Compare Prices : Canon PowerShot S3 IS - Expert Reviews

Review summary: If the overall quality of the camera is more important to you then the price you pay then the Canon Powershot S3 IS is an ideal super zoom camera. It is packed with features and the picture quality is top drawer. I really struggled to come up with ...

Pros: Picture quality Macro shots Features Movie mode Twisting LCD screen

Cons: Battery life,

Review summary: The PowerShot S3 IS is the successor to last year's 5-megapixel PowerShot S2 IS digital camera. The PowerShot S3 IS enhancements include a newly designed 6-megapixel image sensor that together with Canon's proprietary DIGIC II image processor ...

Verdict: Like its predecessor the S2, the PowerShot S3 IS is a very capable entrant in the megazoom digicam market. With 6-megapixels of resolution, a high-quality image-stabilized 36-432mm zoom lens, very good image quality and industry-leading support for ...

Review summary: When the Canon PowerShot S2 IS came out, it was one of the most anticipated cameras of 2005. This year, Canon decided to throw in only some marginal upgrades to the S3 IS. Those changes include:

Pros: Nice 12x zoom lens with optical image stabilization ; Excellent battery life ; Very good LCD/EVF visibility ; Full manual controls with many accessories ; Unlimited, fast continuous shooting ; Fast performance ; Live histogram; looks quite nice too ; ...

Cons: Expensive - 6MP ultra-zooms cost less and $499 is for 7MP ultra-zooms; cost of getting rechargeable batteries and large memory card adds on to the already expensive price ; Tiny" 2 inch LCD; low LCD and EVF resolutions ; No jog dial, no zoom/focus ...

Verdict: The Canon PowerShot S3 IS took the features of the S2 IS and added a few more, enlarged the LCD and painted the body black. Now this black colored ultra-zoom has 6 megapixels, 12x optical zoom, a rotating 2 inch LCD and some other nice features.

Review summary: sound

Pros: 12x zoom with image stabilization ; Useable 4x digital zoom (for 48x scope-like range) ; Auto Hi and ISO 800 sensitivity settings ; Very responsive shutter speed ; Fast startup/shutdown time ; Good color accuracy ; Powerful built-in flash ; Very ...

Cons: High noise at high sensitivity settings ; Rather contrasty default tone curve ; Higher than average chromatic aberration at all focal lengths ; Fast shutter speeds not available at all apertures, which is not uncommon ; Movie files restricted to 1 GB ...

Verdict: The Canon S3 IS bumps resolution up to 6.0 megapixels (for 2,816 x 2,112 pixel images up from 2,592 x 1,944), increases the sensitivity range to ISO 800, features a slightly larger LCD (2.0 inches vs. 1.8), includes a Movie button available in any ...

Review summary: Steal These Cameras!