Awsome camera with excellent picture quality, zoom, and battery life.
I thought I wanted a micro-sized camera and bought 2 different brands of compact cameras just to return them because of sub-par picture quality. After that experience, I decided to give the new Powershot S3 IS a chance. Sure it might not be small enough to fit in a pocket, but 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 eliminates that problem. The pictures have low noise levels from 80-400 ISO, I have not tried the ISO 800 yet, though it should be nice to have in a pinch. The tilt and swivel LCD is awesome, you'll wonder how you got along without it before. Battery life is excellent and I cannot underemphasize the benefit of the camera running on standard AA batteries. If ever you find yourself in the middle of a day of shooting and the batteries die simply pop into a local convenience store and pick up some more. I would suggest you purchase a good set of rechargeable NiMH batteries though. The movie mode is great with the ability to zoom, a dedicated record/stop button, and stereo sound! Plus, finally a Canon digital PowerShot with a live histogram! You will not be disappointed in this camera.

Excellent digital camera with image stabilization that shoots VGA movies in stereo!
This is my 3rd digital camera and my first Canon. I moved up from an Olympus Ultra Zoom 2100. The 2100 has 2.1MP 10x optical zoom with image stablization, and lo-res movie mode. The reason I was attracted to the S3 IS was because it offers 6MP with 12x optical zoom and image stabilization, and VGA quality movie mode in stereo. Since purchasing the S3 IS I have not been disappointed.

I also bought a Transcend 4GB SD memory card which can hold about 32 minutes of video, or over 2300 photos in the highest quality. No problems addressing the 4GB memory, or doing a low-level format of the card in the camera.

Shooting both photos and movies is easy. The S3 IS has a separate button that you press with your thumb to start shooting a movie. While you are shooting, you still take snapshots with the shutter button. There are 2 stereo mics built into the front of the camera, along with a software selectable wind filter. While shooting, you can use the zoom feature with no added noise to the movie; it's very quiet. Image stabilization is still active when shooting a movie.

I think the S3 IS is good enough as both a digital camera and video camera that I no longer need to haul around 2 cameras (digital and video) to every event.

The Quintessential Digital Camera Has Arrived!
You can have peace of mind that you own the best digital camera on the market when you purchase the Canon Powershot S3 IS camera. When you go on vacation, you want the photos that are going to impress and with the 12x optical zoom, the photos will impress! Since this camera is brand new, everyone is going to be asking you about it. They can go ahead because I will tell them this Canon camera is the best! The photos have color and sharpness that seem to want to jump right out at you. I took a movie and I am amazed with the clarity. There is no other camera better than the Canon Powershot S3 IS. I also own a PIXMA photo printer, so, I have the best of both worlds.

Oh What A Camera!
This is my 4th digital camera. I was going to buy a Canon SLR and found that it was out of my price range. The S3 IS was right there at the top of my range so I went to the local camera store to ask about it and look at it in person. I can tell you that it is a very solid feeling camera. It fits in your hands very well and the buttons are all within reach. The photo quality is really amazing. Image stabilization really helps with those long range shots. The multiple shooting modes are really handy too. The only down side to this camera is the number of options available. You can literally get lost in the manual. No worries though. Put the camera in AUTO mode, point and shoot. For most people this should work just fine. The camera is VERY fast. There is NO lag time from the moment you push the shutter button and the time the photo is taken. No more predicting your shots. I am not super happy with the lenses cap. It fits loosely and tends to fall off but there is a lanyard to keep it attached to the camera. Not the most important feature of a camera. The 2" LCD is pretty impressive as well. The movie mode is nothing short of amazing. If you use it make sure you get a large memory card. I filled a 256 MB card in about 45 seconds of shooting at the highest quality setting. Bottom line...GREAT CAMERA!

Great Camera
I struggled with buying a DSLR, having some photography experience, but the attraction of carrying one camera to get both Video and still photos overrode my desire to be a photo purist. Thus I bought the S3 and am extremely happy with both the quality of the video and the still photos.

A few minor drawbacks - I bought the Canon case for it (and sent it back). Unless you will be carrying the camera as is, without the lens shade/lens adapter, the case is useless, too little extra space for any extras. I bought the lens shade/lens adapter as it is the only way to be able to put a protective filter on and I read some reviews that advised it because it protects the lens barrel. I returned those as well. I found lensmateonline.com that makes 2 size lens adapters (52MM and 58MM) in metal (as opposed to Canon's plastic) both in black for the S3 and silver for the S2. They also have a retractable rubber lens hood available. I found that if you leave the Canon lens hood on inside while using the flash, you get a dark shadow in the picture, the retractable lens hood saves you the hassle of unscrewing your lens hood - which can be dangerous especially with the plastic lens adapter as it can get cross threaded.

The camera itself is phenomenal...

The Canon PowerShot S3 IS
I purchased this camera on the basis of reviews at Amazon and elsewhere. I have been an avid photographer since 1959, starting with the Leica. The enthusiasm of other reviewers for the S3 IS is certainly well deserved. The speed and accuracy of the self-focusing as you change focal lengths is astonishing. At a single focal length moving the camera past a window from inside the house results in a breathtaking and precise change of both exposure and focus.

The movie facilities are well displayed also by turning slowly inside a house and watching the exposure and focus change to produce surperb results even through the windows. This is one fine movie camera. The 1 gigabyte limit on a movie should not be a problem since it permits roughly an eight minute movie. Downloading a two minute movie to my Dell desktop required about 10 minutes. After which I had a two minute perfectly focused and exposed movie with stereo sound!

As you will quickly find, extreme handheld close-ups will self-focus exactly at the Canon specified distance. Get too close and the camera focuses sharply on the other side of the object you wanted to photograph. Example, small flowers on a bush.

One more example. to check the focusing I picked our sleeping dog. Her fine fur was crisply focused and, to my eyes perfectly exposed.

This is the camera that until now existed only in my dreams.
Thanks, Canon. The S3 IS was well worth waiting for.

Super nice camera
Excellent camera, I got mine a week ago and I am very impressed. Overall it has a nice solid feel. Resolution is just fabulous. I originally wanted a compact camera that I could fit in my pocket to take places where an SLR is just too big and cumbersome. At first I was looking at the Leica D-Lux 2. But I found it too small for my large hands and fingers. Also the Leica is so smooth that it is sort of slippery to hold. The Canon does not have as high a resolution but is certainly acceptable, it is bigger which means it only fits in big pockets, but it has a nice grip. It is quite comfortable. The flash is not super powerful, but it is adequate and comparable to other cameras with built-in flashes. It is good for about 15 feet. Oddly enough you have to flip the flash up yourself but I don't consider it an issue. Outdoor photos are spectacular. I bought a 1 gb card for it and am quite happy. Battery life seems good too.

My only complaint is not even really a complaint. There are so many features packed into the camera that it takes a significant amount of time to traverse the menus. I am sure that when I become more familair with it, it will not be a problem.

This is a fantastic camera
I'm in love with my new S3 IS! I've been a die-hard Canon SLR fan for a long time, but my first digital was the Kodak Z7590. I was looking for high mega-pixels and the Kodak had the best optical zoom available at the time (10X). I was deeply disappointed in the quality of the images produced by the Kodak and am thrilled to have replaced that camera with the Power Shot S3. It is fantastic! Would highly recommend it!

The flip out LCD image finder is the best improvment over the S2 and I love the fact that I can add lenses to the camera at some point as well.

Awesome Camera
Unless you are a professional photographer this is an awesome camera. I have one other Canon A85 digital still camera, a Sony f717 and a Sony f828, a Nikon d50 and I know I will be using the s3 IS more then any of them. It's small, sharp pictures, as well as movie clips make this a real winner. I owned the s1 IS for a year and thought it was a great camera, my only complains were poor low light focusing, shutter lag, and no hot shoe. Well the s3 IS fixed two out of the three. Focus is much better and lag is almost none, very fast! They also added a lot of bells and whistles to this thing like color swap and color accent. (You can look on canonusa.com to see what these are.) I know how hard it is to make up your mind when buying one of these and I spent days reading reviews, but I have to say... if you want a camera to carry with you and get great shots... this will do the trick in spades.

My first digital camera
This is my first digital camera. I was doing research for about 6 month already until I settled for S3 IS. I was comparing many of them and Canon was able to offer more than its competitors were. I have been using camera a couple of days now and I am very pleased with the results. I am in the process of experimenting and I think every new user should do that. I was reading many reviews with comments on poor picture quality in low light settings and similar, but I think it is just matter of practice and knowledge. As per my experience, if you put camera in low light settings and put the flash on, pictures are very good.
Camera like Canon S3 IS requires you to go through the manual and make yourself familiar with many of its options.
Adjustable LCD viewfinder is very helpful especially if you are taking pictures above your height/sight of to low.

Personally, I would like for the flash to open itself automatically, rather than manual. Another thing that I would like is for the pictures to be dated. Since I have baby girl I would like my pictures to have the date on them, this way you only have date in the picture info.
I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants better than average, quality, and stylish product.


Pro: Many features offered to fit any ocassion
Con: My inexperience with digital cameras

Wow!! This is an amazing camera.
Ok, first of all I have no photography training, I've only taken pictures as a hobby, and for the last several years I've used my Fujifilm 3800, which was my starter digital. It got frustrating for me because I would see pictures other people would take and I couldn't understand why I couldn't take the same type of pictures. I looked and every photographer who's pictures I enjoyed (on Flickr, Blogspot, etc) were using Canon's. I've always thought that Canon's (for single image photography) were out of my league as a hobby photographer, but I wanted to take pictures of plants, trees, various things around me which I believe is interesting. So I did my research comparison shopped and picked this Camera.

It is amazing.

This camera has so many bells and whistles, but each one is there for a specific reason. One of the features I use a lot is the SCN function. It tells the camera the type of environment you'll be shooting in, beach, snow, indoors, foliage, etc etc etc.

The video this camera does is almost as good as the video on my actual Canon video recorder, the picture is a nice size with minimal compression so if you edit it with Windows Movie Maker you don't have the annoying (and very amature-ish) compression boxes.

Another nice feature is the color change, I love taking photos outdoors in black and white, with my old camera I had to use a software program to change the image to B&W, with this camera you can do it right then and there, and still have the original color image as well.

The Image Stabilizer works very well, and I shake like a leaf in a strong wind storm. I found that when using the zoom it's best to use 2 hands (which I never did before, like I said amature no photography training) and the shots come out great without having to use the flash.

I'm sure as I take more pictures, and do more research and study to improve my photography I'll be changing the ISO & shutter speed to meet my needs, otherwise this is exceeding my expectations and making me look like I am a better photographer than I really am.

Simply the Best in it's Class
If you are interested in all the specs and opinions about the features of this camera, then refer to digital camera review sites for this camera (such as dpreview.com and steves-digicams.com). If you want someone to have done all the work for you comparing the cameras, then consider this: I did extensive research on this item during the month of June, 2006 and I compared this item to other similiar cameras in its class, and this camera is - by far - the best in it's class. I did not weigh price into this decision, because I feel like the cheap price of an inferior camera should not give it points over a superior but more expensive camera. All in all, this is the best camera in it's class of high power zoom digital cameras. You won't be disappointed.

Camera aims to make better photographers
SO MANY FEATURES. SO LITTLE TIME.

Is it possible for a camera to make an amateur photographer better? Apparently this is Canon's goal with the S3. It provides easy access to controls that compensate for common difficult shooting scenarios. Most point-and-shoot (P+S) cameras have few buttons - relying instead on hidden menu driven options. While this may make the camera appear less intimidating initially, locating the correct setting while attempting to frame and photograph action or bad lighting subjects is frustrating. As a result, many features go unused.

By way of comparison, the S3 has at least ten more buttons than my discontinued P+S MINOLTA Dimage G500 (5MP 3x optical zoom). And many of the buttons on the CANON are multifunction depending on whether you are shooting in one of several modes, playing back stills, or movies - providing dozens of useful options.

The CANON S3 has a button for instant access to movie recording (with on-screen options for 320x240 15/30/60 fps or 640x480 15/30 fps) up to 1GB or one hour per clip. Stereo sound and zoom functions accompany movies. There are dedicated buttons for ISO, sound recording, flash, continuous shooting, macro, manual focus, display, and a customized shortcut. The mode dial on top of the camera includes settings for many typical situations such as portrait, landscape, sports, nighttime, and panoramic. There is also an AUTO[MATIC] mode. But if all your shots remain in this setting, you might as well use a P+S model.

The key benefit of the many buttons and dials on the S3 is quick access to a wide variety of useful features without taking your eye off the subject. The FUNC[TION] button can present a tremendous amount of pertinent information while the focused image is visible. Everything from remaining number of pictures and image quality to white balance and ISO feedback neatly border the subject. The DISP[LAY] button activates grids and histogram, switches between LCD and viewfinder, or reduces the amount of on-screen information. Either screen is equally informative and useful for making adjustments. The MENU button differs in that it brings up infrequently used options that temporarily replace the focused subject.

Elaborating a bit further on the impressive display of the CANON S3, it does a good job of simulating selected options. Punch up greens, blues, reds, all colors, neutralize, lighten or darken skin tones, photograph b+w or sepia and see the results before snapping the picture. It is possible to obtain untainted color even with mixed indoor lighting. In addition to AWB (automatic white balance) there are seven other settings accessed from the FUNC[TION] button. The last is custom metering. Just point at a white object in the room and press the SET button. No more green or orange casts on indoor photos!

Another common lighting problem occurs when a subject stands in front of a bright background or if frontal light from the sun washes out the highlights on faces. After a quick tap of the FUNC[TION] button, the first option in the upper left corner is exposure compensation. Use the omni selector left arrow to darken the foreground or right arrow to lighten it. If indoors or a relatively short distance away, you might also enable the flash. (For those with traditional photography background, there are also options for aperture priority or shutter speed priority on the mode dial.)

Despite efforts to write a short review, there is still much more to talk about. Image stabilization (IS) and the 12X optical zoom are significant features that work well together. In fact, now I understand why smaller digital cameras without IS typically only include 3 or 4x. The slightest hand movement is greatly exaggerated at high magnification. IS compensates for this movement. The S3 provides four options for IS: 1) continuous (constantly stabilizes preview which uses more power); 2) shoot only (stabilizes image when shutter button is pressed); 3) panning (stabilizes vertical movement only for tracking horizontally moving cars, race horses, bikers or runners); 4) off (stabilization is not necessary for tripod).

The 12X optical zoom can optionally be supplemented by 4X digital, making it possible to achieve as much as 48X zoom. A ring around the shutter button rotates clockwise to enlarge and vise versa. This brings up a slider in the viewfinder. If digital is activated, the white slider goes to a point and stops at 12X. Press it again and the slider is appended with blue as the digital zoom is progressively applied. I uploaded a picture of a bird in a a 16 foot palm tree with 21x zoom.

Panorama assist is yet another outstanding feature. As each photo is clicked, a portion slides over in preview, making it easier to align the next. Software is included to stitch the pieces together or you can use Photoshop's Photomerge under the Automate menu.

Image bracketing is also nice for difficult-focus situations; with one press of the button, three slightly different focuses are shot within a couple of seconds - a light, medium, and dark. This is not to be confused with continuous shooting (sometimes called burst mode), which shoots multiple images with consistent exposure as long as the button shutter button is pressed. This is extremely useful when photographing groups of people since it is often difficult to get everyone's eyes open and smiling at the same time. It is also great for photographing small animals with rapid movements like birds.


WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

There are a few annoyances that could be solved by spending more. After all, Cannon makes cameras from under $200 to several thousand. Despite big features, the S3 is, relatively speaking, on the low end of the scale. So any apparent design omissions must be kept in context.

LENSE CAP FIT: The most minor annoyance is the loosely fitted lens cap that frequently disconnects. Make certain the lanyard string is attached to the neck strap so it won't be lost. The obvious concern is smudging or scratching of the lens. While carrying, frequently check to make certain is on.

ACCESSORIES: Canon cut accessories to the bear minumum. There is no case (strap is included), no power cord, no lens hood, and only Alkaline batteries. Purchasing all the necessary options can break your budget by $150-$250 USD. Fortunatelly, some items are common enough that you may not need to purchase everything. I already had a couple of 256MB SD cards for my prior camera. You'll need to factor in the cost of a fast charger with four 2500+ mHa AA batteries (currently around $35). There is also a need for a high-capacity SD card. The included 16MB card will only store four of the highest quality images. About 90 stills can fit on a 256MB card at the highest quality setting. If you require more images per session or will be recording movies, consider a high-speed 4GB card (currently around $100). The S3 is optimized for high-speed cards.

LCD BRIGHTNESS: More of an annoyance is the limited pivoting 2" LCD screen brightness. Take comfort in the fact that some expensive DSLR cameras have only a viewfinder. Fortunately, when the LCD is not visible, the viewfinder on the S3 can be used. The diopter adjustment is handy since I may be wearing single-vision prescription shades, trifocals, or no glasses at all. The two independent brightness settings for LCD or viewfinder are a noble consideration. The LCD just doesn't get bright enough. In time, it is easy to get used to the viewfinder.

