Canon S3

[Amy]

More on S3 battery life (since I'm having this dang problem right this very instant):

Ok, something else that I don't like, but it's not exactly the S3's problem. The batteries last a long time if you use a card reader to get the photos from the camera to your computer, rather than hooking up the camera to the computer using the USB cable.

But DON'T get a SanDisk 12-in-1 card reader!! I got one because I gave my DS my old Canon A70 and DH has an A95 and they both use Compact Flash cards, while the S3 takes SD cards. I've had nothing but problems with this 12-in-1 reader; it'll read some of my SD cards and not others, and I'm using SanDisk and PNY cards, so it's not like I'm using cheap cards. But it has no problem reading the Compact Flash cards. I even sent it back once and got a brand new one and the same problem. So depending on which card I have in my camera at the time, I have to hook the camera up to the computer via USB cable and drain the camera batteries.

I think I'll buy just an SD card reader the next time I get a Best Buy reward certificate. This 12-in-1 thing is horrible!

 

[AbbysFamily]

Ok, I'm a noob... can you explain?

If you google lensmate, you will find the site. Its not just for canon, but it works great on the S2/S3 IMO. What it is is a lightweight tube that goes around the lens.
The disadvantage (as someone else pointed out) is that the camera is a bit bigger (basically the tube is just a hair bigger than the lense in the 'out' position). But it lets you use filters (like an SLR), and you can snap on a locking lense cap.

I hated the 'slip on' cap that comes with the camera. It falls off too easy, but has to because if you locked a cap on, it would wreck the motor.

So look up lensmate, and you can judge for yourself.

 

[AbbysFamily]

Thanks... I actually know almost NOTHING about photography. I have always enjoyed other people's work. I have often thought about going DSLR, but this is for my wife, and I know she doesn't want to be lugging around a bunch of stuff.

For now, I will be happy with ANY decent camera that has a nice optical zoom. That has always been what bothered me with her Cooplix cameras... I can never get a decent shot from far away.

Then you will LOVE an S3.. Not as good as an SLR, but way better in speed and zoom than the smaller cameras. That and it doesn't have the HUGE cost of the SLR addiction.

I want to go digital SLR.. I got rid of my 35mm SLR when I got my S2. It was the first digital to make me happy enough to switch 100% from my SLR. However, even if I go back to SLR, I'll be keeping my S2.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Then you will LOVE an S3.. Not as good as an SLR, but way better in speed and zoom than the smaller cameras. That and it doesn't have the HUGE cost of the SLR addiction.

I want to go digital SLR.. I got rid of my 35mm SLR when I got my S2. It was the first digital to make me happy enough to switch 100% from my SLR. However, even if I go back to SLR, I'll be keeping my S2.

Thanks. I think I will be ordering one in the next couple of hours from amazon... $297.... I think it is just what my wife will appreciate.

 

[cathy0124]

"Also, how do you like the optical zoom?
Or, in Disney terms... say I was at the ice cream place on Main St. at WDW... and it was night time. I want to take really nice pictures of the castle form that distance, would they turn out well. Would I be able to get close enough to see any detail? How about for the fireworks at WDW? Is this camera a good choice?"


I got my S3 just before we left in Jan. Here's one I took from the train station looking down Main street- no problems with the details.

And Fireworks? No problems there either

I LOVE my S3, can't wait to take it out every weekend to play with it.

 

[Papa Deuce]

"Also, how do you like the optical zoom?
Or, in Disney terms... say I was at the ice cream place on Main St. at WDW... and it was night time. I want to take really nice pictures of the castle form that distance, would they turn out well. Would I be able to get close enough to see any detail? How about for the fireworks at WDW? Is this camera a good choice?"


I got my S3 just before we left in Jan. Here's one I took from the train station looking down Main street- no problems with the details.

And Fireworks? No problems there either

I LOVE my S3, can't wait to take it out every weekend to play with it.

Thank you! Thank You! Thank You! ... You have TRULY MADE MY DAY!

 

[wdwmom2]

I got my S3 just before we left in Jan. Here's one I took from the train station looking down Main street- no problems with the details.

And Fireworks? No problems there either

I LOVE my S3, can't wait to take it out every weekend to play with it.

Hope you don't mind that I worked on your pics. Check them out now that they are filtered by this program http://www.imagenomic.com/download.aspx . And it is FREE!!!!! Downloads in a flash and is super easy to use!!! Can't beat that!

 

[cathy0124]

Hope you don't mind that I worked on your pics. Check them out now that they are filtered by this program http://www.imagenomic.com/download.aspx . And it is FREE!!!!! Downloads in a flash and is super easy to use!!! Can't beat that!

WOW! Even better! Thanks so much. That's why I love this board

 

[Papa Deuce]

excuse my noobiness... but I can't see a difference? maybe if they were side by side I could. Are they less grainy looking?

