This is my fourth camera(second digital camera). I had olympus and nikon filim cameras and kodak easy share V550 digital camera before buying this.
The picutre quality(in terms of vivid color and reduced noice level) is very good in this camera.
*Pros:
*- Quality of picutre is good
12 x zoom(and the image stabilizer is amazing)
Optical image stabilization
Good grip to handle
allows manual control(could be a step before going for SLR)
Macro mode is good
Looks like a’Pro’ camera
*Cons
*- Size is big(though it gives good grip)
- Movie mode requies lot of space(only .AVI files, no mpeg. the highest resolution of movie requies 2GB for 10 minutes:(, but there are options for various movie mode/size)
*Some tips:
*- Keep additional set of batteries
Keep higher capacity SD card(I have two 2GB SD card)
Please visit https://flickr.com/photos/devakumar/ for my photos(most of them taken using Canon S3 IS, check the photo property to confirm)
Also visit https://steves-digicams.com for review of various digigal cameras
(I Bought in US for$355)