IMAGE FORMATS: A camera with so many features naturally appeals to the prosumer not ready to make the leap to a full-fledged DSLR. Though this would result in better high-ISO nighttime shots and better daylight images, the cost with multiple lenses could easy triple the price of the S3 and you'll lose some consumer-oriented features. Nevertheless, a non-compressed image mode would be useful - especially with the availability of high-speed 4GB SD cards.

Test shots of straight-up blue sky in large "fine" and "super fine" modes both exhibited pixelization when examining up close. In fact, super fine is slightly more pixelated in large areas of SOLID (perhaps due to sharpening?). This may be considered simulated film grain. There is more color averaging with fine mode producing a smaller, visually smoother images. The "large" image setting is 6 megapixels so the anomalies I reference when zooming in 400 percent in Photoshop are not visible on typical prints. When the composition includes many different color changes and fine DETAIL (landscapes, architecture), the super fine mode is much better. Otherwise the detail becomes muddy.

I developed a Photoshop action called Smooth Pixels. Though not always necessary, it provides moderate smoothing on 6MP images to reduce pixelization in large areas of flat color. It can also be used to minimize artifacts occurring as a result of saving a JPEG image with too much compression. If you have Photoshop experience these settings may be familiar to you. Opacities can be increased as much to as much as 60% with minimal loss of detail. (A screenshot of the Action palette has been uploaded.)

1 Make snapshot
2 Duplicate current layer
3 Smart Blur (Radius: 1, Threshold: 12, Quality: High, Mode: Normal)
4 Set current layer (Opacity: 40%)
5 Duplicate Background
6 Gaussian Blur (Radius: 0.5 Pixels)
7 Set current layer (Opacity: 40%)
8 Flatten image

RAW, LZW TIFF (compression usually requiring a PostScript level 3 printer for decompression) or standard TIFF options would be appreciated by those concerned about consistent pixels within continuous color with no artifacts surrounding high contrast colors. It should be noted that each time a JPEG is opened and saved (even with no edits) in an image editor application, there is slight degradation of image quality. This does not occur with TIFF or RAW.

WIDESCREEN LIMITATION: I was fooled by the boast of widescreen pictures. This applies only to STILLS. The WS stills are about 25 percent smaller than the maximum 6MP images. The viewfinder adds black bands to help frame WS pictures. Don't expect a low-cost HD WS movie function from the S3.

FLASH OPTIONS: The manual pop-up flash could be a bane or boone. It is reasonably strong and there is a three-option dedicated button to 1) always enable the flash, 2) automatically flash only when required, or 3) disable flash. If you forget to lift the flash, automatic doesn't lift it for you. Conversely, lifting the flash when the user option is set to never flash results in no extra lighting. One could look at this as a benefit since less flashing preserves the batteries. It would make more sense to me for the flash to pop-up if needed in automatic mode. Get used to the icon in the viewfinder that indicates the status of the flash (which is grayed when the flash is not up).

The S3 has also been criticized because it does not have a hot-shoe connection for a replacement flash. (A handheld flash farther away from the lens is the true solution to red eye.) Canon's less than optimal answer is to provide an optional slave flash that can be used as a supplemental bounce flash positioned closer to the subject or mounted onto the camera using a bracket that connects to the tripod thread. (I have a much less expensive non-digital Canon T-50 SLR with multiple lenses with a hot shoe so adding one to the S3 is possible.)

TRIPOD THREAD: A plastic tripod thread is never appreciated. Be careful not to damage the threads or consider using a tripod quick-shoe attachment.

ABERRATION: Though improvements are being made, digital cameras (particularly less expensive ones) suffer from aberration, sometimes called purple fringing, surrounding high-contrast areas where a pixels along edges are discolored. The S3 is not exempt - more notably a few pixels of red (NW) and green (SE) misregistration. This is most apparent on photos with very light objects next to color away from the center of focus - particularly on overcast days when the sky is white instead of blue. A 6MP image is scaled down so much for standard prints that the aberration is not usually noticeable. For large prints this may require additional image editing.

UPGRADE FROM S2: Owners of the Canon S2 will not find the S3 a significant upgrade. This camera appears to build on prior success with a few additional features to keep it competitive with other brands. In doing so, Canon has left room for even more improvements in an S4. Differences between the S2 and S3 are summed up below.

* New sensor (6MP versus 5MP)
* Higher maximum sensitivity (ISO 800)
* Bigger LCD screen (2.0-inch versus 1.8-inch)
* New Sports mode
* Record live Histogram
* Widescreen shooting mode (stills)
* Fractionally larger and heavier
* Dark gunmetal (gray) as opposed to silver body

The difference between 5MP and 6MP is not perceived in standard size prints (both have far more megapixels than necessary). The extra pixels in the 6MP are useful for retaining more detail when cropping small areas of a photo with image editor software. High ISO (400+) is used for dark scenes when no tripod is available. ISO 800 is largely symbolic in the S3 since results are too noisy (aberrated pixels) to be useful. The 2-inch screen has the same amount of pixels as the 1.8 but it's scaled up a bit. The histogram is an animated graphic that indicates whether the framed subject is under- or over-exposed; this should also be apparent in the viewfinder preview image. Of course widescreen images can be cropped in post-production if it's only an occasional desire.


CONCLUSIONS
It will take some time to become familar with all the CANON S3 features. If results are too noisy or blurry, it is likely because the correct setting was forgotten. The CANON S3 is not perfect but, in its price range, includes a very good combination of available technologies with slight image quality sacrifices. Professional photographers may be inclined toward an entry level DSLR (perhaps CANON DIGITAL REBEL XT, CANON EOS 30D, or SONY ALPHA). The S3 is a nice alternative to a dedicated digital camcorder; it can even zoom and shoot high-resolution stills without exiting movie mode. For the best quality stills, movie recording is sacrificed in higher-end cameras.

If this review seems like too much to read then the S3 is not for you. There is much more to read -- beginning and advanced manuals for the camera itself in addition to manuals for the software. Prosumers that invest time reading can be rewarded with greatly improved image quality from the S3. Of, course composition is still up to the photographer. (www.photoinf.com) The prior S2 model may be a better bargain for the cost conscious unless some of the new S3 features listed above are absolutely essential. The typical no-frills consumer might be put off by the plethora of options and prefer a compact P+S with less buttons (CANON POWERSHOT S80, SD500, A540, or A520).

(See uploaded pictures of bird in palm tree and building exhibiting aberration. Because the Amazon image processor scales down images as much as possible, there are more image artifacts on samples than on original photos.)

Great little do-it-all camera
I just upgraded my digital camera from an older Canon Powershot G2 to this new S3. I recently attended a reception and all I can say is Wow! I loved my older camera but dark scenes posed a particulary nasty problem. With this camera I was able to capture people across the room with only the flash on the camera. So far, this camera rocks. I'll be taking it on a long trip in August to test out all the options. Only thing I miss is the remote control.
A nice thing about the camera is the viewfinder. It fits very comfortably on the eye and I'll never take a lens cap picture again, since like the digital slrs, what you see in the viewfinder is what the ccd actually sees.

Good camera, significant limitations, next likely significantly better
This is a rewrite of a previous review, hoping to be more concise.

Pros:

- Feels good, looks good, great ergonomics. Usually I de-emphasize this, but this is an exception.

- The pictures turn out great.

- The movie mode is awesome, good stereo sound (but see below under cons)

- It is quick and responsive, for zoom and focus.

- The rotating display is nice not only to take pictures of myself, but also to take closer pictures of other people in a candid way -- i.e. you won't be in their face with the camera obviously pointed towards the person.

- Some scene modes on the selector dial which is convenient.

- Flash doesn't automatically pop up. Most people see this as a disadvantage. I see it as a great advantage. If I don't want flash, I leave it down. It suggests using flash on the LCD. If I want to use the flash, I then flip it up.

Cons:

- Small 2" LCD, plus inferior viewfinder. This is almost a show-stopper for me. This camera is basically an upgrade to the S2. Due to competition, the next version of this camera is likely to have a larger LCD. It depends on whether you need an ultra zoom camera now, vs. waiting for next spring.

- There is no date stamp on the photos. This can be added using Canon's software according to their technical support.

- Plastic camera tripod mount.

- The movie mode produces really high quality videos. The problem is that they aren't compressed, or as compressed as other cameras. A movie can be only 1G, and only 8 minutes of video can fit on a 1G SD card.

- Lack of scene modes.

A comparison with the new Kodak p712.

The new Kodak, also an upgrade (of the 850) now focused quickly and has best in class low shutter lag. I had the 850 and have the 712, and there is a big difference.

The Kodak has better image stabilization.

The Kodak has *many* scene modes. This helps the non-professional get the settings right.

The quality of the images is about equal (other than the canon not being as good with image stabilization at maximum zoom).

There are more options for flash types

There are more buttons on the camera for faster settings.

The LCD and quality viewfinder make the Kodak a more fun camera.

The disadvantages of the Kodak over the S3, is that the Kodak doesn't have a rotating display, so photos of people could be more intrusive. The Kodak doesn't have the great feel or looks of the S3.

I think that I will be rewarded if I wait for the next iteration of Canon's ultra zoom. With Kodak's larger display, Sony's 3" display, Canon will have to make theirs bigger. A Canon with a larger display plus other improvements they may add would be my dream camera.

I am not going to keep the Kodak p712 either. I love that camera, but I want a rotating display. Having tried the rotating display, I am hooked on it.

No Real Difference Between The S2 and S3!! Except The Impact On Your Wallet!!
In all honesty I think there is really NO difference in picture quality between this one and the S2. I returned mines back to Circuit City and ate the damn 15% restocking fee. If you're really interested in this camera, then save your money and get the S2 because you really will not see much difference except the impact on your wallet. I am assuming allot of these glorious reviews are from folks who never owned the S2 to see and compare for them selves. I am not saying that the S3 is a bad camera; I am just saying that for the money difference, the image quality is tooooo damn similar. For this kind of money I highly recommend going with something like the Sony H5. You get more mega pixels, bigger screen, and awesome results. If you don't want to take it from me just visit dpreview.com a highly respected website when it comes to camera reviews. Anyway I sincerely hope this review helps some people before making the same mistake I did.

Excelente
Muy buena resoluciòn, las pilas hace la camara un poco pesada pero la recompensa con una larga duraciòn de baterìa, solo recomiendo mejorar la pantalla lcd que es de baja calidad

Outstanding value
I write martial arts books, most of which require numerous illustrations and photographs to help readers understand and perform the various techniques. After years of spending thousands of dollars per book with professional photographers, I finally decided to purchase a high-end camera so that I could do the shots myself. I needed something simple enough that I could hand it over to an assistant who would take the pictures, yet good enough to produce professional quality results. Ease of use, powerful optical zoom, and superior picture quality were my main requirements.

After weighing the options I decided to go with this model. For about what I would have spent on a mid-range digital SLR by itself I was able to invest in not only this camera, but also two 1 GB memory cards, a dozen rechargeable batteries, a padded hard case, a tripod, a complete lighting package, and a backdrop with stand. The whole set-up ran roughly $1,600. Since the highest resolution photos use up about 3.5 MB apiece, it is good to invest in a couple of large capacity, high speed memory cards. The batteries last for several hundred shots if you use the viewfinder so a couple of sets with a high-speed recharger ought to do for most applications. The cannon soft case isn't all that great so I decided to spend a few bucks more on a good hard case to protect the camera and accessories.

I am very happy with this investment. The camera performs admirably. Indoor pictures are clean and clear, even without the fancy lighting. I took a few test shots using the built-in "indoor" setting which compensates for fluorescent lights. They turned out remarkably well. With the extra lighting the indoor photos go from remarkably good to absolutely great. Outdoor shots on "auto" and "sports" modes work very well too, with or without a tripod stand. It's not quite as fast as an SLR, of course, but takes multiple shots with adequate timing for my needs. The manual adjustments work well if you're well versed in photography and know what you're doing. I've found that the pre-set modes meet such a wide variety of applications that I don't need to tweak things manually all that often. The only major feature that I have not tried yet is the movie mode. Since I have a good digital camcorder too, however, I'll probably never need it.

The only serious drawback I have found so far is the viewfinder, which is a bit hard to see through in direct sunlight. Worse yet, the flip screen is nearly impossible to read in bright light too, even with the contrast turned-up. Similarly in very dark settings it's quite challenging to aim properly. The photos turn out quite well but I have found that I have to take several shots to frame things properly. Not a huge deal for what I'm doing since I bought all the fancy lighting, but something to consider if you plan to take a lot of shots in bright sunlight or darkness. As others have pointed out, there are no filters available for this model though there is an adaptor to add other lenses which could be filtered.

I purchased the 3.2MP S1 IS years ago so adjusting to this new model's features was a breeze. They are not identical, of course, but the layout is quite similar. It's fairly intuitively obvious too. I have actually read the manual and have concluded that this camera has way more functionality than I could ever imagine needing. It's nice to know that it should last for years to come without need for another upgrade though. It is so simple to use that just about anyone can take good pictures using the built-in settings straight away. It is also very easy and quick to download files to the PC for storage or further processing. If you've got Windows XP it's truly plug and play (no praying or special software necessary).

All in all, this camera is exactly what I needed. Great quality, reliable pictures at a reasonable price. Highly recommended!

Great Camera
Received the camera very quickly and very pleased with how it operates. Still learning about all the camera functions. Love it and still learning.

Better Choices Are Now Available
Since no camera is perfect for everyone, I truly hesitated (for over a month) to write this review. But, since I wrote a glowing review of another Canon camera model (the A620), fairness almost demanded a less positive review where equally warranted.

Like a previous reviewer, I also returned the Canon S3 IS recently purchased. And, just like that other reviewer, a significant reason was the small LCD display. I found it nearly impossible to use without reading glasses - not an obvious issue until actually using it in the "real world." Of course, the Canon A620 has the same small display, but one is more willing to overlook an annoyance such as this in a product costing considerably less. But, with a camera costing as much as the Canon S3 IS, there is little excuse today for such a small display (indeed, several other cameras in this price range offer a larger display).

Regardless, if this were the only issue with the Canon S3 IS, it might have been possible to live with this annoyance as well. But, added to that, the overall quality of this camera bothered me. Some aspects of the camera, such as the plastic tripod mount, suggests cheap construction. I seriously doubt a plastic mount can survive the repeated punishment of the often sharp metal screws found on the typical camera tripod. Plastic into plastic, perhaps. Metal into metal, of course. But not metal into plastic. Canon should know this, but went ahead with the plastic anyway. Since I use a tripod often (anyone seeking good images should), this annoyance was a little more difficult to ignore. But, moreover, this got me thinking about the rest of the camera. If Canon was so willing to cut corners with a plastic tripod mount, one has to wonder how far they went to cut corners in places consumers cannot easily see - the electronics and mechanics inside the camera.

There were other minor disappointments (weak flash, noisy EVF, and so on), but I could reasonably live with those. None, including the above, were enough to cause me to utterly rule out the Canon S3 IS. The early reviews of the newer Sony DSC-H5 were the final straw. A look at the features, and a trip to the store to actually handle the camera, was enough to finally cause me to switch.

The Sony offers an additional 1.2 million pixels of image resolution (even if one doesn't make larger prints, the extra resolution gives more room for cropping images), a larger LCD display, a better EVF, a metal tripod mount, a stronger flash, and more. It also performs better at ISO-400, offering another full stop of usable exposure over the Canon S3 IS (important to me during the long dark winters of northern Europe, but a benefit to anyone shooting in low-light conditions). The Sony doesn't perform exceptionally well at the larger ISO settings (ISO-800 and 1000), but neither does the Canon (no ISO-1000 setting, but similar performance at ISO-800). Otherwise, both the Sony and Canon are pretty evenly matched - little else gained or lost by chosing one over the other. I did lose the articulating display offered on the Canon S3 IS, but, more importantly, gained significantly in the other areas mentioned in this paragraph.

Like the other reviewer, perhaps a future Canon S(?) IS camera addressing these issues might tempt me to return to the Canon fold. But, in the meantime, Canon has lost this customer to Sony.

Lacking
This camera lacks....

..Time/Date Stamp
..Must raise flash to use
..Has image stabilizer but alot of my pics still blur

What's with all the glowing reviews?
I started to wonder this afternoon how many of the reviewers for this camera are on somebody's payroll....
I ordered it based on the reviews here as well as the review on stevesdigicam.com and received it the other day. Fully confident it would be a great camera after all the mostly glowing reviews I also ordered the lens shade, rechargable batteries, memory card etc etc.
Well I was pretty disappointed by it.
I bought it to replace my aging Sony F707, although afterwards I started to wonder exactly why I was replacing it in the first place... The photos I took with the S3 were lacking in comparison. Not only that, but I kept getting the "camera shake" icon in soft early morning light and the photos were actaully out of focus. I took the same shots with my Sony and it gave me fine results. And the S3 has Image Stabilization?
If that weren't all, a big reason I actually ended up getting this camera was for its video capabilities. However I ordered it before Kevin Fosler updated his review. I had no idea I could only shoot 8 minutes of high-quality video. Even with larger memory cards it would make no sense.
On the positive side, the camera is well laid out and I like the menu functions. It looks pretty nice too. So 1 star for those thing.
Well, the search begins again. The lesson I learned: next time I'm not just going to read reviews, I'm going to find a place where I can actually try out the camera I'm serious about buying. And I guess if I can't find one I'll just have to take my chances and at least I can send it back to Amazon.

