Pea-n-Me
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
- Messages
- 41,358
Just returned from first trip to the World using a Canon S3IS (me) and S2IS (DH).
Thought I'd post as I notice a lot of people here either buying or thinking of buying these cameras (including the S5) in anticipation of their own trips.
Overall, we were very pleased with the cameras and happy with our purchases. Many of our pictures came out better than when we used our old P&S cameras. We were able to get some decent shots in low light whereas previously we'd get mainly blur in similar settings. Our goal was "good shots", not perfect shots, so in that regard the cameras fulfilled our expectations.
I didn't really study the pictures while we were away but now that I've peeked at them since we're home I see many could definitely have been improved using a tripod and perhaps different settings or low flash. (DH and I had a friendly disagreement about using flash at times - fun to see whose pictures we prefer in the same settings.) But honestly, being the organizer of a trip for 30 people had me hopping most of the time and also it rained several nights so I wasn't always able to take pictures the way I would have liked to.
Also, neither of us is yet 100% technically cognizant of all the camera's features, though we're getting there - hopefully by next trip.
I'm glad we spent many months getting used to the cameras as well as learning basic photography skills (formally for the first time) prior to our trip. I think it made a big difference in how our pictures came out. We kind of used a team effort in learning which made it seem less overwhelming. I brought Understanding Exposure along as my recreational reading, but short of the plane ride down, I was too busy having fun and taking photos to read much. 
Knowing carrying the cameras was going to present a challenge since we each wanted to carry only one bag, we both spent time prior to the trip finding "just the right bag" in order to accomodate the cameras and other equipment like batteries, cards and small tripods (which turns out, we never used), etc, as well as our usual stuff like wallets, cell phones, water, sunblock, rain gear, what have you.
I got a messenger style bag which I used for both my camera stuff and regular pocketbook stuff. And DH got a (gasp! we've been told they're "out of fashion") fanny pack/waist pack/murse, LOL, whatever you want to call it - a medium sized multi-compartment bag that fit around his waist and sat on his fanny (very comfortable, he said). These essentially left our hands free, though admittedly mine was pretty heavy and hurt my shoulder a bit probably because I had too much in it, though I did try to keep it light.
Much of the time we wore our cameras around our necks, but often in restaurants and on rides, they went in the bag.
I would recommend that people new to using the camera definitely familiarize themselves with the settings under the function menu. This allows you to vary the settings according to the type of light you're shooting in and how strong you want the flash to be, etc. This came in handy especially for those tough indoor/low light shots.
I'd also caution on the S3 to be sure your finger doesn't accidentally hit the ISO button on the back thereby increasing the ISO unintentionally. I had this happen one morning taking numerous sunrise pictures and it kind of bummed me out. Fortunately, I can fix the photos using noiseware reduction, but it's a pain that I even have to do so. The button is handy to have (as opposed to the S2's which is in the function menu) but you just have to check it before your photo session. Ditto for the image quality settings which are easy to inadvertantly change, also on the function menu.
As for the video function, which is essentially why we picked up the S2 (though DH is learning to really love the whole camera), it's good and did the trick, but was a little "shaky" on some of the clips - using a tripod most certainly would have helped. On the plus side, you can take stills while shooting video and DH found out he could get some good fireworks shots while doing just that. We captured our shy son dancing and other fun clips so we were glad we each had a camera.
Hope this is helpful. I'd be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.
Thought I'd post as I notice a lot of people here either buying or thinking of buying these cameras (including the S5) in anticipation of their own trips.
Overall, we were very pleased with the cameras and happy with our purchases. Many of our pictures came out better than when we used our old P&S cameras. We were able to get some decent shots in low light whereas previously we'd get mainly blur in similar settings. Our goal was "good shots", not perfect shots, so in that regard the cameras fulfilled our expectations.
I didn't really study the pictures while we were away but now that I've peeked at them since we're home I see many could definitely have been improved using a tripod and perhaps different settings or low flash. (DH and I had a friendly disagreement about using flash at times - fun to see whose pictures we prefer in the same settings.) But honestly, being the organizer of a trip for 30 people had me hopping most of the time and also it rained several nights so I wasn't always able to take pictures the way I would have liked to.
Also, neither of us is yet 100% technically cognizant of all the camera's features, though we're getting there - hopefully by next trip.
I'm glad we spent many months getting used to the cameras as well as learning basic photography skills (formally for the first time) prior to our trip. I think it made a big difference in how our pictures came out. We kind of used a team effort in learning which made it seem less overwhelming. I brought Understanding Exposure along as my recreational reading, but short of the plane ride down, I was too busy having fun and taking photos to read much. Knowing carrying the cameras was going to present a challenge since we each wanted to carry only one bag, we both spent time prior to the trip finding "just the right bag" in order to accomodate the cameras and other equipment like batteries, cards and small tripods (which turns out, we never used), etc, as well as our usual stuff like wallets, cell phones, water, sunblock, rain gear, what have you.
I got a messenger style bag which I used for both my camera stuff and regular pocketbook stuff. And DH got a (gasp! we've been told they're "out of fashion") fanny pack/waist pack/murse, LOL, whatever you want to call it - a medium sized multi-compartment bag that fit around his waist and sat on his fanny (very comfortable, he said). These essentially left our hands free, though admittedly mine was pretty heavy and hurt my shoulder a bit probably because I had too much in it, though I did try to keep it light.
Much of the time we wore our cameras around our necks, but often in restaurants and on rides, they went in the bag. I would recommend that people new to using the camera definitely familiarize themselves with the settings under the function menu. This allows you to vary the settings according to the type of light you're shooting in and how strong you want the flash to be, etc. This came in handy especially for those tough indoor/low light shots.
I'd also caution on the S3 to be sure your finger doesn't accidentally hit the ISO button on the back thereby increasing the ISO unintentionally. I had this happen one morning taking numerous sunrise pictures and it kind of bummed me out. Fortunately, I can fix the photos using noiseware reduction, but it's a pain that I even have to do so. The button is handy to have (as opposed to the S2's which is in the function menu) but you just have to check it before your photo session. Ditto for the image quality settings which are easy to inadvertantly change, also on the function menu.
As for the video function, which is essentially why we picked up the S2 (though DH is learning to really love the whole camera), it's good and did the trick, but was a little "shaky" on some of the clips - using a tripod most certainly would have helped. On the plus side, you can take stills while shooting video and DH found out he could get some good fireworks shots while doing just that. We captured our shy son dancing
and other fun clips so we were glad we each had a camera. Hope this is helpful. I'd be happy to answer any questions if anyone has any.
LOL. Seriously, he's been a big help to me in learning technical stuff! 
Stitch! 
Feedback would be appreciated, as I would like to get some really good shots at Disney in a few weeks!! TIA!
I hope my pics of Hallowishes come out this good!!
DH had to remind me we were there for the kids (the kids, of course, knew that we were there so I could practice!!!
I did think that the S3 shot of Mickey was more clear/sharp than the S2 one. Just seemed like the S2 focus wasn't totally there. 
Anyway - thank you so much! Have fun playing with your 4000+ photos!! 
