Canon PowerShot S3 IS Bridge Camera - Black - Compare Digital Camera and Accessory Prices

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Loaded with Features Designed for Your Fast-Paced Life. The sleek PowerShot S3 IS digital camera offers you high resolution, an extra-long zoom, advanced yet easy-to-use movie functions plus great new shooting options. Also, with Image Stabilizer technology, images and movies taken with the S3 IS are sharp and smooth, even when the camera gets jostled. It's everything you need to capture the fun, excitement and beauty of your active life, wherever it takes you!

Quick Glance

Memory Type: Secure Digital (SD) Card, MultiMediaCard (MMC)

LCD Screen Size: 2 in

Camera Type: Bridge Camera

Megapixels: 6 Megapixel

Image Stabilization: Optical

Lens Mount: Fixed

Optical Zoom: 12

Weight: 14.50

Summary

Product Title: Canon PowerShot S3 IS Bridge Camera - Black

Manufacturer: Canon

Lowest Price: $799.95 from Amazon.com

Power Score: 4.4 | 43 Reviews

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Product Reviews (17)

Canon S3...a notch above the S2

Strengths: Long zoom,great gunmetal color gives a professional look, live histogram, IS that works very well, dedicated ISO button,post processing options, nine point grid, gr8 battery life, focus at long zoom.

Weakness: red eye,lcd does not latch on camera perfectly, noise above ISO 200, shutter button and zoom lever a bit loose, noise from lens during movie.

Having used the Canon S2 IS for 2 months, I knoew exactly what I would get with the S3. Firstly, the nice black professional look of the S3 impressed me. I like the histogram,quick startup(under 2 secs), quick flash recycle,shot to shot time(under 2 sec),super quiet zoom 12x,dedicated ISO button, quick focus lock at long zoom.I have mostly used the S3 indoors so far, it definitely produced 90% keepers for me.I saw a bit of noise on high ISO settings (200+), but at ISO 80, it's almost perfect. NeatImage can clear the noise easily for ISO 400-800 pics too(4x6 prints). Photos with ISO 80-100 with shutter speeds upto 1/30 were pretty clear and shake-free without tripod, with IS set to continuous(my pref). I love the battery life,have powerex nimh 2300/maha charger, at least 500 photos have been taken, no sign of battery change message yet. Flash recycles very fast for a quick second shot(within 2 secs with fully charged battery). Proble with the LCD is that it does not latch on properly when facing out,seems like a lot of users have seen this. I,personally, am not bothered by that. On my S2, I used to get the dreaded "change battery" error even tho the battery was full. Not seeing that on S3. GOOD ! Quietly fixed by Canon? Only time will tell:). The 9 point AiAF grid is good for taking accurate photos with horizon reference.Image playback is fast,responsive in single,9 image or zoomed mode. Videos are very clear at 640x480 at 30 fps. Can definitely record a golf swing.File size might get too large for larger videos, compression might be required. No barrel distortions noticed at either ends of the zoom.Inside the house, the camers performs well only under Tv or Av mode, auto might give blurred images. Custom white balance seem to the best bet for indoor shots with different lightings.Plastic tripod mount bothers some...but I haven't used a tripod to comment on that. Burst moe works well...a tad bit slower than the S2 cos of the 6 mp image size..i guess. 1 gig 60x sandish ultra 2 holds like 370 superfine/large images. Fast USB 2.0 transfer to PC. Zoom is ultra quiet...as advertised.you can sneak up close without the subject knowing it and capture some precious natural moments.0-432 mm in under 2 secs. LCD and EVF are not very effective in bright sunlight and outdoor situations...gotta guess that the framing and exposure is accurate...and just take the snap. No battery usage indicator( the price to pay for using AA batteries). Camera gives warning just a few shots b4 it will die.Live histogram is good, gives enough idea of exposure.2 inch lcd is a minor improvement..but still a step towards success. I hope it gets bigger later..but am happy with 2 inch lcd...which rotates..flips...and twists. Camera size is also not too big, you can definitely carry it around without a big bag hanging around your neck. Flash, like the S2 is manual(user gets the choice of simply using it or not...no surprises from the camera while taking a snap of the mona lisa in the Louvre) :).Images can easily be printed to 8x11 size without any problems. I have read that some folks are seeing "Dead/hot pixels" on their S3. Download 'deadpixeltest' and quickly chek it out with a couple shots taken with the lens cap on at 1/30 shutter speed in Tv mode. Software quickly tells you if there's any burnt pixel or not.
Overall, I love this camera for it's great image quality out of the box,great battery life, canon brand name, lot of modes for creativity,versatility, all in 1 for under $500. Keeping my fingers crossed for this camera serving me for some years now. good luck with your purchase.

By kirry007 - May 30, 2006

LOVE THIS CAMERA!

Strengths: Amazing zoom, video mode, a lot of shooting modes

Weakness: Can't think of any.

This is not a technical review, I'm just a normal person giving my personal review of the camera. This is the best camera we have ever had. We bought it after reading reviews and seeing sample pictures and video, and it has been a joy to have so far. It is an amazing camera for taking pictures and video at concerts, we know! I've posted our concert pictures and video at different places and...
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By sumblonde090 - Dec 7, 2006

Excellent Camera

Strengths: Ease of use, Quality of Pictures

Weakness: Small memory card

I've had this camera for about a month, and this is my first experience with a digital superzoom. I can say that I am not disappointed. So far I have been very impressed with almost everything. The ease of use is great for amatuers, and the quality of the pictures is excellent. I am still learning to use some features. The only negative comment that I have is regarding the standard 16MB card that...
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By jjfink - Aug 27, 2006

Canon Powershot S3 IS a winner

Strengths: Variable speed 12X Optical Zoom, Optical stabilization, quick focus, excellent movie capture, function buttons nicely located, tiltable LCD, takes AA batteries, minimal lag between shots.

Weakness: LCD could be larger, Lens cap can come off too easily, must purchase separate adapter to attach protective or creative filters. Movie mode limit of 1GB or 1 hour clips at a time.

I really like the versatility of a 12X optical zoom which I can control the speed of the zoom. It acquires focus quickly compared to other cameras I've sampled. The optical image stabilizer works great and doesn't reduce quality of picture like digital IS does. I normally carry my Casio Exilim EX-Z750 in my pocket or brief case for everyday shots, but this Canon is the perfect combination of...
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By DragonCHC - Jul 19, 2006

Great Camera

Strengths: Super zoom, great picutres.

Weakness: None.

What a camera! The pictures are great with sharp images from corner to corner, a 12x zoom lens, and an extremely effective Optical Image Stabilizer. The benefits of the the Optical Stabilizer cannot be understated on a camera with such a long zoom range. When you zoom into maximum telephoto every slight movement of your hands results in a huge movement at the lens. With the stabilizer though it...
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By geotuna - Jun 30, 2006

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