Superior all-in-one choice!
The Powershot S3 is a good choice for those needing an extended zoom range, but wishes to avoid the cost and bulk of Digital SLR designs.

The S3 has a very fine, 12x optical zoom, that is quiet, smooth and quick. The stabalizer comes in very handy for still shots, and is a must for video.

The 6 megapixel images are clean and above average. Try to avoid higher ISOs on any of the compact cameras, but if you must, Canon's new 6MP sensor/processor combination is good.

Camera operation works well in the various automatic modes, and is also easy to control manually (except for manual focus). The eyelevel LCD is good, but everyone seems to have a different opinion on what looks good here. The rotating back LCD makes easy work of high level, low level or table-top copy work.

Video is unsurpassed in this type of camera. Stereo sound really gives this one a dimension that others lack. You can also easily switch on the fly. In the still modes, you can just push the button on the back to instantly start a video. During this video, you can instantly override the video, and take a still, then is picks back up on the video (it does, however, interrupt the video).

I won't revisit all the advantages of SLRs here. Although a good camera, this doesn't replace the speed of autofocus, continual shooting and quality of those cameras.

There's really not a lot of cameras in this category, but there are some definate winners, and the Powershot S3 adds to that list!

Versatile, superb camera
I bought this camera right before a trip to Paris and Burgundy. Normally, I'd take my 5D DSLR, but a hand injury dictated a much lighter camera. When I bought it, I thought I'd really compromised on image quality.

Having looked over the 300 shots worth keeping from the 900 I took, I have to say that the compromise in quality was very small indeed. I took a large number of low light shots on manual setting in the glorious Saint-Chapelle. Virtually every one came out a winner. I got the best shot I have ever taken of the circular stained glass on the west side of Notre-Dame. I got great causal shots of families relaxing in the Place de Vosges. And the IS on full telephoto shots in Puligny-Montrachet showed no shake at all.

I do wish that the camera supported RAW. And manual seems to take the resolution down by one notch, although I am still researching the user guide.

That said, for $500 you get almost DSLR camera quality which is easy to carry, easy to hold, and a joy to take shots with. This is a perfect starter camera for any one, and a great backup for DSLR users who can't carry a lot of kit.

Bravo, Canon!

my review
I like the S3. I am still learning to use the camera. I do agree with others that it is challenging jumping through the manuals. It would have been helpful to me for there to be a complete manual that gives all the details in how to use the camera in a logical sequence. And a quick start pamphlet just to get you going. I had to jump back and forth between the two manuals and that made it difficult for me to learn how to use this camera as I am new to the digital camera with so many features.

The view finder can be improved. I have difficulty seeing the messages/symbols. Also, I had to kind of guess that I was right on target for my shots.

The photos I have taken came out perfect despite me not being able to know exactly what I was looking at. The batteries have a nice long life for what I am doing.

I haven't tried the video yet.

I do like the camera. It works fine for what I am using it for.

Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Great camera . . . I took many long distant (12X zoom) pics of my daughter during her graduation and they all came out great. I highly recommend this camera.

WOW...............
I just recieved this camera, and I am in love. About a year ago I bought the A95, and loved all the shooting options. But as I have gotten better(a little) at photography, I realized a supper zoom(Among other things) would be "heaven sent".
This camera has it! The zoom is great! We are not talking a telescope here, but to catch birds, far off views, etc is wonderful.
And talk about shooting options! There are more possibilities for custom colors and lighitng conditions than I ever could have dreamed of!
...ok, after gushing, here are some real pluses;

Live Histograme.
Grid for Straight Horizons.
Intensity control over the flash.
Control over when the flash fires, before OR after the shutter opens.
Ablity to skip 1, 9, 10 or 100 images at a time. OR by shooting date, OR by folder. (Helpful when you have a almost full 1,2 or 3 Gig card)
Auto Exposure Bracketing.
White Blance control.
Color choice. (Vivd, vivd red, green or blue, B&W, Sepia, Custom, Positive film, etc.)
World time set. (You're traveling, and can have time set for where you are, and where you came from.)
High Zoom.
Macro and Super Macro. (Shooting ablity from 0cm!)
Preset(Portrait, Landscape, Sport, etc.) shooting modes, up to full control shooting.
The most advanced movie mode out there at the moment.
At about 6.0 mega pixles, there is enough info to print a 11 by 16 print!
...and in defense for a previous review;
Date stamp. (You have to set the option on the menu, then when printing, the date will be added.)
Hand pop up flash.(So no more accidental flash during a concert, or ruining a close up with a forgotten setting!)

And finely;
I never use the view finder, it is not optical, so you see the same thing on the much bigger flip screen. And it has seemed plenty bright. A step up over the A95.
The menu is almost the same as the A95 has, just with more options.

All in all this is an amazing tool, especially for those of us who are hesitant about investing in a DSLR or an SLR. I'm still learning where the "sweet spot", for shooting with this camera is, but I know it is a "sweet time" learning where it is : )

Canon PS Pro S3 IS 6MP Digital Camera
Excellent Camera. Easy to use for basic photos and capable of great shots under difficult conditions.

So far so good!!
I have had the S3 for about a month ...and so far so good. It took some time to understand all the icons and different settings (still learning - but thats half the fun). I have been doing some experimenting with the many options on the camera to see what it can do. For those who are looking for a camera with growth potential....this is for you. It can take point & shoot shots on auto mode, or you can explore further with p mode, tv mode, and others that offer more custom settings.

I ordered and received an adapter and some filters from another site and I am looking forward to using them. A uv filter will also help protect the glass lense on the camera.

So far the S3 seems to have a large amount of creative options that I am looking forward to exploring more....all in a neat little camera.

Excellent Camera... and sound recorder!
I purchased this camera to use during our choir's tour through Austria and the Czech Republic. The pictures came out great; the image stabilization was very handy in many cases. One pleasant surprise; I used the sound recording capability extensively throughout our tour; I recorded all the choir performances using the camera, and the sound quality was quite acceptable.

Canon S3 IS
This is my first serious camera sonce buying an old DImage from KM years ago.

Forst of all, it takes great quality photos once you learn how to play in manual and creative modes.

It dosent offer the latest in specs, but Canon has done a good job at making the camera friendly to use that is makes getting to its limits that much easier.

The only downside is the somewhat rickety body that makes it feel more fragile than other cheaper P&S units. The handgrip flexes and the memory card door dosent exactly fit flush.

Its also a little more expensive since you have to spring for a charger and a lens hood. (Sony includes both in their H5.)

Hopefully Canon can include a bigger LCD and a more solid body in the S4.

I'd recommend buying a cheap memory card reader so that you wont have to connect the camera via USB port and save that USB door from use.

amazing performance for its price!
I selected this camera for its 12x optical lens and its professional stabilizer, and I'm not disappointed... Also very convenient to manipulate.

Didn't quite make it
For many people the Canon S3 is the camera they really wanted. The majority of the owners' reports here are testimony to that.

For the rest of us the Canon S3 came tantalizingly close to being that ideal camera, but fell short for various reasons. We had hoped for more, not so much in features and options, but mainly in the quality of what was offered. I found that it missed out in four principal areas:

1. its LCD screen is small and its resolution poor. The same is true of its EVF (viewfinder.) The LCD solarizes in bright sunlight making it impossible to use and is not bright enough to use in very sunny conditions.
2. it has chromatic aberration (purple/green fringing) especially at the telephoto end of the lens
3. it has no RAW mode
4. it's overpriced.

If the LCD & EVF had had decent size and resolution I probably could have lived with the other three. Almost every review mentioned this shortcoming. I liked the articulated screen - a must for me. But so small and so lo-res just didn't cut it for me. One user told me the EVF image was so pixilated in bright conditions he couldn't really tell what he had until he saw it on the computer.

I had hoped to do some semi-pro work with this camera. Doing it with this LCD would be difficult and difficult I don't like. And that missing RAW mode, lamented by many reviewers and offered by other cameras in this class, confirmed that it was -almost - a photographer's camera, as distinct from a point-&-shoot, that didn't quite make it. And that disappoints me.

I saw a lot of tele shots with purple fringing especially at the extreme end of the lens. Most of that could be eliminated with Photoshop work or by using a shorter focal length. But if you can't use the full length of your lens or you have to fix the image later, those are major shortcomings I don't want. An aprochromatic lens system, admittedly more expensive, would eliminate this problem.

I think the price factor worth consideration. The current best price here on the West Coast of Canada was $C580. But you need to buy a charger and batteries $39, plus a memory card since the ludicrously small one supplied could take only four hi-res pix, another $39. And a bag, say $20. And of course sales taxes. And you've got a camera costing around $800. And if you wanted a lens hood and supplementary lenses you're getting close to $C1,000. So it's not really a $500-and-change camera: in this price range it's competing with SLRs and other high end cameras.

For me, with the limitations I have described, that's just too much. For my eight or nine big ones I want top of the line quality. I hope that Canon hears the laments from many other reviewers and myself and rectifies them in the S4. They came so close this time but just missed the ring for so many serious photographers. I'm hoping the S4 will be THE one and not, like the S3, the one that might have been. And if not Canon then perhaps some other manufacturer will seize the opportunity. I'm waiting.

Great camera for this price range
I've probably researched to death digital cameras and finally settled on this one. Is it the best? Depends on what you are looking for. Then again I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars for a digital slr camera and a separate digital movie camera. I wanted a digital camera with a very good zoom lens, movie capabilities, and image stabilization and wouldn't be too bulky for taking on vacations. This one in my opinion fitted the bill. I probably really wanted the Panasonic FZ30 which is now going to be the FZ50 but noise and other issues kept leading me back to the Canon S3 IS. If the need ever arises to take high quality photos I can always dig out my old film 35mm SLR.

Good camera... IF you don't wear glasses!
I've taken a couple of thousand pictures with this camera and the results are generally very good. One serious flaw, however, is its electronic viewfinder. I wear glasses and the viewfinder is difficult (sometimes VERY difficult) to see in many outdoor lighting situations. (Of course the LCD screen is equally useless in bright light). If I take off my glasses so my eye can fit snuggly against the viewfinder, the view is fine. But if you wear glasses for distance, you know that taking your glasses off each time you want to shoot is not a reasonable option. Of course, this is a problem with optical viewfinders, too, but the problem is not nearly as severe. So, I would strongly advise those who wear glasses to test the camera thoroughly in a variety of lighting conditions before buying.

I will get to the good points in a moment, but another annoying, though not so serious, flaw is the setup for using shutter speed (and aperture) priority. The shutter speed is set using the four-way controller, located in the top right corner on the camera back. The problem here is that there is no way to select a shutter speed and lock it. Because of the position of the four-way controller, it is very easy to push it accidentally, while simply holding the camera between shots, which changes the shutter speed. This means being very careful how you hold the camera and checking the shutter speed before each shot to be sure it has not been changed. The shutter speed is displayed in the viewfinder, but the aforementioned problem with the viewfinder makes this problem doubly irritating for us glasses wearers.

Having said all that, I still like this camera. It has great flexibility, and operations are fast, smooth and quiet. The pictures are excellent. The rotating LCD is very useful, allowing the camera to be placed in positions where using the viewfinder is impossible. The IS is helpful, though some physical stability (tripod, tree, post ..) is still needed at the longer end of the telephoto range. The flash is OK, though red eye is definitely a problem. I've experimented with a few of the special modes and some worked well, while others did not. Selecting setting manually is often better.

There's a sizable learning curve with this camera, because of the numerous buttons, the many special shooting modes, and various options available. I still have much to understand, but the more I learn the more I like the camera, in spite of the problems discussed above.

Excellent camera, many useful functions and easy to operate
Excellent camera, many useful functions and easy to operate

A great camera for the money
I am most happy with the Cannon PowerShot Series S3. It will do everything I need to do.I have gotten some great shots.

Makes me feel like a pro without the SLR hassles, and great Canon details
As an editor and designer (but not a professional photographer), I wanted a camera that wouldn't look ridiculous on a shoot, wouldn't require me to fiddle around too much with nuanced settings, and wouldn't require me to invest too much in lenses to coax some good shots out of it. I also had gotten used to some conveniences from point-and-shoot digital cameras that I thought I'd lose out on by going SLR.

There were other cameras I had considered, especially from my old favorite brands, Olympus and Fuji. But the closest contenders were the S3's predecessor, the S2, and the Panasonic Lumix FZ7.

The Panasonic was making a hard sell: same optical zoom, similar if not better performance in speed tests, similar reviews regarding color and overall quality of their photos. And, really, the Panasonic was tremendously less expensive and featured a Leica lens, which made the brand-whore in me a little excited. But the final blow: The Panasonic seemed to have a goofy rechargable battery system, which is great if you have replacement batteries of the same type, but not so great if you're travelling. The S3, on the other hand, uses regular AAs. That meands I can use rechargeables as I like, or get some Duracells. On the road, that's important: I can't worry about whether I packed a charger, an extra battery or if the voltage is going to be alright in the country I'm in. The other big factor, the trademark Canon swivel-mount LCD display, was critical to my decision. I love having one on my Canon DV camcorder, especially when I'm taking overhead action in a crowd (or just trying to get a better view of the stage at a show!). And it beats the heck out of trying the classic hey-let's-point-the-camera-at-ourselves-and hope-it-works-self-portraiture technique. Just turn the LCD around toward the lens and, as long as you avoid looking to the side at yourself while taking the actual photo, it works like a charm. And just as your lens should have a cap, the LCD screen tucks away to protect it from fingerprints and grit that can mar it just as easily as the lens.

So, moving away from the Panasonic, I had seriously looked at an S2, since most reviews had talked about the S3 not being much of an upgrade from that model. After some consideration, I decided that the LCD of the S2 was a little too small (though the S3, with a slightly larger screen, is no prize-winner in that arena either) and the additional resolution of the S3 would help with zooming and cropping on otherwise too-wide shots. But the real reason I chose the S3 is much more shallow: the black S3 passes off much more like a professional camera than the silver-toned S2, which screams pocket camera. I really think that makes a difference at an event-- you'll get more cooperation from folks if you look a bit more on-the-job, than just a groupie taking snapshots.

So far, I have not been disappointed. The thing that makes me most happy about my decision, especially in the way of not having gone the SLR-route, is that going fully-automatic with the camera doesn't fail to come out with great images. I'm no pro, but I've got some sense of what I'm doing photographically. I've played with a lot of the settings and going manual when I have had the chance, but at least 80% of the time, letting the camera's auto mode do the work comes up with the best shots. And when I'm taking quick shots at a crowded event with no chance to mess with settings, that always makes me happy. And I've only replaced the batteries once, and the second set is still going strong after a few weeks--I suspect the batteries in the box didn't have much to them.

My only two real complaints at the moment: the small, but awkward dimensions and the color compared to my old pocket camera. The size of the camera is actually a plus; it's smaller than an SLR--with or without the lens attached--and can easily be "palmed" with one hand without feeling like it's going to slip. On the other hand, I've never had a harder time trying to find a nice camera bag that wasn't too snug (the lens barrel with cap can make most "digital camera cases" fit much too tightly to be of any convenience or protection) or too roomy (even the smallest SLR bags are too big and DV camera bags a little too compartmentalized or too "secure" with multiple zippers and flaps). Because of that, I just place it in my satchel with the rest of my stuff and hope for the best.

As for the color: I feel like everything I've shot so far has been okay, but comparing the color produced by the S3 versus my old cheap Fujis (the last being an A303 or my brother's current F470) reveals a big gap. Under good, naturally-lit conditions, the colors from the Fuji cameras always come out bright and deliciously saturated. The Canon's seem true enough, but muted and almost dull relative to my old photos. It's nothing that makes me disappointed, and perhaps I can play a little more with what I'm doing in sunlight, but I would love it if I could get flowers to look as beautiful or kids at play look as full of life without even trying.

All in all, it's everything I wanted it to be in a semi-pro camera, and the LCD and battery features have already shown their worth. Until I make the plunge into a nice digital SLR, I'm really glad that I made this my latest camera.

Don't buy this camera if you want macro
In all fairness to Amazon, I need to write this review. I just returned my Powershot S3 IS because it did not do what I needed it to do. The ability to take macro photos is critical to me and this camera, despite claims to the contrary, does not have any real macro capability. The reviews on this page did not mention the macro mode in any substantive way--and now I know why.

In macro mode, the zoom function is very limited. Only about a fifth or less of the 12X zoom can be used. After that, the camera will not focus. The field of view is about the size of a sunflower, if you are shooting flowers. I couldn't figure out how to shoot objects the size of bugs or coins without cropping. In supermacro mode, the zoom is unavailable altogether.

This may be a very fine camera for other purposes, but if you want to use the macro mode, don't buy it.

Wonderful camera!
All I can say is about this camera is it is really great and I HIGHLY suggest this camera to anyone with an interest in good photography. The manual settings are a must for anyone into birding/botany/nature. Everything is awesome about this product, although consider buying a tripod, bag, 1GB+ SD memory card, and maybe some optics, although the optics aren't really needed to get really, really great images with this camera. If you want a video camera and a camera, consider buying this all-in-one camera/video, because the movie mode is perfect and works great for anything. I've even used it in documenting a severe storm in our area; recording hail, wind, and flood damage. Can't beat it in any area!

