Canon S3

[eznunzit]

Okay time to stop lurkin'. Here our 2 waterdrops that actually came out. I couldn't figure out some of the manual settings and tried at work and home to get it right. I finally got it in macro which I know you guys said not to do. I am also including the 1st picture I took with the camera. I had it shipped to work. I am a bank trainer so it took a little while to find something fun to shot for the 1st shot....

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hey, nice job eznunzit! Glad you joined the fun! :

 

[TamieH]

Andy - Thanks so much for the clip. It was awesome. This helps a lot and I plan to buy tomorrow.

What type of memory card do you use when recording in video? Do you have anything extra on your camera (adapters & etc) I am trying to figure out what accessories I should buy to go with it. If I get it now, I have plenty of time to play before the October cruise.

 

[AndrewWG]

Tammie,

Sure, no problem!

Just be sure to get a fast card for video. That is about my best advice. It is also good for sports mode shooting as you get at least one pic per second that has to be written to the card. An example of a fast card would be anything like the SanDisk Ultra II SD cards. I would go with a 1GB or 2GB (not larger), but get plenty of them if you plan on shooting alot of video and don't have a way of downloading them to a computer daily. Also, just about any card that says 60X or higher should work just fine and will probably be cheaper than the Ultra II.

If you are buying at Office Depot for this sale, I would just ask them for an SD card with a speed of 60X or greater. They seem to sell a line of SD cards by the manufacturer ACP-EP that have both 60X and 150X versions, but I have never heard of that manufacturer. They sell Kingston brand that have a lifetime warranty, but I 'm not sure if they have the faster Kingston cards.

Actually in looking at the Office Depot site more and more, I would probably not invest much in their products. They are very overpriced and if you have some time before your trip, you can get much better deals online. If you simply can't wait to get out shooting pics, I guess I would buy the ACP-EP Extreme Performance 60X Secure Digital Card, 2.0GB at Office Depot for $25. That is a great price, but again, I have never heard of them and they only carry a 5 yr warranty. In 5 years will you still be using SD memory? Who knows.... I personally would go somewhere else like Staples to buy my memory cards when they are on sale or get them online. A few online places like zipzoomfly.com even have free 2 day shipping. Newegg.com is usually cheap shipping costs too.

Andy

 

[HLAuburn]

Tammie,

Sure, no problem!

Just be sure to get a fast card for video. That is about my best advice. It is also good for sports mode shooting as you get at least one pic per second that has to be written to the card. An example of a fast card would be anything like the SanDisk Ultra II SD cards. I would go with a 1GB or 2GB (not larger), but get plenty of them if you plan on shooting alot of video and don't have a way of downloading them to a computer daily. Also, just about any card that says 60X or higher should work just fine and will probably be cheaper than the Ultra II.

If you are buying at Office Depot for this sale, I would just ask them for an SD card with a speed of 60X or greater. They seem to sell a line of SD cards by the manufacturer ACP-EP that have both 60X and 150X versions, but I have never heard of that manufacturer. They sell Kingston brand that have a lifetime warranty, but I 'm not sure if they have the faster Kingston cards.

Actually in looking at the Office Depot site more and more, I would probably not invest much in their products. They are very overpriced and if you have some time before your trip, you can get much better deals online. If you simply can't wait to get out shooting pics, I guess I would buy the ACP-EP Extreme Performance 60X Secure Digital Card, 2.0GB at Office Depot for $25. That is a great price, but again, I have never heard of them and they only carry a 5 yr warranty. In 5 years will you still be using SD memory? Who knows.... I personally would go somewhere else like Staples to buy my memory cards when they are on sale or get them online. A few online places like zipzoomfly.com even have free 2 day shipping. Newegg.com is usually cheap shipping costs too.

Andy

What do you recommend as far as batteries go? I didn't get any accessories today, so I definitely need to make a trip to pick up a few things. I don't think the 16mb card and AA batteries that come w/ the camera are going to last too long!

 

[Dan Murphy]

The video is excellent IMO. Not camcorder quite, but darn good.

Here is a short CP segment from '05......


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8255250883169915165&q=murphy+candlelight&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

And if you click on the 'From User' link in the right column, you can see a few more. Quality degraded a bit in the upload, better when viewing the actual file.

 

[AndrewWG]

What do you recommend as far as batteries go? I didn't get any accessories today, so I definitely need to make a trip to pick up a few things. I don't think the 16mb card and AA batteries that come w/ the camera are going to last too long!