 

[wdwmom2]

excuse my noobiness... but I can't see a difference? maybe if they were side by side I could. Are they less grainy looking?

Does this help at all? Yes, it is the "graininess". Pay attention to the sky in particular.

Before

After

 

[AbbysFamily]

excuse my noobiness... but I can't see a difference? maybe if they were side by side I could. Are they less grainy looking?

Yep.. much less.. look at the 'solid colored' areas to see the most. Don't feel bad, though... I ran a couple of my pictures that had what I felt was 'annoying' grain and my wife couldn't tell the difference either. I almost fell over.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Cool, now I see it, and I found the free program in the link, as well. Thanks.

 

[ukcatfan]

I think LPZ_Stitch! started a thread on this a week or so ago. It should not be too many pages down the board yet, so it should not be too hard to find. Unfortunately, search on here is about worthless anymore.

Kevin

 

[GrumpyOne]

Thanks for the tip, it turned out to be a bit further back but not much further. I didn't pay it any attention originally because he limited his title to just S3 users, where the mod works with a lot more cameras. The thread had lots of speculation but no results. Thanks though.

 

[Jeanne B]

You might want to search the Canon forums on www.dpreview.com. I'd be interested in this myself as I have both the A610 and the S3.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I've been using it on my S3, since I started that old thread, with no negative effects what-so-ever.

Folks on other Canon boards have shot several hundred RAW pics without a single problem.

As confirmed by one of the authors, it's an extension to your firmware and, in no way, replaces what's there.

If you don't like it, just turn off your camera or (in *one* circumstance, so far) remove your batteries....

RAW capture, live RBG histograms, battery monitor and 'zebra' mode ... it's a fantastic addition to an S3 or any other supported DigicII camera....

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Glad to hear you're getting one ... I'm probably the biggest pro-Canon-S3 guy on the boards, these days!! I think it's a great camera!!

The only downside I've experienced is the one that you've seen in this thread; at high ISO (for low light) you'll get a lot of noise. Thankfully, most of that noise can be handled with Noiseware (or similar products).

You can get even better pics (much less noise) by using the Manual settings, a tripod and longer shutter speeds. I've taken a couple of really nice pics by the light of just a couple of tea-light candles (check out the S3 pics thread for a lot of great work by many S3-owning DISers!)....

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

1)After transferring video & pictures to my computer, how do I clear off the cards again w/o formatting the card or deleting each image? My Olympus had a feature to format card, erase all images or erase an image at a time.

There are two types of format to clear the card. Unless you check the Low-Level box, it will just do a "quick" format; removing all the pics.

1)I bought 2, 1-Gig Ultra II cards for the camera. Do you think I need a 2-Gig as well? If so, where do I buy a good one at a good price? We have a Disney cruise in October, so I want to be very prepared.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that you can never have too many SD cards ... especially if you find taking video appealing. The S3 burns up SD cards in nothing flat when taking video. If you won't have a computer to download your pics/videos to each night, you might run out of space and have to "cull the herd" a little!

If you're just taking lots of pics (not much video or using high-speed for more than about 10 shots at a time) you don't need Ultra II (or faster) cards. A couple of 2G "regular" SD cards wouldn't be very expensive and would give you LOTS of room for pics. You could always switch to the UltraII when you expect to want video or expect to be shooting high-speed....

2) Space left on Card - how do I see how much space is still available on the card while using camera? Again, my old camera had an indicator to let me know how many more pictures I could take with the current quality settings.

Lower right corner of the display shows remaining shots and remaining video when you toggle the "full display."

3) Ditto and battery life - where do I see the battery life indicator

Unfortunately, it doesn't have one (unless you use the RAW hack) ... it just pops on when you need to change the batteries, it's not a running % or anything. Sometimes, the camera will just display "Change the batteries" and not actual extend the lens....

Having a continuous battery gauge is one reason I use the hack.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Glad to hear you're getting one ... I'm probably the biggest pro-Canon-S3 guy on the boards, these days!! I think it's a great camera!!

The only downside I've experienced is the one that you've seen in this thread; at high ISO (for low light) you'll get a lot of noise. Thankfully, most of that noise can be handled with Noiseware (or similar products).

You can get even better pics (much less noise) by using the Manual settings, a tripod and longer shutter speeds. I've taken a couple of really nice pics by the light of just a couple of tea-light candles (check out the S3 pics thread for a lot of great work by many S3-owning DISers!)....

Thanks! I have looked at every post in that thread... You have some wonderful shots there!

 

[polkadotladybug]

Awesome - I always wondered what "noise" was and have noticed that graininess in some photos, but never put two and two together - LOL! I happen to have Paint Shop Pro XI and with some poking around - I found the "automatic noise removal" function (which I had never tried!) and it worked like a charm!

Carol