I love having a digital camera!
My family has loved having a digital camera so far. I love being able to just keep on clicking and then being able to deleted the ones that I do not want. Our family recently went to Disneyland for vacation and the camera was perfect. We still have a lot to learn about all the features that this camera has. It is easy to use and the pictures turn out very well when I have them printed out.

Macro works GREAT
I'm not sure what the macro problems are the poster a few reviews ago had. There might be someting wrong with that camera and I would seriously consider sending it back. One thing to remember is for VERY close photos, be sure it is in super-macro mode, not just macro mode. It will focus on dust on the lens (0 cm!) and takes stunning photos. I have quite a few extraordinary shots in super-macro and macro mode, all auto-focused. I wish we had more info on that problem, because I'd say the S3 takes better than average macro shots!

All-in-all, I'd definitely say this is about my favorite non-dSLR camera on the market.

Great camera
I was between the panasonic, sony and the nikon point and shoot zoom cameras. I bought this one from other views I read and they way it felt in my hands. I love the features on this camera like the beach and snow shooting. I'm not a major photographer, but do take loads of pics and this camera sure can dish it out. The pics are wonderful. I am so happy wiht it. I did buy a fast speed sd 2 gig card and it makes a difference. I liked it much better than the panasonic, that one felt cheap and did not have the bells and whistles. The sony was nice, but did not fit my hands and I did not like how it was laid out. THe nikon wsa nice except no view finder, just the view screen. I have had this camera for 3 weeks and love it. So far the only downer is that it has so many new things on it over my kodak camera. Its far better than the kodaks.

A Superb Semi-Pro Camera That Novices Will Love.
I researched cameras for six months before I had the money to buy. I wanted a mega zoom with a good feature set and high quality video, since I knew I couldn't also afford a video camera. It shoots such good pix in auto mode, that I find myself rarely using the other settings, at least so far. You can shoot photos while shooting video or shoot video while in still photo mode. The video is high quality, AVI at 30 frames per second, which I believe is better resolution than standard TV. You can use the 12x optical zoom while shooting video. Most digital still cameras shoot video at just one focal length. The camera has two mikes and records CD quality stereo sound when shooting video, though you can set it for lower sound and picture qualities if you like. The built-in flash does an excellent job, and with the standard setting I have yet to get red eye.

Image stabilization works very well and is essential with a 12x zoom, especially when shooting video or low light stills. Picture quality is just wonderful in both video and still picture modes. After buying the camera and a 2 gig SD card, I took a bus trip through 28 states visiting friends, shooting hundreds of photos and about 10 minutes of video. The results were great.

Photo stitching software comes with the camera and it is excellent. I had been concered about the very limited wide angle capablity, equivilent only to a 35mm lens on a 35mm camera. But by taking overlapping photos I got wonderful panoramas and group photos without the usual wide angle distortion and with more detail. While this works best with a tripod, with a little care you can shoot by hand and get excellent results.

The batteries are AA. Get a charger and NiMh rechargable batteries. The nice thing is, if your batteries die, you can get a set from the store [uses 4] in a pinch. I was able to shoot 10 minutes of video plus about 150 pix on the batteries that came with the camera. I could have done better, but I spent at least a couple of hours with the camera on, fooling with menus and settings and reviewing the photos and videos.

At best resolution and least compression, a 2Gig SD card will hold 715 photos or 15 minutes of best quality video. 4 Gig cards are available, and if you intend to shoot a lot of video, I would strongly recommend one. Also, the faster the card the better. Slow cards won't keep up with best quality video, and time between still shots will be longer. If the card doesn't advertise it's speed it isn't fast enough! Get 133x or 150x speed. This translates to 20mb or 22.5 mb per second. In theory the camera's single shot limit for video is one hour, but it's a non-issue as the 4 gig cards will only hold 30 minutes of best quality video.

Things I don't like: 8 gigs for an hour of video is way to high. MPEG2 DVD's will hold up to 4 hours in the same space. The view screen should be bigger in this class of camera. It's better than the previous model -two inch versus 1.8 inch- but it really needs to be larger...that said it's adequate for my old guy eyes, and if I had to give up the ability to adjust the screen to get a larger size I wouldn't. I would also like to set the zoom to a slower rate of zoom when shooting video. Rate of zoom is adjustable, by how far you move the lever, but the throw is too short to be precise.

Basically, if you can do without the camera fitting in your pocket you will be very hard pressed to do better than the Canon S3IS.

Great Camera
I was getting ready to buy the S2 IS 5MP when Canon came out with the S3 IS 6MP. Why have 5MP when you can have 6MP in the same camera? Takes great pictures. Zoom? Its got all the zoom you need. Soon as you start playing with all the features it gets easy. I have a Canon 4 by 6-inch printer and that makes it even more fun. Instant printed pictures. The picture quality rivals my big Canon 35mm. I also bought the Canon wide angle lens for this camera with its adapter. Wow!

Great Camara-Terrible Viewfinder
I am generally happy with this S3, but as I have gotten older, and my eyes are dimenishing, I need a quality viewfinder. This one is electronic and suffers a clarity that I do not have in my other cameras- a digital rebel and old sureshot. At times I have taken pictures not knowing its focus, only to be pleasently pleased later on. The LCD is also not as good as I would wish. I think the IS is unbelivable, and its movie capabilities are amazing for its quality. I do not want to sound negative, but this has been my experience.

A review for the point-and-shoot crowd.
I bought the S3 as a replacement for my PowerShot S10 which has served me amazingly well since I purchased it. My old S10 is only a 2.1MP (megapixel) camera but that suited me just fine, taking tens of thousands of pictures over the past six years that I owned it. My only complaint about the S10 is a common one amongst digital cameras: a crappy 2x optical zoom. The S3's 12x optical zoom was its main selling point for me, and having the PowerShot name behind it sealed the deal.

This camera does FAR more than I'll ever use so I'll instead focus (no pun intended) on the things that I particularly like about the camera, from a point-and-shoot perspective. Some of this info may be old hat to the point-and-shoot digital camera crowd, but remember that I'm coming off a six year old camera that doesn't have half as many features. :)

Although the camera is not an SLR camera, it behaves like one. There's an LCD panel on the back of the camera for lining up your shots, of course, and there's also a viewfinder. Looking through the viewfinder reveals another LCD screen that shows you what the camera's CCD is showing. In effect this gives you the benefit of an SLR camera without the extra cost. This forced me to change my shooting style; when I took close-up shots through the (straight-through) viewfinder on my S10 I had to purposefully aim the camera slightly higher in order to properly frame the shot. With the S3 I don't have this bother any more.

The screen (both the LCD screen and the one in the viewfinder) displays an astonishing amount of information, most of which I ignore. Two very helpful bits of info: There's a white rectangle in the center which defines the balance point of your shot, and more interestingly, a black grid that really helps you make sure your images are straight. (Speaking of straightness, the camera also has an automatic sensor to determine if you're taking portrait or landscape shots. When you download the pictures into your computer, they're pre-rotated correctly. Very handy. (PS: It interfaces with a standard mini USB cable, and it works flawlessly with Apple's iPhoto software.)

If you're taking a picture and you need a flash, the camera will alert you to this fact which is great. Not so great is the fact that it won't alert you until you actually go to take the picture. Considering that you need to manually raise the flash when it's needed, this has the potential for making you lose some candid shots. Tip: Keep the flash raised at all times, and set the flash for "automatic" so it fires when needed.

The image stabilization feature is downright awesome. I actually had to make a conscious effort to get the camera to take a blurry picture with stabilization enabled. One-handed overhead shots are as clear as a tripod shot.

As I said, I bought the camera for the zoom and it doesn't disappoint. The zoom ring is variable in speed (the further you move it, the faster the zoom moves). The image stabilization feature really comes into play at full zoom. I was able to take a not-blurry photo of a news helicopter hovering overhead, with the camera at full optical zoom and without a tripod.

The camera takes four AA batteries; Canon provides you with a set in the box. That will be good for about 100 shots, depending on how much you use the flash. Rechargeable batteries are a must; a decent set of rechargeables (2000mAh or greater) will give you about 500 shots. Well worth the extra money. However, I do like that it will take standard AA's in a pinch; my old S10 took a proprietary rechargeable battery and I occasionally found myself with a set of used-up rechargeables when a photo opportunity arose.

I have but two complaints about the PowerShot S3 IS. Complaint #1 is the body of the camera is constructed of plastic. My old S10 was metal bodied and survived several trips to the concrete floor with only superficial damage. I daresay a similar incident with the S3 will result in a shattered body. Complaint #2 is Canon's incredibly lame inclusion of a puny 16MB SD memory card. At full quality and full resolution, you might get 4-5 pictures onto the card before it fills up. Canon is just adding to the nation's landfills with these things. The first purchase anyone will make is a larger card (I bought two 2GB cards) and Canon's cards are more expensive (sometimes significantly more expensive) than the competition. The inclusion of a 16MB card is either a joke or an insult; at the very least Canon should have included a 128MB card.

Great Little Camera
This camera was great. Easy to use, fun to review the photos. SD cards work very well. Video is easy to turn on. Though turning it off, you tend to take your eye off the subject. But I think I can edit the video clips later to have better starts and stops. Camera is small enough to go just about anywhere. and light enough to not be a issue while walking around. Reading the manual and understanding all the features is a bit tough. but the presets work pretty good and I'm very pleased with the purchase.

An excellent camera for both amatures and pros
What an excellent camera!!!

I recently bought one and took it on a trip to Europe. We're just back and the photos are amazing.

I tried the various photographic modes and they deliver the goods.

The camera is very easy to operate, and the zoom is very very useful.

I would suggest at least 1/2Gb memory because of the size of the photos.

Is this better than the cheap Canon S2? Perhaps... let's see
I used the camera twice before it died on me. I took about 15 pictures in total. So, keep in mind that I haven't gotten much use out of it (I'm asking for a replacement, rather than money back).

The good:
1. It uses alkaline AA batteries.
2. It's light.
3. It fits my hands like a glove. On a piano, I have about a 10-12 key stretch.
4. I'm techy enough so while a bit overwhelmed with all the options, I can handle them.
5. Loading from the camera to the computer is a snap!
6. The RCA jacks are a hoot, allowing displaying pictures on a t.v. easy and fun.
7. There are various instructions booklets for them and they're separate English and Spanish - not both. One set can be discarded!
8. I got some great shots for someone who just replaced her very good Nikon SLR for her first digital camera.

The Bad:
1. I only took about 15 pictures before the camera literally just died on me; it wouldn't power on for a third time. Of course, I tried a couple of different new sets of batteries and the originals should have been fine.
2. Is it black to cover the potentially flimsy plastic body? (The S2 - that I refused to buy - had "silvery-cheap" look and feel and the S3 seems like a stones throw away.)
3. Red-eye is pretty bad due to the low flash to the body and the software that comes with the camera, while having the option to "edit it out" puts human eyes in; this looks really creepy when your main subject matters are a dog and cat.
4. It is a bit heavy; be prepared.

I've looked for a couple of years for the right camera to replace my Nikon 35mm. The digital camera needed to be:
1. Light
2. Produce good quality pictures (overall)
3. Have good reviews by users, not "editors." One never knows if a review by an editor is a paid advertisement in disguise.
4. Be easy enough for me to handle and to teach my partner, who's less of a techy to use.
5. Have image stabilization (the jury is still out on how real that is... got some fuzzies when I wasn't expecting it)
6. Have a very good optical zoom

It meets and exceeds most of those requirements. So, I'm asking for a replacement, rather than a refund. We'll see where this goes from here.

The replacement from Amazon came faster than a speeding bullet and worked at first shot (to my delight). I've used it to take pictures from the car as we passed unimportant things, just to see what it would do. At 40-45 miles an hour, it freezes signs so read them (one cannot tell they were shot while we were moving). The ISO setting is high, there's no blur. The camera is amazing and with the steady decrease in price, I highly recommend this to anyone with a glimmer of being able to adapt to lengthy and clear directions and who can handle the many features this camera has to offer.

A mini-DSLR perfect for photo enthusiasts
I have been taking film pictures with a professional Canon SLR for over a decade, and have been holding out on purchasing a DSLR until they come out with a sub-$2,000 full-frame body. A few years ago, I bought a Canon digital Elph (S330) just for some everyday digital point-n-shooting. While the Elph has served me well, I find the lack of manual settings too limited for my taste. If I were to upgrade to a DSLR, I would get either the Canon 1Ds or the 5D (both of which carry full-frame sensors, a requirement for me), but I'm just not prepared to spend $2,500 for the 5D or 3x that for the 1Ds yet.

With the recent addition of my family (a new baby), I started to look into buying a replacement for the Elph so I can take more baby photos. The film SLR takes great pictures, but traveling with 3 lbs+ of photo equipment is just not practical. I needed something compact (not necessarily pocket sized), but gives me the options to take pictures on manual settings like an SLR. I did quite a bit of research, and determined the Canon S3 IS would be the best camera for my purpose. I've used it for the past month, and it's been great! It's shaped like an SLR, only smaller. It has most, if not all, of the manual settings of a full-size DSLR, minus the interchangeable lenses and an optical viewfinder. Obviously, with an EVF camera like the S3 IS you gain live preview capability, movie mode, and the absence of sensor dust issue. The live histogram is also a huge advantage over competitor models. With a long-zoom and image stabilization, the S3 IS is priced at a fraction of a DSLR. While nobody should expect the same picture quality out of the S3 IS as a DSLR, especially at high ISO, this is truly a great camera for photo enthusiasts who are just not ready to buy a DSLR, or DSLR owners looking for a more compact digicam for traveling or everyday work.

Great!
I am very pleased with my purchase of the Canon PowerShot S3 IS. So far it has taken great pics and haven't had any problems at all. The battery life seems to be holding out very well. I ordered energizer lithium rechargables (2500 mah) and they last a long time.

The picture quality has been good, but if you want to mess around with the advanced setting it takes a little getting used to. Overall this camera has been exceptional so far and haven't had any problems.

Also if you buy this camera I would recommend getting the Canon lens adapter set and some 58mm UV filters to protect the lens.

Railfan's best friend
Just got this little jewel, a real step up from the Nikon Coolpix stuff I was used to, as well as the S2 IS which now resides with my sister. As my subjects are trains, the telephoto lens and hood work great, especially when used in combination with a UV filter and/or polarizer (depending on the situation). Despite needing four AA batteries for operation, it seems to be a real miser when it comes to sipping the juice. This dog has lots of tricks, and I've just begun to scratch the surface. I recommend the S3 IS to anyone who is unable or unwilling to dish out the $$$$ to purchase a DSLR.

Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS - AMAZING!!!
We LOVE this camera! It makes a professional out of any amateur! It's VERY easy to use and is not too bulky to carry around all day. Great for wildlife and sharp details. The colours are spot-on and don't require touching up in Photoshop. Movies can be made for full screen viewing - and the image stabilizing capability has finally made the digital camera for photos and film a crisp, clear non-blurry experience. I can't recommend a camera more highly!

Great camera, brilliant bundle

I am an artist, a traditional painter, and I needed a camera to create my own images for prints and cards of my paintings. This camera is more than enough for what I need, but when it comes to detail, resolution, and color clarity, you can never really have too much.

And I am NOT a camera techy, as many of the reviewers on this camera seem to be. However, with that said, and with all of the features this camera has, the functionality of this camera became VERY intuitive after just a few hours of referencing the manual and working directly with the camera.

Another thing I want to point out is the bundle this camera is packaged with. Personally, I give Canon a great deal of credit for making this package. The 16MB SD card it comes with is NOT useless! It is perfect for grabbing the camera right out of the box and putting in the batteries (4 included!), and giving it a whirl. I know 16 MB is very little space, but slow down------it's not a "scam" to get you to buy more and more products, or to spend $600 when you thought you were only going to spend $350 on your new camera, etc. Yes, you will want a bigger card---of course you will! But this package gives you another opportunity to save more money, and to expand your options on your own personal terms. I can only imagine if the camera was bundled with a 1GB stick that people would complain about the size or quality or the rise in price, etc.
No, it doesn't come with a carrying bag either. But do you determine what golf club to buy based on wether or not it comes with a sleeve/cover?


I have the lens adapter/converter to 58mm and the lens hood as well, and I am definitely glad I purchased them all together.
NOTE-----I HIGHLY reccomend also buying a UV filter for the camera, if for no other reason than protecting the lens. You will be much more nervous and meticulous if you have to clean the camera's own lens rather than a filter.

I can't argue much about the technical specifics of cameras, etc, but the setup on this camera was a breeze. I plugged the A/V cable into my TV, and there it was----stereo sound from the movie I had just recorded, no messy setup, and immediate results. Easy! It even functioned to display the viewfinder contents on the TV itself when in camera mode, which was a nice surprise if nothing else!


