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Details at a glance
Megapixels: 6
Optical Zoom: 12x
Digital Zoom: 4x
LCD: 2 inches
Storage: SD/MMC
We clicked with
Comfortable body with logically arranged controls and a good grip, swivel and tilt LCD and a high-quality lens with effective image stabilisation
Shots in the dark
The LCD is small for the body size, the menus are long and there's no RAW option.
Links
More Canon information
www.canon.co.uk
Price Comparison:
Canon PowerShot S3 IS
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Calling the Canon PowerShot S3 IS an update of the PowerShot S2 is no insult. The S2 is a good camera and the S3 gives you higher resolution (6 MP rather than 5), a larger LCD screen and several new features, all in a very similar body.
The dark grey case is peppered with buttons and controls but nearly all of them are laid out so that you can reach them with the hand holding the chunky grip - only macro and manual focus are on the side of the camera. Despite the 12x optical zoom the lens doesn't overpower the camera the way it would on a more pro-spec digital SLR; even at full zoom it doesn't extend far enough to change the balance of the camera and it's fast enough not to make you wait for the lens.
By the way, if you're thinking of adding filters and lenses, don't be under any illusions that this is a high-end pro-DSLR. It isn't up in that league. There is a plastic sheath, which when removed allows a small range of additional lenses and filters to be attached, but it is not a standard, threaded interface; and you are most definitely beholden to Canon throughout.
More kit - and we love AA's
The LCD screen flips out to the side and swivels round so you can shoot at an angle or fold it back against the body with the screen exposed or face down for protection. Turn the camera for a portrait shot and the image will be automatically rotated on the LCD, when you shoot and when you view the photo. The display includes a grid view and either an exposure compensation tool or a live histogram; you can set different views for the LCD and viewfinder.
The S3 runs on four standard AA batteries; and we found alkaline AA's last for most of a day's shooting. There's no battery meter though, so remember to carry spares. The SD card slot is separate from the battery compartment , but the SD card that comes with the S3 is a paltry 16MB so remember to budget for extra cards.
There's a combination of settings for novices and advanced photographers alike: manual, aperture priority and shutter priority modes as well as Program AE and full automatic, plus a range of scene modes (including portrait, sports and indoor), and interval time and various creative effects.
Effects and effective images
You may never want to strip a photo down to black and white and just one colour channel, but you'll use the image stabilization all the time, especially at higher zoom settings or when you want to shoot indoors without flash (although the flash gives excellent exposures indoors). Macro mode is average quality but the super macro gives better shots and can focus to 0cm - objects that are actually touching the lens if you want to get that close.
Image quality is good especially at ISO 80 and 100; at higher ISOs you either see noise or smoothing from noise reduction and the ISO 800 setting is noisy enough that you'll rarely use it. That's annoying, particularly as it's one of the selling points of this model over the S2. There's a good range of colour and tone; colours are bright and accurate, saturated without being over-egged. Detail and sharpness is acceptable, though we found some images were a little “software-led” than with similar cameras. There is some chromatic aberration, but mainly at extreme zoom.
For budding Tarantinos…
Like most digital cameras the S3 can also take video; unusually, it has stereo microphones and you can record audio without video too. Storage allowing, you can record up to 1GB or one hour, whichever comes first, in 320x240 at 60fps or VGA at 30fps. You don't have to switch to a separate video mode either; just press the anonymous red button by the viewfinder. You can also capture full resolution stills while the video is recording if you spot a really good image - the video will flicker briefly but you don't have to stop and start again. Alternatively, a 16:9 ratio still frame is another new addition on this model.
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There are similarly-priced digital SLRS that have better performance; pay more and you'll get better image quality too. But they'll be bigger and more complicated. The combination of the excellent zoom, good image stabilisation and wide range of features and settings make the PowerShot S3 IS a flexible camera in a surprisingly compact package. That makes it more disappointing that there's no RAW option (although you can create a custom colour mode).
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Camera specification
| Mega-pixels: | 6 |
Photo: | JPEG |
| Optical Zoom: | 12x |
RAW: | No |
| Digital Zoom: | 4x |
Aperture: | f/2.7-3.5 |
| LCD: | 2 inch |
Focal Length: | equiv. 36-432mm |
| Dimensions: | 113.4 x 78 x 75.5mm |
Shutter: | 15 sec to 1/3200 |
| Weight: | 410g |
Exposure: | ISO 80 to 800 |
| Storage: | SD/MMC |
Movie: | 640X480@30fps |
| Int. Mem: | No |
Battery: | 4 AA |
| Interface: | USB 2.0, AV |
PictBridge: | Yes |
