Canon PowerShot S3 IS Review

Overall Rating

Good image quality
Powerful zoom
Well considered design
Easy menus

Some unnecessary functions/gimmicks
No case
Instruction manual on disk

I bought this camera for our daughter who wanted to start wildlife photography. I wasn't prepared to buy the kind of specialist (and therefore expensive) equipment which is required for this area of photography, but reviews indicated that the Canon S3 looked to be a good bet. Lens focal length was obviously an important factor here and the 12x zoom on the S3 gives a 35mm equivalent of 432mm at the top end - an excellent compromise. Image stabilization is available and this reduces camera shake - a problem which increases as focal length increases - thus alleviating the need for a tripod. A steady hand or alternative support is still useful though.

The S3 is a robust affair and feels nice and solid, even though it is of plastic construction. There's a neat on/off switch and the remaining controls are well laid out, although the set button is placed outside the multi controller, rather than in the centre but this is no big deal. What's more, the menu system is easy to navigate.

Image quality is excellent and lens aberrations are minimal. Most people will probably know that using a digital zoom is not recommended but my daughter has used the first step on this and the results are fine. If you know what you are doing with imaging software, then you can produce some exceptional images with this camera. We've had problems with rechargeable batteries, which is not the fault of the camera, but carry plenty of spares and avoid using the LCD as this eats battery power. Before rechargeable, camera batteries would last forever. What happened? My suggestion is to use lithium batteries which are more expensive but last for ages.

The LCD itself is a multi directional affair which rotates and turns through all angles. This offers complete protection to the screen when it is not being used and enables viewing of the image from difficult angles.

As with most cameras, the S2 incorporates a lot of additional functions, many of which are completely unnecessary. Lets be clear, creativity isn't about changing the colour of an image for the sake of it and if you do need to make alterations, they are better done using a suitable programme. There are the usual additional modes on board, such as sports, portrait and landscape and while it can be argued that using these may save a few valuable seconds I do personally question their validity. This camera is for those who are at least fairly serious about photography and this being the case, they should be understanding about the medium rather than taking shortcuts. If manufacturers cut out all this gimmicky stuff perhaps the price could come down a bit, although the price is certainly acceptable for this camera.

There are various options for metering and focus, which may find their place in certain situations and manual override is available for most functions. Changing shutter speed and aperture manually is a little awkward and the manual focus is a waste of time. An enlarged view of the centre of the image appears in this mode in order to assist focussing but the clarity is still poor and precise focussing becomes extremely difficult. Autofocus is absolutely fine providing that you understand exactly how it functions.

To its credit, the camera also has a viewfinder, something which manufacturers are slowly dispensing with presumably to cater for those who prefer to use the LCD. As a photographer, I believe that using a viewfinder is essential for reasons which I won't go into here, but enough to say that if you've got one, use it. However, the viewfinder here is electronic which is a shame because the clarity which one would expect from an optical finder is lacking and certainly in terms of wildlife photography this is a disadvantage.

Probably the worst thing about the package is the fact the the instruction manual comes on disc. This is both annoying and inconsiderate. There will doubtless be many purchasers who would like to carry the manual around with them, at least until they are familiar with the camera but this is impossible unless the instructions are printed out. Even so, the manual is pretty easy to understand.

There may appear to be a lot of gripes here but this really is not the case. The S3 is a serious little camera which looks the business and performs well. What's more, there appears to have been a lot of thought put into it. It's an ideal camera for anyone who wants to move into serious photography but cannot afford an SLR although if you have large hands you may find handling it a little awkward. The wildlife photography? It's coming on fine.