For my two cents, if you are looking for better quality pictures but, like me, you are NOT a techy or a professional photographer, and your budget is NOT $9000 (there IS a guide on Amazon for a $9000 budget), I recommend this camera to you. The camera DOES look like a big, complicated mess and it can certainly be intimidating. But you probably thought the same thing when you first started to drive a car. By now, you don't have to put too much effort into driving your car, and this camera quickly became as familiar and intuitive to me as well. And the results speak for themselves----the pictures are remarkable, and every time a friend sees a movie clip I have taken with this camera they smile and laugh and often tell me how surprised they are that a camera can do all of that. I am very pleased with this camera, 5 stars in any category that is relevant to me and my needs.

Superb Image Quality..
The image quality is really good and Color Ascent feature is the best from Canon.
The only problem i see is the size. This is bulkier than the small & compact point and shoot cameras in market..

After a month .... not so good
We spent a month to find the perfect camera and we did a great job!!!!
The pictures are amazing! I love the color accent mode (it allows you to take black and white pictures leaving one chosen color) and super macro mode. The image stabilizer works pretty well ( when you don't zoom). Batteries last long. Movie mode is amazing (you can zoom during recording). Camera is a little heavy and big and the LCD is only 2 inches, if you want something smaller with a bigger LCD pick the Canon PowerShot SD700 IS. We decided to get the S3 because:

1 More optical zoom
2 Better movie mode (zoom in SD700 doesn't work and it doesn't have such nice sound )
3 LCD won't scratch (it closes)
4 Uses batteries (thanks to that we don't need to take charger to Europe)
5 The same price

The SD 700 makes pictures faster than the S3 (but after having a Sony Cybershot is not bad at all).

After having camera for a month I would give it 3,5 stars.
You can't see anything on LCD when you are outside , especially on a sunny day!!!
Image stabilizer might work fine but when my kids move just a little bit during picture , whole picture is blurry!!!! Does anybody know a good camera that would prevent that?

This beats the Digital Rebel XT for user friendliness.
I own the Rebel XT and just purchased this camera a few days ago. The S3-IS the camera of my dreams - it is already my favorite. Don't get me wrong, the XT is a wonderful camera, but not nearly so easy to master. I used this camera last night to take shots of my son playing football, using the sports setting. In the past, with the XT, I would only keep 20% of my shots. With this camera, I've kept 95%. I nearly filled a 1 gig card and I'm thrilled to have captured these memories. If you are not an experienced Canon camera user, the controls and options may be difficult to understand at first, but the great thing is the camera can be kept on the auto setting, great pictures can be achieved, and you can learn while you use it! When Canon upgrades again, I'm going to sell my Rebel, buy the new model, and give this one to my husband. To all parents of athletes: BUY THIS CAMERA. You will not regret it.

A Great go-between for those who aren't ready for the expense of a D-SLR
I have no complaints about this camera - so far I've taken some pretty good shots (I submitted a few to the customer photos for this product).

It's relatively easy to use. I love the range of manual controls over the various settings but full auto mode also takes excellent shots.

The super zoom is phenomenal as is the super macro.

I kinda wish that the manual focus was a little easier to access/manipulate.

Admittedly, camera shake becomes an immense issue at longer zoom settings, but then again - that's what tripods are for.

I love that I now have access to add-ons like filters and super telephoto lenses. This cam is not an SLR but it's a good way to jump into slightly more advanced photography than your old point-and-shoot.

I consider the fact that it uses AA batteries to be a plus - I can use all of my motley collection of NiMH AAs. It get's really good mileage off of some old rayovac 1500mAh cells that I have.

The range of features and photo modes etc are too great to get into here but some features like the INTERVALOMETER just blew me away - I've used it as part of a sleep study project and I'm trying to create a sequential set of photos of a bamboo plant growing next.

Ala in all, great camera for the price.

As good as everyone says
Not being a photographer I was looking for something that took great pictures and was easy to use and this is exactly it. I used it tonight for the first time at a baseball game and took over 250 pics mostly using auto and sport with the continuous shooting and got the results I always wanted before but couldn't do it with the cheaper digitals...Very Impressed so far.... Also wanted to mention that I had the camera on for hours and the battery never ran out...

Great "have it all" camera!
I was an Olympus user... having had a C3040 and then a C5050. However, I always felt that the 3x zoom was way too short compared to what you get used with video cameras. On the other hand, when I dropped my old 35mm SLR camera and accesories because it was mostly sitting at home due to its enormous size and weight, I promised myself that I will never have a camera that I can't carry in my belt. Thus, the digital SLRs are of no advantage to me, no matter the image quality... I hope sometime in the future, some clever manufacturer will finally create the perfect SLR: one the size of a point and shoot camera but with optical SLR viewfinder and tiny interchangeable lenses, if one needed to. Not too difficult... but they still need to sell all those big lenses before they commit to a new micro SLR design.

So, while I wait, I found that an image stabilized long zoom camera was a perfect interim product. I chose the Canon IS S3 for its good reviews, size and overall Canon quality. Olympus, one of the first in bringing optical image stabilization years ago with the UZ 2000, had in the meantime abandoned it and all their long zoom series had no stabilization. A long zoom without stabilization is going to produce more frustration than excitement, especially when those lenses are hardly brighter than F/3.5 at the long end.

So, I was tempted by the IS S3, though I bought it just after it came in the market in May, so I paid more than $100 than today's price. This is the cost of buying oven-warm products. I knew it and I assume it. However, I must say that I am really happy with the camera. I am still learning how to take advantage of all the features it has, while you can be happy most of the time with just the auto point and shoot mode. I admit that the image noise is a bit higher than my old C5050, at same ISO values, something I expected from a camera with such a small sensor. But the advantage of the 12x zoom compensates more than enough.

To carry this camera you need to get the Canon pouch (PSC-75). It is the only one that tightly fits, and I really tried two dozens or more of the generic ones. It just fits the camera (and its strap if you use it on your belt) and looks very much like the old 35mm SLR cases, that you can just leave hanging from the camera while in use if it is not in your belt. If you take extra batteries, put them in your pocket... though for one day shooting you don't need them.

Image quality is excellent for this type of camera. I uploaded some images that shows it, plus an example of the My Colors mode wich is a nice addition from Canon: it is like having Photoshop in camera... but you don't need to go to college to use it. And for the zoom, an image of the moon with a 1.7x Olympus converter shot handheld looks terrific! 1/160s at 730mm I never imagined I could. (check it in uploaded pics).

Some people complain about the flash not popping up automagically. I love it! Now I don't even need to look for the flash sign in the display. When I want flash, I just pop it up. If I want to make sure it will stay off, fold it down. Just keep the flash setting to forced.

The macro is tricky to use. When using the full zoom, you can focus a field of view of about 8cm wide from a distance of 1 meter. Not bad if you want to stay away from your subject. But to get real macro, you have to get very, very close... The zoom has to be in wide, and at 10cm from the lens you get around 6cm wide, at 5cm it is 4cm wide, and at 0cm (yes, you can focus on something touching the lens surface) you get 2.5cm wide.. enough to duplicate and old 35mm slide.

Well, I am not talking about all the features that have been described in detail by so many people. I just want to say that I miss the flash hot shoe and low noise of my C5050. In return I get a great stabilized zoom and really fast reaction camera. I still keep the C5050 for my underwater shooting when diving.

Excellent image quality but failed with video
Image quality was excellent and so happy about that. However, video captured system noise(beep and wheel sound) which is never seen in any other cameras. Even camera is not for video, but its noise is so annoying and video feature is useless. So I gave it up and returned. Later found it is only defect on that camera. If you buy this, please check this earlier in case. Yeah, I didn't notice this till after 3 days.

Does this Camera have date stamp on Pics
With previous Canon models didnt have date stamp on pictures
Looking to buy this camera if it has date stamp on the picture

incredible camera!
In reading reviews about cannon S2 and S3 I couldn't decide on one. So I bought both to campare them. I printed out pics and family voted. The S3 were much clearer. I tired the S2 first and didn't think it could get easier. I was wrong. The S3 is so easy.I know nothing about photography and in no time I was taking beautiful pictures that others say look professional. I love the macro mode to get closeups and the S3 has the iso button on the front so you can change it when you want. no having to go through menu looking for it.
In reviews I read that this camera might be too much for a beginner. That couldn't be more wrong. So the S2 went back. Not that it's a bad camera at all but I thought the $40.00 more was worth the better picture quality I got.

Some big exceptions
This is a sturdy, solid formidable camera; it takes great shots and has most of the features I was looking for in a take everywhere camera - good zoom, good lens, adjustable screen, AA batteries, movie mode, good macro features, image stabilizer. But with that package came nuisances I ended up not being able to tolerate. There are buttons everywhere that you would naturally put your hand to hold a camera if you are even a slightly experienced photographer. I kept resetting features everytime I picked up the camera, and ended up finally handling it like a raw egg. You can't "grab it" you must pick it up with two fingers to avoid hitting buttons you don't want to hit. I carry a camera with me always in a pocket in my bag. Because of the button issue, I've had to put it in a case, so I don't turn it on from simply jostling the bag. The camera once turned on when I laid my jacket down and it was comic watching my bag go in and out with the lens pushing it. But that kind of "accident" can screw up the lens. It does not have a natural hand-hold and it's hard to find a comfortable way to grip the camera - and I have small hands - it would be much worse if you have large hands. The LCD screens - well, there's isn't much great to say here - they are simply inadequate in daylight. Canon recommends using the viewfinder when in broad daylight because the LCD screen is barely visible, but the viewfinder reads very poorly - you cannot accurately see what your are framing - detail, color, anything close to accurate representation is just not there. The adjustable lcd screen mechanics are simply magnificent-a feature I was thrilled to have-but viewing it is simply inadequate. - I just decided tonight that this camera just wasn't good enough for my needs and am ordering the Sony DSC H5. Canon, I hope you are listening - if it weren't for the viewing screens and the crazy button layout, this would be my camera.

Very pleased
This is the best camera out there...at any price. It is easy to use and takes wonderful pictures. It is simple enough for beginners to just point and shoot, but has all the options for a real photo buff. I highly recommend the camera. The movie option is also simple and creates nice, clear movies, with no time limit.

Highly over-rated
I decided to get an ultra-zoom digital camera this summer. After many weeks of reading online reviews and visiting electronics and camera shops, I finally decided to order the Canon S3 when the price finally fell to under 400 dollars. I have had the camera for two weeks now, and I must admit that I do not understand what all the glowing reviews are about. The camera is not terrible, but it is cluttered with tiny, flimsy buttons marked with icons or abbreviations that are not at all intuitive. It is virtually impossible to hold the camera without hitting one of them by accident. The manual is incredibly frustrating. This is not a minor problem. Nearly every entry has a parenthetical reference or footnote telling you to jump to another page. When you do find what you are looking for, it is usually written in the defective, non-native English that has become all too common in product manuals these days. I suppose the camera has all the wonderful options, settings, and features that I've read about hidden somehwere behind all those buttons or in all those menus and sub-menus, but I'll never figure out where they are or how to use them from this horrible manual. The LCD screen is OK, but smaller in reality than it seemed in the store. The viewfinder is perhaps the most disappointing feature of the camera. The resolution is very poor. The image is so heavily pixelated and fuzzy that I have no idea if the subject is in focus or not. As others have pointed out, the lens cap is cheap and falls off for no apparent reason. I didn't realize how annoying this would be. Even at the reduced price, this just should not happen. Most of the pictures that I have taken using the factory settings are OK, but not that much better than my old 3-megapixel Pentax Optio point-and-shoot model. Overall, I am not completely disgusted by the camera, but, so far, I feel no great enthusiasm for picking it up and using it. I can't help but wonder if I would have been happier with the Panasonic FZ7 or the Sony H5.

stopped working after 2 weeks!
I'll admit, the first two weeks I used this camera it was great. However, I never really had the chance to find out for sure b/c after two weeks my camera stopped working. It shut down during use and wouldn't turn back on. I sent the camera back to Canon Factory, hoping it would be fixed or for a replacement, however, I was told that it was unrepairable and I was SOL - basically. Reason? corrosion. From what? - Canon wouldn't say. How is this possible after two weeks and only 3 uses?!?!?!?! So i'm out $500 and I'll be sure never to buy another Canon product. I feel I've been had by the Canon people. After reading reviews/complaints I found that this was a common problem among Canon products. Advice for consumers - keep your camera in bubble wrap and don't use it. This way it will last at least a few months. Good luck!

Fine camera but with a few limits
After taking 400 shots I find the camera excellent all around, and have only one major complaint: its maximum f-stop is 8.0, and the default f-stop in Auto mode is low, typically 2.x. So the depth of field you can get is modest at best, particularly for closer work. As a minor complaint, I find you can't capture RAW images with this camera -- as a first-time digital photographer I didn't know anything about the uses of this format, so didn't know enough to look for it in a camera. These two complaints are not against the high quality of the instrument; they are only a caution that if these two features (shooting at f/16 and having your choice of image format) are important to you, look for a different camera.

Almost Perfect!
I've been using this camera for a few weeks now, and I've taken at least a thousand photographs with it. It is easily the most versatile piece of photographic equipment I have ever owned, and I grew up using film SLRs. This camera has almost all of the features I love in SLR cameras, including fairly intuitive control over exposure settings. I also love the video feature.

My favorite features are:

- The 12x zoom lens which can easily capture close-up subjects from the opposite side of a large room.

- Super-macro mode shoots clear pictures less than an inch from the lens.

- Excellent TV quality video with good stereo sound (no HD).

- A variety of shooting modes let you capture a detailed close up in vivid color one moment, and a fast action shot seconds later with the turn of a dial.

- Adjustable flash output.


That said, there are a few things that really irritate me about this camera. For instance, the manual focus is a pain to use. Instead of twisting the lens, you are forced to hold down one button while you press up and down keys. Autofocus is essentially worthless when you combine low light and fast action (such as a lively concert, like the one I shot pictures at tonight). A usable manual focus is essential for any serious photographer!

Another thing that bothers me is the lack of an external flash hook-up. It makes it difficult to avoid red-eye when photographing people in low light.

I don't understand how such basic features were overlooked when this camera has everything else but the kitchen sink. While this is certainly the most versatile camera I've ever owned, and I love it for what it is, I would not buy it again. I would look for a similar camera that includes a twist-lens manual focus and a flash hot-shoe.

One more critique - photographs are often unusably grainy with ISO settings at 400+. You'll want to stick to the 80 - 200 range, if you can. The lowest ISO setting possible for the situation will deliver the best image the camera is capable of.

Excellent for upgrading from basic point and shoot cameras
This is an excellent camera, especially if you have previously owned a simpler Canon. The Icons and buttons are very easy to understand and the camera is very logically set up, again, especially if you have owned a Canon. The camera has a comfortable feel and the zoom is just spectacular for a very reasonable price.

now they came out with yet another
Just when you thought all was going well
Canon comes out with a new one S4 IS (Oct 13-06)
that is why the S3 have gotten so reasonable in price

Dust inside lens?
Got this camera after reading good reviews. Out of the box, I noticed there was a couple of dust particles INSIDE of the lens. I then compared it to another new S3 that a coworker purchased- she has dust particles inside her lens. Went to Walmart to have a look at their new S3- dust in that lens. What's up with that? I was hoping to just return it and get one without a dust covered lens. But no, not an option. Guess I'll pay to have it sent to Canon to have them clean it like it should have been in the first place. I encourage all to use a small flashlight aimed at an angle, and look at the inside of the second layer of glass in the lens. Or just look at it in the sunlight. Dust?
Otherwise, this camera is excellent so far. Love the movie mode. The zoom produces a surprisingly good image in good light. This camera feels so good in my hand! Too bad about about the dust.

this camera is over-rated
I bought Canon S3 1 month ago based on Amazon's review. But after study it and use it for more than 1 month, I am very disappointed.

1. this product is not easy to use. I had other several digital cameras before and find this camera is more complicated than it shall be.

2. it does not auto-focus easily when zooming even with IS turned on.

3. the Macro does not work as it claimed.

4. the layout of buttons on the digital camera are not great. It's very easy to press one of the buttons when shooting.

I suggest to try out the camera before you purchase it. By the time you figure out this camera has problem, you might already pass 30 days return policy like I am.

A Not So Great Point-and-Shoot Camera
I'm a very experienced photographer, been published and won a few contests too. I use Canon SLR cameras, lenses and equipment which is GREAT stuff. So, when I wanted to add a professional level point-and-shoot camera the Canon Powershot S3 IS was an easy choice. It has excellent optics and essentially the same technology used in Canon's SLRs. So what could go wrong?

First and foremost, everyone should know the Electronic Viewfinder on S3 is VERY pixelated and dark - like looking thru heavy mesh screen. It's difficult to know when you have a sharp focus. Also, the LCD screen is VERY small and dark. It's difficult to see images on this screen in bright light. It simply does not work well for me doing fine art photography. If you plan to use this camera 100 percent of the time in autofocus, these concerns do not apply to you. However, if you plan to do any Macro photography this will be a problem. Personally, I like to know with absolute certainty my photos are sharp and subjects are in focus. No one likes to see fuzzigraphs!

I have also found it far too easy to accidently push one of the many buttons scattered over the camera surface. For example, I had set the camera to best quality, highest resolution to shoot flower pictures. Somewhere along the way I hit the wrong button and took a few low resolution images before discovering the change of setting. My SLR's have lots of buttons too, but I've never had this happen before.