Nope, the 16MB card will last about 5 pics and the batteries will probably die before you get those 5 pics! Actually, probably not but I would just suggest you use regular AA alkalines for now and pick yourself up a nice set of rechargables in the 2000-2500 mAh range in the future. I have had VERY good luck with even non brand name alkalines. I get many shots from them. I recently went back to rechargables (thanks handicap18!) and they have been working great too.

As far as other accessories go, they sell a barrel that can go on the camera (around the lens) so you can attach filters. I got one from beachcamera.com for like $12. I have one on the camera but I don't use filters anymore since reading all the info on the Dis and I think the photos I take now are much clearer. I just keep the barrel on the camera as added protection in case I drop the camera or something. That is why I had to buy the S2 to begin with. Dropped my A85 and ruined the lens. Still works, but it won't for long... I can't say that the barrel will protect it all that much though. Just gives me a little bit of reassurance. Plus this camera has a neck strap and not a wrist strap. The wrist strap is why the A85 fell in the first place.

Andy

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Just be sure to get a fast card for video. That is about my best advice. It is also good for sports mode shooting as you get at least one pic per second that has to be written to the card. An example of a fast card would be anything like the SanDisk Ultra II SD cards. I would go with a 1GB or 2GB (not larger), but get plenty of them if you plan on shooting alot of video and don't have a way of downloading them to a computer daily. Also, just about any card that says 60X or higher should work just fine and will probably be cheaper than the Ultra II.

I remember reading on another site about people testing their S3s with various high-speed cards. Again, this is only anecdotal, but no one seemed to be able to see a noticeable difference between the 60x and the 133x/150x cards *in* the camera ... the 60x was able to keep up with video and hi-speed continuous with no problems or slowdowns.

The 133x/150x are faster to download to PC from, though.

Based on these unscientific tests, if you want to save a little $$$, you can buy more of the 60x cards and still get the best performance the S3 can dish out....

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

SplshMtn99: Nice job! Taking those first couple of steps away from Auto can be intimidating; but, they're the surest path to better pictures! Once you learn what the settings can do for you, you'll start to look at photographic opportunities differently. I know it's been true for me!

jenr812: All right ... where are the pictures!? You've had your S3 for at least 17 hours, now! Hope the kids are feeling better....

eznunzit: Nice desk cows! The first drop is cooler looking and in better focus, too!

 

[S. C.]

And i have to leave for work

Guess what i will be reading today during my breaks & lunch?

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Welcome to the "family"!!!!

Feel free to snag the image tag from my sig., if you want it!

And, don't forget to post your first pics over on the S3 thread!!

 

[hjd0411]

Congratulations!! I was the same with the manuals when I got my camera! I am going out today to have a practice with the camera and a few different settings if I can!!! And yes, we want to see you first attempt on the S3 board.
Welcome to the "family"...

 

[eznunzit]

I really loved this assignment. I told my friend (owner of the desk cows) that we should put our logo behind it so that the drop will have our logo and then blow them up to poster size. We have very bare walls (and incredibly high ceilings) in our training center at the moment and are looking to use our own pictures to fill the space.

A couple of us our going to take a digital photgraphy 101 course.

SplshMtn99 I loved your drops BTW.

I would say we have all done quite well.

 

[TamieH]

Now its time to play, play, play.... Thanks for everyone's help. I bought the 1GB highspeed card since they didn't have anything larger, so I will shop for extra's on the internet later. So exciting!

 

[PoohJen]

The video is excellent IMO. Not camcorder quite, but darn good. Here is a short CP segment from '05......

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8255250883169915165&q=murphy+candlelight&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

And if you click on the 'From User' link in the right column, you can see a few more. Quality degraded a bit in the upload, better when viewing the actual file.

Wow - Great sound! Pic quality not so great at widest, but as you said, may have degraded on the upload. The zoom in was much clearer.

Now I'm just trying to come up with enough excuses, er, I mean, justifications, to run out and get it!

 

[fairestoneofall]

I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I went to Best Buy and got my price adjustment tonight!

 

[AndrewWG]

Dan,

Since I'm not as good as most people on this forum, where was that video taken? It looks like Epcot somewhere. Also, when is this performed? Is it every Christmas time? I hope to see it on my late November trip.

Andy

 

[HLAuburn]

I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I went to Best Buy and got my price adjustment tonight!

Good deal! I'm glad to know a few people went out and bought one at this price (or got a price adjustment). It was really a great deal, in my opinion...I tried mine out a little this afternoon and its amazing!

 

[SplshMtn99]

Welcome!!!
Stop reading & start shooting!

 

[gabbyrosebud]

I got it last night guys! Thank you so much for letting us know about it. That price in unbelievable!