My first experience with a powershot S1 IS was early 2004. Bought this beauty mainly for its 10X optical zoom. Then came the 12X version to compete with one of its own kind from Sony, the Canon powershot S2 IS.
Now here we are today talking about the S3 IS. Believe me you wouldntwant anything apart from an S3 IS if you are looking at a not so SLR but SLR like camera. The shutter speed, the ease of use, the amazingand innumerable features, the image stability, picture quality, flasheverything is extremely commendable.
The following are the highlights of the S3 IS
12x optical zoom lens with USM and UD lens element
Optical Image Stabilizer 6.0 Megapixel CCD
Larger size 2.0” Vari-angle LCD
30fps VGA movies with stereo sound and Photo in Movie feature
DIGIC II, iSAPS and Flexizone AF/AE for fast, precise results and 2.3 fps continuous shooting performance
20 shooting modes and My Colors photo effects High ISO Auto and ISO 800 for low light flexibilityWidescreen (16:9) recording
S3IS can give you an extra 1MP resolution as compared to the S2 series.
Canon will give you the best of the products in this league, howeveryou may want to know a couple of things about the powershot before youventure into buying them.
A) They are not the sleekest of their kind, they are very neatly madethough and you can also get some beautiful pouches to carry themarround for about $17 on Amazon.
B) No body ever forces your flash out. It is auto flash you can use Manual mode, flash suppression mode anything to use / not use your flash. They are the best of the flashes you can get in any camera however if somebody gets physical with it, then the auto pop up option will start misbehaving.
If you can keep your camera in good condition and handle it the way oneshould then probably you would never have any issues with it at all.
Extremely far off objects can also be captured in a very professional manner with these cameras. The image stability is fantastic. The video recording option is a great plus.
I Would definitely recommend anybody who is interested in good photography to purchase this master piece.
Cheers !!!