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"Oustanding Camera" on by Ben Begg
Pros: Crispness, Great Night Shots, Great Stereo Sound Videos
Cons: Night shots are a bit blotchy
Summary: Well I had an S1 IS before and upgraded to this camera and all I can say is that I was just amazed at the improvement in quality. It is easy to see when viewing photos which were taken with the S1 and which with the S3. I was looking at the Sony equivalent to this as I liked the larger screen on the Sony but this had better images. I am now making use of the 'bracketing' when taking photos and this is just fantastic too. I love the steeo sound and this is one of the very few digital cameras to offer this.
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"My vote goes to..." on by Rick Conklin
Pros: Excellent image quality, best action photo features in class, non-propreitary RAM & batteries, well thought out accessible controls.
Cons: Small LCD, camera's physical appearance unimpressive.
Summary: Like many other photographers conclusions, my pursuit of a digital camera with near DSLR capabilities on a budget came down to a familiar three - 12x zoom / image stabilized choices: The Sony H5, the Canon S3 IS, and the Lumix (Panasonic) DMC FZ7. After pouring over specifications, reviews, and getting some hands-on impressions, I came to the happy conclusion that all are great choices and that if any two were not on the market I would be lusting after that one remaining camera. In short, it’s great to have these options.
The image quality of all three cameras is comparable and any differences are certainly within minor post-processing tweaks of one another, however, they all suffer image quality limitations from 400 ISO upwards. Beyond the magenta / blue ghosting and inherent image noise level comparisons you read about they can all produce excellent digital pictures. Face it, you’re gonna sweeten your best shots with post processing anyway so as long as the shots are crisp (of which all three cameras are capable) the image quality shakes out within marginal preferences of one another.
My current photo needs are driven by family. I am a father of three… I have a cheerleader, a football player, and a soccer player to chase after so action weighs heavy in my decision. With all three cameras performing best in the ISO 200 and below range none are truly ideal for sports or fast action (even with image stabilization) so whatever advantages can be found become decision makers for me. Initially this places the Sony H5 at some disadvantage (not that it’s bad, it’s just not quite as good) due to its slower performance specs compared to the Canon and the Lumix. The Canon S3 IS and Lumix DMC FZ7 both excel with: Fast start-up / fast shot-to-shot, 2fps continuous burst mode, fast focus, fast zoom, and SD extreme III RAM compatibility (20MB / sec: twice the speed of SD Ultra II). The Canon has the unique ability to capture snapshots (stills) while in mid-stream video mode (major coolness) and it runs on 4 standard AA batteries enjoying the longest battery life of all three cameras (I hate running out of power). Needless to say, these features appeal strongly to my needs.
The Sony H5 is, to my eye, the most aesthetically appealing of the cameras and I love the 3” LCD on the back. There is no better way to show off your shots than on a big display (it’s impressive) and it’s better for editing pictures on the spot, however, that’s not how I use a camera. I don’t edit on the camera, if anything I bracket my shots, keep moving, and sort through them all later. I prefer to edit images on a PC… for me, the camera back LCD is simply a reference screen. I find the refresh rate of the LCD for viewing action to be more critical and although the 2” display on the Canon is the smallest of the three cameras it has the best resolution with the fastest refresh rate. The size difference of the Canon display was easily overcome by simply moving the camera a little bit closer to my face (I’m an old 35mm SLR guy and used to having an eye on the viewfinder so this was no compromise). Also, as the primary photographer in the family I am frequently out of the picture (behind the camera) by default. A 180 degree flip of the Canon S3 LCD allows composition of personal and group shots at arms length (with ME in the picture!) … I love that!!! Additionally, the Canon LCD can be turned around so the screen is protected. With 3 kids this is not a small consideration.
I didn’t care for the appearance of the Canon as much as the Sony or the Lumix largely because of all the buttons. That said, functionally I found the buttons well placed and often providing faster access than scrolling through menus for options (i.e. – trashing a bad photo, moving between modes, shortcut programmable buttons). At first I preferred the thumb friendly zoom control of the Sony H5 but later found the index finger zoom controls of the Canon S3 and the Lumix DMC FZ7 to be more responsive and both cameras auto-focused faster than the Sony. The Lumix controls were nice but I had to access the menus more often than the Canon to get what I wanted, if Lumix had shortcuts I wasn’t able to find them.
Bottom line: The Lumix DMC FZ7 is the most affordable of the three and a strong contender for action work (the Lumix was my second choice) but has no compelling unique features and requires proprietary ($) rechargeable batteries. The Sony H5 has that great 3” display but is not a strong player in the action arena and it carries the heftiest price tag. The Canon S3 IS has the best action performance with the longest battery life, runs on standard AA’s (rechargeables an option), uses standard / ultra / or extreme III SD RAM, and has gobs of great additional features that stretch well beyond my current needs.
I bought the Canon S3 IS and I’m delighted. -
"Excellent Camera" on by MTginger
Pros: Easy to use and straight forward operation. Rugged enough to be comfortably used outdoors and in crowds. A good selection of bells and whistles for the price.
Cons: It is dark gray not black. It defiantly isn’t worth selling your S2 IS to buy one.
Summary: I have read all of the 47 reviews currently posted for this camera. The good reviews all praise the features of this camera. The bad reviews almost all decry the fact that the S3 IS shown no great improvement over the S2 IS. Not the point of a camera review, reallyy. This second category of reviews has nothing to do with the camera. They all criticize Cannon and it’s manufacturing and marketing policies. Too bad, because this artificially lowers the rating of a camera that deserves a solid 8.5 or 9.
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"Lots of great features if you are willing to read the book to learn how to use them." on
Pros: lots of zoom, takes pictures fast, love the video feature.
Cons: takes 4 AA batteries, makes camera a little heavy, the viewing screen is small, but not that big of a deal for me.
Summary: It is a good "in the middle" camera, I wanted the EOS rebel, but that was too costly, this was a great compromise.
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"Simply a great camera" on by wormherders
Pros: An amazing set of features and functionality in a compact camera
Cons: The viewing screen is small and difficult to use in bright light
Summary: I did not have an S2 IS so I cannot comment on the differences. I got it because I wanted something more compact than an SLR, good picture quality, maximum zoom range, and image stabilization for usie at athletic events. It has performed exceptionally for this purpose. It's video capabilities are just an added bonus for me, but quite impressive.
Some have noted that it's a bit pricey, but from what I can determine it is well constructed and should be quite durable -- justifying the higher price.
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