The macro (close-up)capability of this camera is greatly over-rated. It only works on wide angle settings of the lens. Therefore, you must be VERY close to the subject photographed. I bought a Canon 500D close up lens to take macros and still have the full 12X zoom of the camera's lens.

A few reviewers have commented on the very poor quality of the manual that accompanies the S3. I must agree. It IS hard to figure out and I've got a lot of experience reading Canon manuals, figuring out Canon menus and setting camera dials. It's been my experience most folks don't read the manuals. They learn just enough to take pictures and never explore the full power of these devices. The big "P" on the Program dial does NOT stand for "perfect". So, if you don't read manuals, ignore my comments.

The picture quality is very good and should not disappoint anyone - assuming of course it's properly focused. The one thing you need to know is that as good as the meter is in this camera, you will have to learn about Exposure Compensation if you expect properly exposed images. Over- and under- exposures can be avoided with compensation and using the camera's histogram features.

I gave this camera a 3 star rating because it does not live up to the quality and performance I've come to expect from Canon. It's a decent camera, but for it's price it should be MUCH BETTER.

Love it with its limitationa
I bought this camera to replace my Olympus UZ 770, which I adored but it had some noise issues at 400, noisy zoom, no IS, & buried functions.

The Canon was a little pricey, but so worth it. Yes, there are some noise issues from 200 ISO on up but with IS I don't usually use 400 or 800. The bracketing feature is AWESOME. I also find that the IS is more effective on the 2nd & 3rd shots, due to the fact that you don't have to press the shutter for those last 2.

The ISO button being right there is great too, and the function button is a great shortcut to exposure & flash adjustments, white balance, color options, and the bracketing choices. I also like that it saves whatever setting you were on last, although sometimes I forget and wind up using tungsten WB in daylight, but I find the Auto WB works great so I usually use that.

The noise issue doesn't bother me for what I expected, and I plan to use noise reduction software anyway. I don't expect Pro SLR results out of what is essentially a feature loaded point and shoot.

It's also very quiet and I haven't had issues with the lens cap coming off - unless you're careless with it and you shouldn't be anyway.

Love the rotating screen and am not bothered by the size. I suppose if you have bad vision or like to show instant results to others a lot a bigger screen is nice, but I'm fine.

I also ADORE the included software although the red eye function is a little finicky sometimes.

I also use it to preview what to expect when shooting 35mm film, until I can afford the Canon EOS 5D.

Well Worth It!
High-quality camera for the price! Great zoom and I am MORE than pleased. Easy to use and download of photos. Highly recommend.

Serious Digital Camera
The Canon Powershot PRO is just that...it's a very serious digital camera. The days of 350 dollars buying you a basic 2 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoon are long gone. For the money, this Canon model seems to be what would have cost THOUSANDS to get your hands on just a few years ago.

The camera comes with a 12X optical zoom, and it extends that with a massive digital zoon. (Remember, optical is a CLEAR image, digital zoom is just that...it loses clarity but gets you closer to the action.)
The 6MP gives you TONS of FINE HIGH quality picture taking ability. You can set the camera to the quality you feel is needed. I paired this with a 2GB sandisk card, at lower quality it held 1700 pictures, at highest it still held over 900 pictures. The LCD is clear, but the menus are complicated. It has TONS of options, and enough buttons to confuse a novice user. I am fairly technically savvy, and it took me a while to get comfortable with this advanced digital camera.

Once I connected it to a computer, the images were awesome on the monitor, and even better when printed at the local photo shop, some big, and some average size. Quality was not compromised.

Overall my take on this camera is that it's LEGIT. It's A LOT of camera for the money, even at full retail which Amazon does NOT charge you.
I reccommend the 2 GB memory card, AND the Canon rechargable batteries...this thing went through REGULAR batteries like nothing. Spend the extra money and save in the long run.

Good luck!

INCREDIBLE!
This camera is really awesome!!! It offers great pictures, great battery life, great zoom, great settings. It's a great alternative if you are not yet ready to spend the big bucks on a canon rebel. Of course, it's not a rebel, but if you are not a professional photographer, you'll be totally satisfied with this camera.

fantastic point and shoot DSLR-like camera
This is a fantastic camera.Brilliant colors,creative features,good fit in the hand,easy controls,just about everything a person would want in a p&s camera.The vivid colors feature really make filters unnecessary.I took plenty of nature photos and the colors were so crisp and clear that if I didnt take the pictures myself I would think they had been taken to photoshop or any color enhancing program.The auto focus was pretty quick for a p&s.The rotating lcd screen came in extremely handy when shooting low or overhead.Do not underestimate that feature.The controls were nice,very creative.You could combine different features to create another feature.It seemed like it was limitless.The supermacro feature prooved to be well beyond my expectations.I took incredibly close photos and the auto focus worked great,and the image was in fantastic detail.The zoom is something that really puts canon on the map.Crazy zoom.
Now you know you cant have the good without the bad.Even though I said the autofocus was good it wasnt great.There were times where I went to focus in on something and despite plenty of light,the object I was aiming at was still,it would tend to lose focus.It was beyond me why this was.The ISO speeds provided some noise,especially the higher the speed.This camera is very SLR-like.You do have the option of adjusting settings and whatnot but I found out about a month into having the camera that I had maxed out these options.They can only go so far.And since they could only go so far I did sell it and get a 350D(XT).But that is only because I want to learn more about the technical side of photography,so again dont let that turn you away from this camera.And then there are the little details.Like that the camera mount was made out of plastic.Meaning if it were screwed too tightly on a tripod there is the possibility it could crack.Whenever the mermory card door was open it would turn off the camera,causing you to lose any buffed images.Even though in my mind these "complaints" or "imperfections" are extremely petty and shouldnt really deture you from buying this camera.I feel that they were things that would keep this camera from being perfect,and thus I had to mention them.
Conlusion:Get this camera.You wont be sorry.Fantastic features,a step above what Ive seen in other cameras.The rotating screen is very very handy in certain situations.Good feel in the hand.It even has some attachments that you can buy to enhance you photos.Which means you can add filters,even though the vivid colors feature recreates that.Brilliant point and shoot camera that gives SOME feel as if it were a DSLR.Again,Canon has put out a very worthy camera.And for the price you really cant go wrong.

Perfect all around camera
I have a canon digital slr, an s1 is, and a s3 1s. I carry the s3 is when I don't want the bulk of the slr and lenses.I bought it because I wanted the 435mm lengnth(relatively fast) without spending mega bucks. The canon teleconverter ads 1/2 again as much and is pretty clear. I love it. It's quality and functions are the best. It doesn't have the sharpness of the L series lenses but not much else does. I hate second rate equipment. This camera is first rate.
pros: 6mp, range, 35-435mm, compact, great price compaired to slr lenses, 58mm adapter available so You can use common filters, Image stabilizer, It shoots 3 pictures with different light settings.(I use this feature often when I am not sure about light settings)excelent vidio capacity. Great battery usage. these are just a few pros
cons: it is easy to change the quality settings on accident. ( I check it often because it has happened.)Preview isn't the best. I simply shoot loads of shots. I thought thats why they made digital anyhow. Only ex film shooters would have a hard time with that.
Bottom line: don't hesitate any longer. buy the camera. You won't be sorry

A Gem !!
Have four days now, bought to suppliment my Kodak P850. I will write more as i use the S3 in weeks to come, at this moment i am in Bliss, excellent piece of equipement. Blows the Kodak away in terms of response , a Buick to a BMW. GOOD JOB CANON !

Professional camera @ affordable price.
Canon Powershot S3 IS 6MP is in many ways qualified as a professional digital camera. It has powerful features in a dial button and user friendly display on its swivel-tiltable LCD. The setting menu is very understandable and systematic. It is provided with comprehensive digital manual and software in CDs which also downloadable from the Canon website. The camera is programmable, customizable, automated and enhanced with other features like photo stitching for panorama effect, and fun features like color accent, color swap, and fireworks. For those who have been struggle for a long time with speedy objects or problem with lighting adjustments, this camera will make it easier by providing a selectable settings. Find a fit infrared filter, this camera also capable for infrared photography. I have tested and explored most of its feature in the middle east deserts and in tropical lands (and also compared it too to another brand that I have owned for two years).

The minus of this camera is on its flash. The mechanism is prone to break, need careful attention when it is upraised/ activated. You will also have shadow resulted from the lense body for very near objects. I prefer the camera provided with a hotshoe to attach a separate flash unit.

Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, this Powershot S3 IS will give you quality digital photography at an affordable price. One more thing, there are many third party manufacturers give you choices for the accessories like teleconverters, lens adapters, filters or simply a lens cap replacement.

Tough decision S3 vs. A640 / A630
My number one reason for purchasing a new camera was dead pixels on my G2. I've had it for four successful years, but got tired of photoshopping all my pics to conceal the dead spots. :( The second reason was size. The G2 is a great camera, but kind of a brick. And since I travel a lot, I was looking to reduce the bulk in my travel bags. However, I did not want to lose the full-feature manual controls of the G2.

Although I've read good reviews of Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, etc., I love the G2 photo quality, and so to make life easier and narrow the search, I decided right off the bat to stick with Canon.

I began my research in the PowerShot A series. My next requirement was the swivel LCD. This is such a useful tool for me, especially in crowds where you can raise up the camera and still frame a good shot. Also with kids, you can lower the camera to your knees and compose without bending over backwards or getting in the dirt.

With my primary requirements being swivel LCD, full-feature manual controls, and size constraints, it came down to the A640 and A630. I read all the reviews, and was simply trying to decide between the 10M with black housing (very slick!) or the 8M which is plenty for me and my 5x7 or 8x10 prints. I thought that noise would a problem for the 10M A640. However, the test shots on Digital Camera Resource http://dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a630_a640-review/index.shtml looked like the A640 slightly outperforms at 400 ISO. Maybe Canon is test-marketing a new noise reduction system in the camera?

In any case, I really liked the less conspicuous black, and decided on the A640. I went to the camera store (yes, I still prefer to buy from the local shop vs. online) and was disappointed that they don't keep the A640 in stock. No worries, how about the A630 then. But while handling the A630, I noticed the S3 IS right there with its sleek black housing, and incredible 12x optical zoom. I thought for sure this was an $800 camera. Surprise - same price as the A640. Now this threw a monkey wrench into my decision! I had to go back and research everything all over again; now comparing the A640 / A630 to the S3, even looked into the G7. The G7 lacks a swivel LCD and has a $500 price tag, so it was quickly thrown out.

Here's my conclusion on the A640/A630 vs. S3. Feature for feature, they're basically the exact same camera. The only exceptions are sensor size, megapixels, zoom with image stabilization (S3), live histogram on the LCD (S3), and of course the bulk or size of the camera itself. The only other thing I noticed was that the physical controls are slightly different on the A640/A630 vs. the S3. The button placement on the S3 is more like the G2.

Tough decision for me now. The A630 has everything I need, but the S3 will expand my photography with its amazing 12x zoom. I knew that if I got the S3, that every time I lugged it out, I would kick myself for not getting the slimmer A630. And I also knew that if I were to get the A630, then every time I tried to zoom in close, I would kick myself for not getting the 12x S3.

Finally, I went to the camera store convinced of my original motivations (size) and determined to purchase the A630. But when I got in the store, and held the S3 again, it just felt so natural, and the 12x optical zoom simply can't be beat! I also thought the learning curve would be lower since the controls were laid out more like my G2. I ended up with the S3, obviously. That night, I took some shots of the moon, hand-held no tripod, and they are incredible!

I know I will still kick myself when I travel and fumble around with the bulkier S3, but I suppose I can always buy the A630 on-line for ~ $250 as a back up. So far, however, I'm thrilled with the S3.

Almost perfect
I bought this for my wife, as we were having our second baby and needed something a little smaller than my D SLR.

Overall this camera is amazing. The continuous shooting mode is great. The flash charges very fast. Batteries seem to last forever. I shot several hundred images the night out daughter was born, then maybe a hundred more over the next 2 days on 1 set of AA batteries.

The optical zoom is excellent and fast from wide to tight. And even works while shooting video. The video mode is a very nice plus. It is a little grainy in moderate light. But in well lit situation is works fine.

Negatives: Red-Eye. This seems to pop up a lot. I have an older Olympus E10, and I don't think I ever got a red eye shot while using that camera for 5 years. But with the Canon, seems very common. Easy enough to remove after the fact, but would be noce to not have to.

Negative: Focus. It seems to not find focus in some situations. I haven't narrowed it down, but when there are small objects nearer the camera it seems to choose them.

But I would highly recommend this camera. Even with the 2 limitations mentioned, the lens, battery life, overall quality of images among other positive make this a great mid size camera.

Scott

Very Good Camera
PowerShot Pro is a very good series of cameras from Canon. Very fast delivery and good follow-up from seller.

awesome camera!
I cannot express in words exactly how much I love this camera, especially the amazing zoom. When shopping for camera, I wasn't specifically looking for a camera with a zoom this long-- I thought, foolishly, that it wouldn't matter to me that much. I ended up buying this camera because it was a good price, the zoom seemed nice, and the picture quality I'd seen was good.

Then I actually recieved the camera, and realized exactly how much I'd been missing without a good zoom. I can finally get good, closeup shots! My last camera had 3x optical, so the difference was really startling. And even better, the photo quality is really nice. I'm taking a photojournalism class, and when I showed my teacher some of the shots I'd taken, he said "those shots were taken by that little thing?!" Also, the image stabilizer is really quite good; if I ever tried to take shots at full zoom on my little Canon Powershot A80, they'd be completely blurry, but with this camera I can shoot at full zoom with barely any blur, even in low light. I was taking pictures at a concert last night, and got some really nice pictures even though it was pretty dark.

The only problem I have with it is that it is rather large. I can't cart it around quite as easily as I could my last one. Also, there's tons of tiny buttons all over it, and it took a while before I could find a place to fit my (rather large) hands without pressing them accidentally. However, these aren't huge detractors for me-- I'd rather get good quality pictures and have to deal with the size and the buttons than get cruddy pictures in a tiny camera. Oh, and I really wish they'd provided a wrist strap along with it, but oh well.

I've only had this camera for about 3 weeks now (still running on my first set of batteries), so I haven't been able to go through all the neat features on this thing, but I do know that I wouldn't trade this camera for anything else in its price range.

A blend of technology and simplicity
I'd rate myself as being relatively low tech. But I want advanced features available in case I need to access them. This unit is the ideal blend. I started taking great pics right away with very little study or prep. It was easy. And yet, the advanced features are available for situations where I would want to take more time to figure them out.

great canon power shot pro series
I love the canon it is great. Took it to Europe in the fall and it took great pictures. Easy to use for an average person with little camera experince. I love it..

Very good camera!
For those who want more than a point and shoot camera, but don't want to pay the high price of a SLR.

Great Camera
This camera has great capabilities. I continue to expand my application of them with every use. I replaced an Olympus Digital Camera and a Sony Camcorder with the Canon S3.

Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS
Just great pictures. Only one issue that flash is not automatic as you have to raise it manually.

It's almost a DSLR
There are a lot of things to like about this camera.

The image stabilizer works. It won't freeze subject motion, but it does a very good job of freezing camera motion. One of my first low-light hand-held shots has a blurry subject (he moved while talking) with a rock-solid background and foreground. This feature makes everyone a better photographer.

The lens is near professional quality. It's bright at f 2.8 (wide) and f 3.5 (telephoto) so you can shoot available light as well as long zoom. The brightness also means you can lock the camera on ISO 80 or 100 to keep highest image quality. The image stabilizer means that you can use the really long zoom without camera shake ruining the shot.

The sensor has enough pixels to do the job. Last night I shot full moon shots at max zoom (using a tripod). The moon was well up in the sky (making it smaller) and looked no bigger than a pencil eraser on the display. Inside on the monitor, the shots are great. There are enough pixels that when I crop to get the subject, I still have a very nice shot. Fall foiliage shots have so much detail you could almost teach a biology class on leaves from your snapshots when you blow them all the way up. I mught be able to use more pixels, but I don't *need* more pixels.

The Auto and Program modes are great for beginners. Pick it up, turn it on, frame and fire. Most of the time this will suffice and the quality of the shot will be determined by the eye of the photographer. Some times you need to take control, and the camera has the modes and controls for that too. Indoor, low light, no-flash, long zoom is the one that hits me; in default mode the autofocus hunts if you don't help it. Now I know what to do, but a novice will fight it.

The camera has a host of handy features like self timer and continuous fire and red-eye reduction and... A novice can ignore them but with experience you can exploit them.

Like every digital ever made, the display washes out in sun. The viewfinder can seem cramped if you are used to an SLR. The rotatable display lets you hold the camera away from your face and get good shots (overhead and from waist level are the most useful). Shooting from the waist or with the camera in your lap can get you some great candid shots.

Love the movie mode. You'll want a 1G or bigger SD card.

It doesn't fit in a pocket, but it is reasonably easy to hold in your right hand. It is way smaller than an SLR, so you can lurk with it concealed mostly in your hand. I haven't found a case I really like for it yet. The strap is a tad short on me.

Professionals will find that the ISO 800 setting works but is too noisy in the low light conditions that demand it. It is useable, but you get snapshot quality.

