're taking video and you snap a still shot, does it interrupt the video? I think the answers to these questions will make my decision. Please help!!!

Thank you!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I can't decide!!! I'm leaning towards the Canon S3 because I LOVE the features it has, but it's sooooooooooo BIG!!! I have a few questions about the video on the S3.

1. How is it (quality wise)?
2. How long of a video can you take?
3. When you're taking video and you snap a still shot, does it interrupt the video?

I've numbered your questions for simplicity in answering!

1) Excellent, it's very high quality 640x480/30fps.

2.) About 8.5 min at a time; a file limit of 1G. You can immediately start another movie when one stops, so the limit's not that bad.

3.) Yes, for about a second. You'll also hear the shutter noise in the video (unless the camera is on 'mute' I guess). However, you can zoom while taking video and *not* hear the zoom noise.

I've used my S3 video recently at a rock concert ... basically just recording each song as a separate video. I filled up a 1G and 2G card pretty quick!

Just watch out for the microphone levels, the band was quite loud and overwhelmed the mic a couple of times.

 

[meliahz]

Thanks LPZ STITCH!

Also wanted to know . . .

1. What do you think about the size of the camera?
I know it's pretty small considering everything it's got, but do you think
it's big and heavy?

2. Hows the wide angle feature?
I know the wide angle on the SD 800 is good.

3. Is it pretty easy to use (like switching features ~ doing black and white,
then switching to "normal color", etc)?

Sorry for all the questions!

Thanks again for your help

 

[gabbyrosebud]

Gabby - I tried using program mode for night shots, but didn't have much luck, even bumping up the ISO to 800, I didn't like the way they turned out. (I didn't use a tripod; if you've got a tripod, you might be ok.) Rather than waste my time trying to figure out which settings were best and end up missing the whole fireworks show, I used trusty Sports mode for my night shots - the camera uses a fast shutter speed and adjusts the aperture and ISO accordingly. Then I ran the photos thru Noiseware. And yes, I used the continuous shutter when shooting the fireworks; ended up with tons of photos, lots (a WHOLE lot) were deleted.

Play around with the camera; I wished I'd been able to experiment with fireworks at home before we went to WDW. If you can shoot some fireworks (like the 4th of July) before you go, do it!

Thank you so much for the tips! I can't wait to use this camera in Disney.

 

[WickedWench]

But so you can see, here's a shot of Chip & Dale taken using Sports mode. Here's before Noiseware:

And after using Noiseware:

I don't see a difference? Is it just me?

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I don't see a difference? Is it just me?

Look carefully at the inside of the piano lid. On the first pic you'll see a grainy pattern, and in the second picture it's much smoother.

The same graininess can be seen in the backs of C&D's heads in the first pic, gone in the second.

The graininess is sensor noise from using a higher ISO than 100 or 200. The S3's noise starts to pick up at ISO400 and is very noisy at ISO800. Noiseware (or any noise reduction software) combats this, and makes smoother pictures.