New camera pre-ordered

[Goofyish]

Just pre-ordered a new Canon S3!

Anyone else thinking of getting one?

 

[Cyrano]

That's a great looking camera

 

[jockey]

Just been checking out the spec Tim - looks like a great camera!

 

[Goofyish]

Got my S3 yesterday

Very impressed with the look and feel of the camera. Just need to have a good play now to see what the photos are like

 

[Greg K.]

You could be the first to post pix from this drool-worthy little machine! Let's see what that sucker can do!

 

[Judge Fudge]

I think I'm going with this one too, S3. I already have an Pentax Optio 5si (and the water kit for it) which is great because it fits in an altoid tin, and in my pocket well. But I would like something with more options and a stronger zoom.

 

[TwoOldPoohs]

I've been thinking about getting the S3, mostly due to the great S2 photos I've seen posted on these boards. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing more about your impressions of the camera once you've had time to play with it.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Congratulations. Remember, always, RTFM to get the max out of your camera.

 

[captaincrash]

Cool digicam!

I checked the specs as I was not familiar with it... it has a 12x optical zoom f2.7-f3.5 (27mm-648 range in 35mm film conversion); ISO speed of 80 up to 800; optical IS; a UD lense element with USM focusing motor, DIGIC 2, 9 point focusing, 2.3 FPS continuious shooting, and (my favorite) a flip out rotating 2" LCD screen... (wow!). Plus it's matt black. All for a retail of $499?!

Sure seems like a lot of power and features for the moola! Post some images whe you get a chance!

Af here it is with a optional wide angle conversion lense attached. I bet the flash is gonna be clipped with this baby attached! But it sure looks cool otherwise!!!!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022111canons3is.asp

 

[JR6ooo4]

Congratulations. Remember, always, RTFM to get the max out of your camera.

I am not familiar with RTFM. can you please tell me what this means.
Thank you,
Mikeeee

 

[Goofyish]

I strained my back at work last week, so I've not been able to get our and take many photos, but here's some pictures of some flowers in my garden taken with the S3:

 

[Goofyish]

I am not familiar with RTFM. can you please tell me what this means.
Thank you,
Mikeeee

Could it be: READ THE FRIENDLY MANUAL

 

[Kelly Grannell]

yup, or you can change the word "friendly" to something more colourful

 

[captaincrash]

DP review just posted a full review on the S3 IS.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonS3IS/Default.asp

And here is quoted the "overall conclusion" from the review...

Overall conclusion
Where the S2 IS offered a huge performance leap over its predecessor, the S3 IS is in reality a minor upgrade, and with good reason; there was a lot less that needed improvement. Aside from the newer sensor, the welcome addition of a direct ISO button, sports mode and marginally bigger screen, the biggest change is the paint job, which has produced a camera that looks a lot less toy-like than the S2 IS.There is a slight improvement in image quality; a bit more resolution and much nicer looking ISO 400 output (though as noted in the review, ISO 400 on the S3 is nowhere near as sensitive as ISO 400 on the S2), but to be honest I think you'd struggle to see any real difference in a normal sized print.

Comparisons with it predecessor aside, the S3 IS Image quality is very good - certainly on a par with most of its competitors - though the results are still a bit on the soft side, something the fairly high default sharpening doesn't really help. Again, experimenting with the in-camera parameters and a little sympathetic post-processing means that in the right hands it can produce images every bit as good as anything else in its class. The ISO 800 mode is probably too noisy for anything but 'emergency' use, and there are occasional exposure problems, but generally speaking the output is pleasing enough to satisfy the majority of the intended market.

But ultimately, like the models that came before it, the appeal of the S3 IS goes beyond simple pixel-peeping; it has a class-leading feature set, a very reliable image stabilization system (the benefits of which cannot be overstated) and superb handling. It's well-priced, incredibly versatile and - above all - highly enjoyable to use. Despite the long lens and speedy operation it's not the ideal 'sports' camera (the focus at the long end of the zoom isn't fast enough and does hunt a little), but for sheer shooting pleasure and versatility the PowerShot S3 IS still takes some beating.

And so to the rating. There was a part of me that felt slightly disappointed that the S3 IS was such a minor upgrade, and that the new high ISO mode added so little. But there are some subtle but important improvements, and the S2 IS was a worthy recipient of its Highly Recommended rating. There are cameras out there that offer slightly better image quality (certainly in terms of sharpness), and I'm pretty convinced that the Panasonic image stabilization system is slightly more effective, but taken as a whole there is nothing out there that offers the feature set, handling and sheer fun factor of the S3 IS, and so it still - just - keeps hold of our top rating.

Note that we are now adding some qualification (scoring) to our ratings, and as the S3 IS is the first camera to get this treatment it becomes by default the benchmark for our compact camera scoring. Broadly speaking a score of 7.5 or 8.0 indicates a camera that is on a par with its direct competitors at the time of writing. Anything over 8.5 represents a camera that is getting nearer and nearer to being the 'best in class'.

Reading the conclusion summary it is almost difficult to tell that Phil is really saying the S3 IS is the very best in the class! I had little doubt though! Happy shooting!!!!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

yup, or you can change the word "friendly" to something more colourful

 

[Anewman]

yup, or you can change the word "friendly" to something more colourful

"Fuschia"?????

 

[jockey]

Wow Tim - great pics!

 

[Kelly Grannell]

"Fuschia"?????

no, "Funkeee"

 

[JR6ooo4]

no, "Funkeee"

Fact Filled ?

 

[Goofyish]

One annoying thing about the camera's manuals - the camera comes with a 'basic' user guide that tells you how to switch it on, load a card and take a photo. The full detailed manual comes on a CD as a PDF file - a 171 page PDF file!

I've printed it out at work on a laser printer and it's about an inch thick - very handy to carry round with you LOL