Excellent compromise between point-and-shoots & DSLR
Since I am not any kind of expert in photography, I am writing this review just as a means to highlight a few features of this camera that really impressed me. Ages ago, I used to own and use an SLr, but for at least the last 20 years I have worked only with point-and-shoots, first film and them digital. My most recent digital was a Canon Powershot S510, and that experience helped convince me to go with Canon again when upgrading.

My reasons for picking this over some others that were similar:

- I already have lots of SD cards from my previous Canon Powershot, so I wanted to preserve the investment. The Sony I looked at, for example, would have required me to reinvest in new media.
- Use of AA batteries; I will not consider a camera that uses proprietary batteries
- Quality (i.e. similar to digital camcorder specifications in resolution and frame rate) movie mode with zoom that works while shooting the movie.
- Ability to add decent auxillary lenses.
- A good zoom with wide range.

Some favorable things I have found out or otherwise experienced since buying the camera:

- The zoom plus digital image stabilization works well together. I can zoom across two rooms and read 12-point text from a memo on the wall.
- The add-on lenses (my experience is limited to the WC-DC58A Wide Angle lens) snap on quickly rather like an SLR, although the original lens does not come off, rather the aux lens just surrounds the original and puts the new optics out in front. However, I was a bit disappointed that the wide angle with the aux lens on is only slightly wider than with it off. At least this aux lens is only about $30 street price and it does help a little bit. In order to add on any of the aux lenses, you need to buy the (also inexpensive) Lens Adapter & Hood kit LAH-DC20. By the way, with the hood attached, the affects of glare when shooting outdoors are eliminated.
- The camera allows a WAV format sound file to be recorded for any picture or pictures and stored to the memory card; this is useful for later identification of pictures and what is in them. The sound files are separate from the picture files, but share the same file name with a different extension (e.g. 00001.JPG & 00001.WAV). This is very useful.
- The camera has a separate movie button that starts & stops the recording of movies. It works at any time regardless of picture taking mode, so you can start a video while in the middle of taking still pictures, or you can take a still picture(s) while recording a video. The video is recorded at the specified video settings and the still picture is taken at the specified photo settings, so one does not influence the other.
- The combination of mini-LCD 'optical' viewfinder (for privacy or shooting outdoors in bright light) and the swivel type main LCD viewfinder is unbeatable. The main LCD would be larger without the swivel feature, but I think it is a good trade-off.
- All controls are very ergonomic in appearance, placement and functionality.
- The built in flash is pretty good, but for a modest extra cost you can get the optional slave flash unit, which goes off when the primary flash does, and it covers a much larger area.

Great for taking celeb pics
This camara is great for taking pictures with Celebs. I took a picture of my friend lil Jimmy with black Sabbath and it came out great. He was recently diagnosed with HIV and this was his greatest wish. I suggest a larger memory card though. The optical zoom is phenomenol. Good luck bro

perfect camera
This is a perfect camera and I'm so glad I bought it. Amazon had the cheapest price around and I wouldn't trade my camera for anything. Now I can click away and not have to worry about wasting film - and I get better pictures, because I can take more, and therefore have more to choose from.

More features for a reasonable price
This S3 IS is really worth for those who want great looking pictures with stunning clarity. The autofocus is really good and accurate. Also has more special scene modes and picture effects. We can take full resolution pictures simultaneously while recording a movie. Overall, it is a good camera with rich features.

Easier to use than other digital cameras I have owned
Great quality. Movie quality is really astounding.

Canon S3 IS Camera
I've had the camera about 3 months. I bought a 1 G memory card 150X. I added rechargeable AA batteries. I recently went to the Smokie Mountains in East TN and took over 600 pictures. I have taken another 36 using flash and the batteries are still going. The pictures are vivid and sharp. The 12X lense and image stabilizer are terrific. The start up time is phenomenal. The multiple shot feature is out of this world. This is one great camera that I am more than pleased with.

My only complaint is that the menu and set buttons on the back keep getting in my way. Other than that, it is an excellent camera.

Excellent
No complains yet. Good pictures, good zoom, good image stabilizer, lots of functions, good price.

Summarizing, excellent camera.

Intermediate to semiProfessional
This is the camera one should look if you want to do serious and advanced photography. It offers a lots of features in the manual mode, which you need to understand. Zoom is amazing, Picture qualities is better in manual mode than in auto mode.

If you want auto Point and Shoot, please don't bother to buy this. Would be costly, instead go to S50 for point and shoot.

Has attachements for attaching lenses, did not try it, manual is not elaborate for amature person. Takes some time to get use to the photographs.

Worth every dollar.

Fantastic Zoom & Movies
We are still sorting through our pictures of our European vacation but overall the camera was excellent and we would highly recommend it. The optical zoom was incredible. Movie mode had great resolution and sound (only shot movies during the daylight) actually better than our older movie camera that we didn't take with us. The camera is on the heavy/bulky side but I don't know of a lighter camera with all of these options. If small is very important to you keep looking but features mattered more to us. It takes a bit to get familiar with the shooting options but nothing more than you would expect from a new camera.

a professional attempt for amateurs
Canon S3 is the latest camera for S series. Nothing has changed much though. The black color makes you feel comfortable about your camera. It will not be wrong to say that S3= Black S2 with 6 megapixel.

Greate Camera for great price
I chose this camera for its 12x zoom and the flip-out view screen (which enables you to take pictures of yourself, without much hassle)
The image quality is very good. And it runs on 4 AA (standard) batteries, which are easy to find.

Though it may be a little bit bulkier compared to other slimmer models, the features in the S3 IS are hard to beat. I would otherwise have bought the Panasonic FZ7 if not for the flip-out view screen.

This is my second camera, my first one was the Canon Powershot A70, which also was a very good camera, and I liked it very much.

NOT a photographer...
I have no talent and none but the most basic skills when it comes to photography...
and I LOVE this camera. I'm sure I underutilize this camera's myriad manual features, but I get lovely pictures on most of the automated settings.

I mostly photograph children, animals, and landscapes, though I've experimented with close-ups of cactus flowers, which turned out surprisingly well, using the appropriate setting. The optical zoom is excellent, and the image stabilization allows me to take much higher quality pictures "in hand."

The movies are great - excellent sound quality, and very easy to "capture the moment" with one-touch on and off (no need to switch functions while shooting pictures).

I use regular AA batteries, which are easy to get anywhere, and last a respectably long time. I tried rechargables, but must have gotten poor quality batteries, because they would not hold a charge in the camera, even when brand new. (I'll try them again, when I find some that are perhaps more reputable...)

Absolutely no regrets in buying this camera. I've not been this happy with an electronic device in a LONG time.

Generally pretty good
The good:
fast; mid-weight, plenty of shooting options. I like having video hence no need to jump to an digital SLR.

The bad:
software a little clunky, camera view finder could use more of protruding rubber shield - I only like to shoot through view finder and find this aspect too much like the cheapy quick point shoot with too much light distraction from perhiperal.

Like a Pro!
The Canon IS S3 is a great camera for the person who wants to get that professional touch but doesn't want the hassle of owning mulitple lenses and also wants the flexibility to just snap pictures very quickly.

The 12x zoom is excellent. This camera has a huge range of setting so you can get very creative.

Excellent value for money!!

Canon is the best
I love this camera even though it took some time to discover all that it can do. And also to learn what I shouldn't do - like erase all the photos instead of just one! It is a light and compact camera. I was glad that the instructions for each language were in separate books. I could discard the ones I didn't need. I haven't used it too much yet but the holidays are coming and I plan to put it to a lot of use.

Very happy with camera
Works great as point-and-shoot in auto mode. Camera has just enough advanced features to keep the novice photographer happy for a long time. Battery life is great if you purchase top quality rechargables. A large, at least 1G SD card, should be used. Image stabilization works well. Tripod is necessary if using camera at full zoom.

Great Middle Camera
This is a great camera for those who need more than a point and shoot but do not want to carry a bag full of lenses. Also, with a large SD card (1 to 4 GB) this camera will replace your video camera. One thing to note, when you take pictures while recording video, it stops recording a second or two while it processes your picture. This is very obvious when watching your video.

Best camera that I have owned
Over the last 50 years, I have purchased four film cameras and five digital cameras. By far, the Canon S3 IS is the best camera I have owned. And most of the cameras I have bought cost more that the S3. I returned recently from a three-week trip to Scandinavia and St. Petersburg, Russia. During the trip, I took almost 2500 photos with the S3. The photo quality was excellent, the camera controls were easy to use, and the camera performance was outstanding. I expect to use the S3 for many years.

Excellent digital camera in its own class!
I bought one when it first came on the market back in May. Half a year and 5,000 pictures later, here are some of my comments:

- It is a GREAT digital camera in its own class. By "class" I mean one should not compare it with a dSLR because the S3 is not one. So do not expect it to overcome "shutter lag" easily, although among other DC (digital camera) I have used, shutter lag on S3 is greatly improved--to a degree that I feel comfortable taking photos in very fast pace, e.g., catching flying birds. (However, only good dSLR can completely eliminate shutter lag and S3 is not a dSLR.) One also should not compare the S3 with the "small" point-'n-shoot DCs. S3 is not as small as those--it won't easily slide into your pocket, unless your pocket is relatively big and loose (like mine). But the slightly larger body brings great features none of the small DC can offer.

- Big optical zoom (12X) and IS. 12X is GREAT and combined with Canon's Imagine Stabilization, S3 turns into a powerful large zoom camera with superb imagine quality. My recent trips included shooting (with cameras in case you wonder) wild wolf at Yellowstone National Park. And this little S3 came out as the only one that can capture the animals at great distance, along with other "big guns" the professionals carry. The IS feature eliminates hand shake with great effect and I could shoot at 12X with low light and still get quality photos. I also highly recommend the "TC-DC58B Tele Converter Lens" for the S3 (or S2) which gives you another 1.5 zoom that effectively make S3 18X zoom (equivalent to a 600mm lens). Check how much those big telephoto lens cost (close to 10K) ...

- Excellent video shooting. Again a feaure one almost never finds on any other DC or dSLR. The S3 takes DVD quality video in stereo sound, not just video clips that most DC can do. This little (almost) pocket-size camera now forces our digital videocam into an early retirement.

- Many other great features. However those are more or less standard and one can always try to argue some other DC may have similar or better features. I won't comment on those.

In summary, the S3 is a great small-size DC. Its superb lens offers big 12X zoom and IS, two technology of Canon's pride. It also offers DVD video shoot with stereo sound--this feature alone can save you a digital vidoecam.

One suggestion--do get a big SD card if you want to shoot video too. I have a 4G SD card and I think 2G is a must. Also battery life is excellent. It uses 4 AA-battery, which seems a lot odd at the beginning. But it comes in handy because as long as you can get AA battery you never worry about power. With typical dSLR, if the battery is out you are done for the day unless you find a power outlet to recharge (and have your charger with you).

I do have one small complain. The Menu button at the back of the camera is at the location where my palm presses the body. Sometimes I raise the S3 and I see the menu in viewfinder because my palm has pressed it strong enough to trigger it. Another press is needed and I lost several shots because of this.

I have other dSLR with quality lens. But I always take the S3 with me on any trip.

Nice camera
This is my second Canon. There is a lot of whistles and bells on this camera that will take time for the novice to figure out. My biggest complaint is trying to remember to take off the lense cap before turning it on. My other cameras did not have the cap. All in all it takes excellent quality photos, so you will not be disappointed.

Great camera
Great camera, easy to use after reading the manual.
Light, easy to handle. Unfortunately a little pricey.

Canon S3 IS
Am very pleased with all aspects of the camera except one. I do not like that the viewfinder is no longer operational once you flip open the LCD screen. Sometimes I like to verify my shot with both.

Canon S3 IS Rocks
My search for a semi pro Digicam made me do a lot of research and after I shortlisted a few models I had to find the best deal. Amazon helped me get that deal and today when I look at the performance of the camera so far.. I am amazed... The camera was bound to be good but a special thanks to Amazon.com for helping me get one at a gr8 price.

Lots of features, amazing video quality and sound for a picture camera.
Pros: Excellent picture quality, great zoom, nice panoramic feature, SD card, great video and sound quality for a picture camera, the best that you can by for this money and the LCD can rotate in any angle.

Cons: Flash does not pop up automatically; just 16mb SD card in the box.

PD: this camera size is not a pocket one but the size is good enough to shoot with one hand.

Advice: use rechargeable batteries and a large SD card (2 or 4 Gb) cause the video is so good that you will love shooting. Also, must of the times you will need the flash indoor other way you will have bad pics; with flash results will amazed you.

Better than they say and worse than they say . . .
This is a near pro camera in disguise. This little wolf really needs you to study it and play with it to get the best pictures, but when you do you are really rewarded. When I say worse, if you just want a point and shoot you will get crappy photos sometimes and think you were cheated.

If you just select Auto, you will probably be disappointed. Canon makes better point and shoot cameras like the S series. My wife uses the S80 for her business, my daughter has the S70, and we have two other Canon P&S around that we all use for fun shots. I needed something with a real zoom lens and didn't want to do all the way to DSLR as I wanted something that also shot movies. I'm a HS tennis coach and I wanted to be able to take short videos of my players to help them see their strengths and weaknesses.

The S3 takes unbelievable videos! Better than my sony video camera that cost much more AND it is easier to get them into my computer, edit them, and produce a CD to hand to one of my players. A feature that I didn't find on any of the other competitive cameras was the ability to snap a still picture in the middle of taking a video. Also like the separate video button so you can take videos without changing anything on the camera, just hit the video button and it starts.

It also takes GREAT pictures. When you understand the options on the camera, you can take pictures that are close to the best you can do with a pro DSLR camera. I now shoot all my normal pics in P mode with it set for ISO 100 or ISO 200 and a 3 shot bracket. Great pics everytime. The anti-shake (IS) makes it easy to take great pics in low light. In low light when I let it go up to high ISO I can get noise like you wouldn't believe. However, I still get the pictures. Now that I know better, I can set up the camera to get really good low light pictures without going into high ISO ranges. I also have been able to take wonderful pics of my Koi, my cats, my kids, my wife, my car, my anything that takes my fancy. I have a framed 10x14 picture in front of me taken of a squirrel in the very top of a 100' redwood tree with the camera at max optical + digital zoom of 48x. Hand held and clear as a bell due to the IS and the optional settings available. Try that at home with any other camera in this price range.

Bottom line: after looking at all the current offerings from Panasonic/Sony/Nikon et al, this is the best of the bunch for a prosumer big zoom camera. None of the rest of them paid any attention to making videos, canon did. All the rest tried to get our attention by promising more pixels, but Canon when for quality and a reasonable price. This camera takes better pics than the Panasonic Lumix that costs several hundred $$$ more and has 10 mega pixels -- oh, and the canon is considerably smaller and easier to carry.

Accessories: I recommend that you get the Lensmate 52mm lens adapter and the Tiffen 3 pack of filters. I didn't bother with the Canon 58mm stuff, just got everything in 52mm. Unfortunately Amazon doesn't carry Lensmate but you can Google them. I also got the Raynox .7x wide angle lens from Lensmate at a good price. It has a bit of barrel distortion, but easily correctable with software -- big feature is that it is extremely clear at full zoom. Much better than the Canon wide angle lens. Case Logic makes a case that holds the S3 with the lens adapter on, so I can carry it around with the UV filter in place. The Lensmate lens adapter is made from metal and gives you a place to grip with your left hand so you are extra steady. Wish that Canon would just put threads on the end of their lenses, but they have their way of doing things.

Also got the Transend 4GB 150x SD card. Works like a charm. Make sure you low format it before your first use and then do that again every so often to keep the card clean. Very fast and lets me take up to 30 minutes of videos if I want. Get the SD cards wherever . . . Fry's had the Transend card for $10 less than Amazon.

Great camera, well worth the time I spent researching and testing everything available in September through early November of 2006. I did test every Panasonic, Sony, and Canon model in my price range of $250 to $750. Bought an SD card first and then went to camera stores and tried them all, bought the card home and looked at every pic and video. I ended up paying $350+ here at Amazon for the S3 which was the best price from a trusted source.

Again, what I wanted was a digital camera that could zoom to 10x+, take videos that were as good as my video camera, take fast action still shots in varying conditions, and had a resolution of 5mp or more. I also wanted it to be compact and easy to use, with the capability of using storage cards larger than 2GB. I already have taken almost 2 hours of action videos of my tennis players and several hundred pictures of them. I also have a batch of family pics that range from grainy to perfect as I learned how to set the ISO properly and use the features of the camera. Lots of educational help available online from Canon and others that is specific to the camera.

Bottom Line: buy it.

Excelent Camera.... but the Flash :-(
Well... This is was my replacemente over Sony, to have a camera to take everywhere, instead of my CANON Digital Rebel 350D.

I Must say that I am very pleased with the camera. It has a very nice battery usage, something that got me concerned at first since I had to deal with Rechargeble batteries. They last for a long time and can handle many shots, just about what the Manual says...

I have the need for the Manual Settings on any camera, and this is a MUST as well.. And the MANUAL setting is pretty straight forward with this camera. Fast and easy to use...

Also, the speed on the shutter lag !!
This camera is FAST !! For a camera that is not a REFLEX... Way to go...
One of the fastest I have seen on this category..

