| | |  | Literature | Home » » » » Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS 6MP with 12x Image Stabilized Zoom | | | | | | | Description: | | The sleek PowerShot S3 IS digital camera offers you high resolution, an extra-long 12x zoom, advanced yet easy-to-use movie functions plus great new shooting options. The exclusive "MovieSnap" feature allows you to take a full 6 Megapixel still image at any time while you are recording a movie. Also, with Image Stabilizer technology, images and movies taken with the S3 IS are sharp and smooth, even when the camera gets jostled. It's everything you need to capture the fun, excitement and beauty of your active life - wherever it takes you! | | | Features: | |
• 6.0-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
• 12x optical zoom lens with USM and UD lens element; 2.0-inch vari-angle LCD display
• 20 shooting modes and My Colors photo effects
• DIGIC II, iSAPS, and Flexizone AF/AE for fast, precise results; 2.3-frame-per-second continuous shooting performance
• Powered by 4 AA-size batteries (alkaline batteries supplied); stores images on SD memory cards (16 MB card included)
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 4.5 inches | | Product Width:
| 3.1 inches | | Product Height:
| 3.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.91 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.98 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.54 inches | | Package Height:
| 4.57 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 550 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 good till the lens cap falls apartDec 01, 2009
I have owned this camera for almost 3 yrs now... i researched and researched when i bought it and i got it on sale just shy of $[...]. I LOVED it for the first year or so... LOVE the display screen, the way it flips around and you can hold it way above your head to take great zoom shots at concerts or even pics of yourself. LOVE that it has a eyehole viewfinder for those bright days that you cant see the screen all that well. Love the feel of the camera in general and all of its cool extra features --- but, that lens cap is a piece of crap! I tried and tried to get a new one, but none of them fit this camera... then i purchased a few extra lenses and the extention to put them on the camera... the lens cap problem was solved then! BUT, you have to KEEP the extention and extra lenses on it all the time if you want the protection! UGH! Then it's a pain to carry around! OH, and not to mention... that extention doesnt work so well if you are using the flash! The flash on the camera doesnt pop up tall enough to clear the extention!!! AND - you can not add a Hot SHoe to this camera to solve that problem... about 2 months after i bought this one, a friend of mine showed up with the S5 i think and hers had a Hot Shoe adapter! UGH (after 6 months of research, the one thing that i wanted that i finally gave up on, came out about a month after my purchase!!!) So, with out the hot shoe flash, you wind up with a shadow "ring around" your pic - which looks cool in some pics -- but sometimes you really want the whole shot!
I have virtually quit using this camera now - b/c i am so frustrated with carrying it around in a professional's sized bag - since i have to keep the extention on it... I bought a tiny poliroid camera that has most of the same features... but they are just a little harder to use --- the thing i love about my polaroid that this camera doesnt have is that you can actually crop a pic right after you take it! So now I am looking for a replacement camera for this cannon... i want to be able to add a lens when i want - but i Dont want to have to keep it on there all the time just to protect the lens b/c i cant buy a new lens cap...
Long story short... try one of the newer versions of this camera if you are really intrested in this one!! Hopefully they have fixed that crappy cap! AND... there is NO WAY I would pay $[...] + for this camera today! THere are way too many other choices out there now!!!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 ISSep 04, 2009
I start off by saying that I know that some of those cameras have lens problems, so if you got a lemon one, sorry. Otherwise a very useful camera. The biggest things for me is of course a 12x zoom. I had this camera for about 3 years now, and this zoom let me take amazing pictures. I travel a lot, so 12x zoom helps to take far away pictures, for example out in nature, zoos, beach, parks like Disney World/Land, where it is not an option to be closer to an object. Also the micro focus works very well. You can see my pictures at platonm(dot)com. The 6MP is not really anything to brag about, but 3 years ago, especially for the price I paid ($298.26) it was a good choice. Do not be discouraged by the fact that it needs 4AA batteries. It threw me off at first, but then looking at other options, that combined mega-zoom and low price, there was nothing else. I bought Sony BCG-34HE4 Super-Quick Worldwide Battery Charger with 4 AA NiMH Batteries for $22.95, and those work forever between charges. I can take about 300-500 pictures on one charge, even 3 years later! Including using a flash!
As all Canons it is simple and easy to use, and since it is higher-end PowerShot it has extra features, like manual/micro focus. The lens focuses nice and fast. I sometime have problems with focus on higher zoom when it cannot focus because it cannot make out depth of an object, but that's like any other camera. It is durable. I take very good care of it, but still, nothing ever broke for me.
Fantastic cameraAug 20, 2009
I bought this camera a couple of years ago when I decided to upgrade from my 3.2 MP fuji. I debated between this one and the then brand new S5. Eventually, price factors won and I bought the slightly older, yet much cheaper model - the S3. The camera is great. I do not like simple point and shoot cams and the proffesional cameras are way out of my leage, so this is a great place in the middle.
The 12X zoom is amazing. I very rarely use the digital zoom, but on occasions were I have, the pictures came out very well. I love the functions that the camera has and the control that is given to the user over the different options of the picture taking (shutter speed, WB, format...). The special functions are also amazing. I especially like the panarama option and the color swap function.
As for video, I was very suprised at the high quality video that you can take with the camera. They play full screen on my 22" screen and look amazing.
All in all, this is a great camera for someone who likes to feel the camera in their hand and control the picture.
 Designed for features, not performanceAug 05, 2009
I used this camera for a year before giving it away and replacing it with a Nikon D40. I have some good things to say about it, but it has some very serious problems.
First, the good:
* Fast startup time for a point-and-shoot.
* Long zoom lens. Not the sharpest nor the most distortion-free, but acceptable for its weight and price.
* EVF is useful when there is too much sunlight to use the screen.
* Lots of features.
* Movie mode is quite respectable.
* Manual focus is dreadful, but at least they tried.
* With an optional adapter it can take filters--I use a polariser quite frequently around the water and while hiking. The filter+adapter go on and off much faster than the braindead threaded filter design found on SLRs.
I've only found one really bad habit, but I regard it as a showstopper: As with all point-and-shoots, it becomes almost useless above ISO 200--even at ISO 80 you will notice grainy noise. But the ISO button is positioned about where your nose goes, and you will probably also hit it with your thumb. I've lost many really good shots by accidentally hitting the ISO button and not noticing that I'd bumped it up too high.
I'd also think that with such a huge zoom range they could have worked in the ability to shoot at wider angle and taken a little off the long end. But no--its wide end is no wider than is standard for a point-and-shoot.
0 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Fatally flawedJul 10, 2009
This camera was a Christmas present. For three years & across 7 national parks, I have tried to use it. But the low-resolution viewfinder and underpowered LCD backlight make it just about impossible. If youre under a tree or its gloomy, its ok. If its gorgeous and sunny, youre literally shooting blind. Too bad since image quality is good -- but with useless LCD and viewfinder, this camera is a huge disappointment. And its a small thing but the lense cover is constantly falling off. Should have been a great camera -- but fatally flawed.
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