The LCD monitor that swivels is also a very nice addition, and already help me out a couple of times.. and when it comes to recording videos, it turns into a very good feature.. :-)

And that brings the camera to another HIGH LEVEL Spec.. The Video..
This Camera has Stereo Sound Recording ! How good is that ?!
And the video is very smooth, but be prepared to have a big SD card on it in order to be using video all the time...

So after all this, why not give a 5 star... One annoying thing !!
The FLASH !! After a nice work on a camera, I don't understand how Canon plain and simple do not apply a automatic Flash to it.. Raise with your own hands ? A message saying that you need to raise it ?
This is so not Cool.... But, as everyone says... Nothing is 100% perfect

In the overall..
I give this a thumbs up big time.. I like the camera and all it's features, apart from only one drawback, but enough to take one star out of it !

After all, you will be very pleased.. Believe me !

Does a pretty fair job, but not what I was hoping for
I've had my camera for about 2 months now. A few points I must praise are the compact body, and super fast shutter speed (I've never owned a Digi Cam with such a quick shutter speed... very nice!) But I'm having some issues with the camera that I'm hoping to "fix" thru experimentation. These are to include;
Trouble with focusing in low light conditions; shadowing on the super macro function; washed out background color (this applies only to my outdoor shots; indoor shots are fine, but my skies in all my outdoor pics are washed out to the point of being white, while the foreground and land in the same picture are almost over-saturated in color).

Also, another downside is that you have to manually raise the flash when you need it. I've not found any instructions on a way to make it pop up automatically. This can be very frustrating when you don't think you need the flash, get your shot lined up, and then try to take the picture, only to get a flashing icon telling you to "raise the flash".

I've pretty much only used Nikon in the past, and will most likely sell this camera and go back to the Nikon. However, the sharpness and vibrancy of the pictures used with this camera are quite good. I'm no pro, and I know that the user, not the camera, will dictate how good a final shot comes out, but I've not had these issues with my Nikon's, so I am not sure who is to blame for these issues. Canon is still a great company, and I think the majority of consumers will appreciate and enjoy the S3.

Delightful Images, Dissapointing Design for Canon S3
I have recently decided to update my digital camera. I have been using the Canon A40 since 2002 and have been largely very satisfied with it (see my review and photos for the A40). The Canon S3 for me is the logical upgrade. I haven't purchased it yet but it was my favorite after examining the data on the Panasonic, Sony, and Kodak competitors. Well, after returning from a little time at the stores to get a feel for the various cameras, I have a couple things I think might be useful to other searchers that I would like to share:

The Canon S3 is the most unintuitively designed camera in its general class. I thought the A40 was overly complicated and the S3 is worse. It has poor ergonomics but is better ergonomically than the Sony H2/H5 which I felt was nearly impossible to use one-handed. The Kodak Z710 was absolutely the best design with intuitive buttons and a wonderful feel in hand. I have fairly large hands but I found it very comfortable to hold and also had no problem taking photos with one hand or changing the settings. Yes, I like a camera that takes quality pictures but I don't want to be fumbling so long with settings that I lose the joy of a spontaneous moment of beauty either. Regretfully, the noise on the Koadak Z710 was unbearable to me even at ISO 100- worse than the noise on my old Canon A40 with it's relatively less substantial 2 MP resolution and 3X optical zoom. I just can't buy a camera that takes worse pictures than my outdated Canon A40 (the photos I've taken with the A40 beat out a lot of those taken with cameras I am reviewing here).

The viewfinder of the Canon S3 is extremely dark as other reviewers have said and I found it absolutely impossible to use. It does have a lot of bells and whistles- some of which are entirely useless (menu themes!?!) and some which are highly attractive (color accent and color swap). The camera does produce some beautiful photographs with the excellent color that Canon is known for.

If you can get past the two-handed photography and the viewfinder which protrudes uncomfortably past the camera body, the Sony H2 is an excellent choice. Depth of field is not as nice as with the Canon but the photos are still near professional quality and I know many happy users personally who wouldn't trade it for any other on the market.

I have not been able to field test any of the competing Panasonic models, namely because I have been to 4 large retailers and one camera shop, none of which carry any of the Panasonic FZ series. I do have to say though that I am very attracted to the Leica lenses- very high quality lenses used in the manufacture of medical research equipment. And I've seen some absolutely amazing professional quality photos come out of them. If any of you out there in Amazonia have an idea where I can find a retailer that has the Panasonic FZ series cameras, please comment.

If the engineers at Canon would have streamlined the Canon S3, it would be in the mail right now but with its ergonomic design shortcomings and higher price, I simply have to take a harder look at it's competitors.

Incredible device for Semi-Pro Photographers
Having owned this camera for several months now, here are my reactions.

This camera takes the best pictures that I have ever taken. But I had to learn to use it.

This is NOT a good choice for the weekend photographer who just wants to take pictures of the kids. This is a state-of-the-art photography platform with literally hundreds of settings.

Some early reviews complained about blurry or grainy pictures. These people did not know how to set up the camera for the conditions. Some reviews complain about the color balance or saturation. But color balance, contrast, gamma, etc. are completely configurable in this camera, so there is no basis for these complaints.

A lot of people assume that the "Auto" setting will let them take pictures casually or mindlessly with this camera, and get perfect results. That might be largely true with the cheaper point-and-shoot cameras with smaller lenses, but not with this one.

The cheaper cameras with smaller lenses are not capable of attaining the superb performance of this lens. But because they are smaller, they are "in focus" over a wide range, so they produce acceptable pictures more or less regardless of settings or focus.

If you are willing to take the time to learn this camera, then I cannot think of a better one. But like with a musical instrument, you will need to practice. It takes some time to learn where to put your fingers, and where not to put your fingers, because there a lots of buttons and settings exposed on the surface of the camera. You will need to learn to use the autofocus to best advantage, and learn the proper program modes to match with your shooting conditions.

If you take the time to really learn the camera, you will control a device that covers the range from a microscope to a telescope. In macro mode, it will focus down to objects actually touching the lens. Or you can crank it up to a 50 power zoom. It takes excellent movies under a wide variety of conditions. Image stabilization makes it seem like your handheld home movies are taken from a professional camera dolly. It takes pictures without flash in conditions so dark that I could not see the subject at all. With the built-in image stabilization, it is capable of taking handheld pictures that rival the sharpness of a large format view camera on a tripod.

But if you just want an easy to operate camera for good snapshots, you should look for a simpler camera. Some of the less expensive models of the Powershot might be better for most people.

The best camera in this class...
I will not bore with too many tech-specs here. I read a review that suggested that this camera was meant for PROs and almost decided against it for PRO sounds like "too complicated for me buddy". However, I decided to give it a try. The store I went to, did not Canon S3 IS in stock, but they had S2 IS. I had already seen a lot of Kodak and Sony in action and was almost decided upon buying Kodak Z612, when the performance and features of S2 IS took my breath away. I am not a PRO, yes, but I know how to follow instructions. I read product manual carefully and VOILA! I had found what I was looking for. It took me a while to understand, but looking at the output shots any trouble taken to first understand this product was worth it.

I compared specs of S2 IS and S3 IS, and decided that S2 IS was damn good, but S3 IS would be a real treat. And, I will not be disappointed. I have had chance to do some benchmark testing of Sony, Kodak, Olympus and Nikon in same class since. S3 IS is a clear winner...

So whether you are a PRO covering a fashion show or an average daddy taking memory-shots of your kids over weekend, you will love this camera. I learnt a great deal about photography in past two months I hunted for a good camera - learnt what defined a good and clear shot...and this is the camera that can deliver it.

Truly Amazing !
This camera is truly amazing. This is my first digital camera however I have been a photography aficionado. I am trying to learn the tricks of the trade. Coming back to the point - the camera has truly brilliant colors, the 12X optical zoom is very powerful (look at some of the images I have posted).

It can be a point-n-shoot for one who does not want to play with a bunch of settings, yet has enough challenge for the person who wants to learn more about it. However if you are looking for an ultracompact point n'shoot this is not for you.

I have not shot any movies with it yet, so would not review movie mode yet. The specs. though say that the maximum size of a movie is limited to 1GB (even if you have a 2GB or 4GB memory card). If you want movies to be bigger than 1GB (15-20 mins. best quality video can fill-up 1 GB) - you will have to break your movies into multiples of 1 GB.

Pros: Brilliant colors, feature rich (stitch mode - used to stitch several photos together like a panoramic landscape, color-swap), powerful 12X optical zoom, solidly built, pro-look, zoom browsing s/w is simple, powerful yet easy to use, eletronic view-finder is a good alternative some times, Made in Japan, Image Stabilizer really works !

Cons: Battery compartment - a little clumsy to close the battery compartment after loading it, fear I could break it. I think there is a trick to it that I have not picked up yet. The only other thing I can think of is - no display for remaining battery life, it will give you a warning that you are on low battery, and a final warning before dying on you, in other words there is no progressive display for battery life. The 4 AA's that come with the camera only last a couple of days - 50 pictures, aprox. Also may be a slightly bigger LCD display would help (it is 2.5", 3" is desirable)

Overall it is a stellar camera, go for it !

If you only need one camera or for movies......
I already have a Nikon D50, a digital SLR, which is about the best camera I can get for pictures on my budget. However, Digital SLR's can't take movies, and I've wanted also to get a spare camera for situation where the big Nikon would be indiscreet or could get broken.

I was turned off of getting a true camcorder because I've heard far too many tales of people using them for 2-3 tapes before they either jam or perpetually eject tapes, and hard drive camcorders are out of my budget. The little ray gun flash camcorders either don't feel right in my hand or the video quality is abysmal.

So I finally settled on a Canon S3. Without getting too long winded it offers:

Picture quality in most situations as good as my Nikon.
Decent battery life on 4AA NIMH batteries
2GB flash memory capacity
A rotating LCD display (the only ultra zoom still on the market with this).
Movies of about 1GB or 8 minutes in size/length.

Most people flip about the "short" clips that are available, but consider this: The old 8mm movie cameras in the sixties held about 4 minutes of film, and the even older movies cameras of the thirties held about 10 minutes. People lived with those and you can with this.

The movies are in AVI format with the MJPEG codec, and I did have to download a codec for my movie editing software (Sony Vegas) to show the video. The autofocus is a little sluggish but silent, and the low light performance is very good for a camera, but so-so for a camcorder. In these areas I'd say it resembles an old analog camcorder.

You can use the zoom while filming, but you can hear it. However, it sounds like a soft "Twa-thunk" and may not even be noticeable in high noise. In typical conditions the movie quality is about as good as a low end DV camcorder, and that's all I ask or want. Holding the camera to shoot video feels more natural to me than even a true camcorder, and the swiveling LCD is great for crowds and tight spots. Overall this is a very good backup camera and bargain camcorder.

Great Camera, worth the money
I bought this camera last Saturday 12/2/06 and i'm very satisfied with it, didn't buy it from Amazon tough, I had a better deal at Walmart for $317 =)
Very easy to use and great features!!(so beginners shouldn't have much trouble with it)

Great price, amazing pictures, and extremely simple to use
I am brand new to photography and was worried by other reviews that this camera may not be for me. However I bought it anyway. Boy, am I glad I did.
The features of this camera are amazing--the color accent, for instance is great. I showed a few friends a picture I took using this feature and they asked how I did it and how long I've been shooting because the photo quality and picture was incredible; remember I my only experience is with 'point-n-shoot' cameras. You can always use photo editing software to perform some of the functions the camera does, however having the features in the camera motivate you to take those shots you otherwise may have not.
The camera is extremely simple to use right out of the box. Simplicity of a point-n-shoot with quality of DSLR photos I've seen. Tackling the manual mode is a continual learning experience, however the more I learn, the better quality photos I take. Don't get me wrong, auto mode takes some remarkable photo's, but manual enables you to take breathtaking photos.
So if your on the fence about the complexity of the camera if your an amateur, don't worry, just by it. And, unless you really need a SLR camera, this is the one for you.

This camera dominates this price range
I got the S3 from Amazon a few weeks ago when it was $350, before the holiday shopping season kicked in, and I love it. It's a giant step up from my previous point-and-shoot.

12X optical zoom increases my versatility in shooting situations immeasurably.
The Image Stabilization system really works.
Canon doesn't get carried away with noise reduction.
In this camera, Canon doesn't get carried away with megapixels (6 is perfect for this sensor).
It feels great in my hands, handles well, and maintains some degree of portability (unlike Panasonic and Fuji's ultrazooms)
I've had no problems with red eye.
I love what the supermacro setting can achieve.
Movie mode is awesome, especially how the IS makes the motion of the camera look smooth and almost professional.

I have found only very minor faults:
-sometimes autofocus is slow at full telephoto
-manual focus is great with most stationary subjects, but is not easy to control at telephoto end of zoom, and not very practical for fast moving subjects

Panasonic's FZ50 is quicker and has a better lens, and I was impressed with its handling when I tried it out, but here's why I didn't buy it: excessive-as-in-past-the-point-of-no-return noise reduction (read smeared images at higher ISO), excessive MP for that sensor, more expensive than the S3.

I don't think any other camera exists that comes close to the S3's image quality, size, handling, feature set, and price.

Worse than my Kodak 3.1 MP.
I know how to take a picture with a digital camera and I have been patient with this camera trying to get a good picture out of it but I have reverted back to my old Kodak for picture taking. All the picture's look fuzzy and I have even used a tri-pod. I only hope there is something wrong with it and Canon or Adorama will replace it. If my unit is not defective then don't buy this. I will update my review if and when I get another camera to review.

If you are serious about quality pictures
I purchased the Canon S3 IS from Amazon.com on August 1, 2006. A lot of reviews are out there for the S3 IS, and there are a lot of options (for diefferent kinds of digital cameras) available for digital photo enthusiasts. What sets the Canon S3 IS apart from all the rest is that it is user-friendly but at the same time provides a lot of advanced features that are easy to learn -- so that in the end you can focus on the end result -- great pro-like pictures that are unmatched by digital point-and-shoot cameras. The S3 IS is a high-end digital camera (with video capability) that takes digital photography to a higher level. One will never regret owning a camera like the Canon S3 IS.

Purple Fringing but Superb Video
This is not a good camera, but a good video camera.
Purple Fringing is horrible, and image quality is way worse than its main competitor: The Panasonic family of megazooms. Purple fringing happens easily for megazoom cameras if the lens is not top-notch. S3 IS got poor glass.
Canon S3 IS only has one advantage over the Panny: excellent video functions. You can actually zoom when taking a video, which the Panny cannot.

Canon does not support their products
I purchased a Canon SI IS and have sent it to their Factory Service center twice, it is still not working right. Now that it is off warranty their answer is for me to purchase a "refurbished" S2 IS for $199...
Their support of their products is terrible, this camera has not worked right since I bought it and they dont care! Do yourself a favor and buy a Panasonic product, they make great products and they support them, unlike Canon

Wow! Buy this camera!
I had my doubts. Since my work requires photography, I'm very picky and only used to professional cameras. I've always hated non-SLR digital cameras because of slow response times, slow shutter speeds, noisy/grainy image quality, and just the hassle of not being able to see my actual shot through the viewfinder. On the other hand, I was tired of carrying around all my heavy bags and lenses every time I just wanted to shoot some fun shots for myself. So, I decided to buy something lighter with a fixed lens just for snapshots, and live with the compromises.
I had a hard time deciding between this and the A640, but chose this for the zoom and the extra creative features, even though it is not as compact and the pictures not quite as sharp.

Well, let me tell you, this little camera is not much of a compromise at all! I've been extremely impressed with both the performance and the handling. The features are simple to learn and use and photos are much better than the test photos I saw online. In fact, the chromatic aberration / fringing problem inherent in these compact zooms has not been a problem in any of my pictures, so far, and the color and image quality are very impressive. The camera is fast - not as fast as an SLR, but sure faster than any of the other digtial point-and-shoots I've tried. The unlimited continuous shooting mode, which is perfect for catching fast-action sports shots, solves the problem of slow shutter speeds and is not found in any of the other camera's in the S3's class. I've also been very surprised by the functionality of the EVF (electronic view finder). I've never used one and was prepared to dislike it, but I actually love it. Since the "real" viewfinders in non-SLR's don't show the actual shot, you can't really use them to hold your eye up against, which helps to steady the camera during zoom shots. I assumed the EVF, with it's low resolution, would be dificult to see through and too annoying to use, but it's not at all. The picture, though a bit fuzzy, is easily used to frame the shot and it makes the camera function almost like an SLR. So, far, I have never found the EVF difficult to see through and now that I've used it, I'm glad it has this feature. The camera is also much lighter weight to use than it seemed in the store. Yes, it's heavier than the smaller compacts, but it's still very light compared to an SLR and I barely notice it when I'm hiking along.

The bottom line is, this is a fast, fully-featured, easy to use little camera that takes fabulous pictures and has more going for it than any of the other long-zoom compact digitals on the market. The quality of the photos is what has surprised me the most - they really are very good. I would not hessitate to recommend this camera to anyone looking for a point-and-shoot with a few more features and a good zoom. If you don't care about the zoom, fast sports shots, or better movie mode, I'd recommend the Canon A640 or A630.