Canon Powershot S3 IS Review

(Note: All screens shown can be displayed on the LCD or EVF)

The AUTO mode allows anyone, regardless of expertise, to use the S3 like a simple point-n-shoot camera. The camera automatically selects the shutter speed and aperture allowing you to concentrate on framing your subject, not changing camera settings. FUNCtion options are limited to changing the image size or quality, no other settings are possible.

The icon on the middle right is a hand blocking wind, indicating that the audio wind filter is on.

Note both the Movie and Still icons in the lower right - you can can easily capture a video even while in still image record mode by pressing the movie shutter button on the back.

Half-pressing the shutter release with get you an auto focus lock and the shutter speed and aperture values will be displayed.

In Program mode the camera selects both the shutter speed and aperture like Auto mode but you have access to all of the exposure and image adjustment settings as in Av, Tv, and M mode (see FUNCtion and Menu screens below.) The icon to the right of MF indicates the Image Stabilization is enabled in shoot-only mode. Also shown here is the Manual Focus distance gauge on the right.

In Tv (Shutter-speed priority) mode the user selects the desired shutter speed and the camera automatically selects the aperture value. If the shutter speed is too fast (or slow), the aperture value will be displayed in red (when the shutter is half-pressed) which tells you to select a different speed. Slow shutter speeds allow for moving objects to "motion blur" and fast shutter speeds will "freeze" fast moving objects.

In Av (Aperture priority) mode the user selects the desired aperture value and the camera automatically selects the appropriate shutter speed. Small apertures (large F-stop number) increase the depth of field (range of focus) whereas large apertures (small F-stop numbers) decreases the depth of field.

In Manual mode the proper exposure value is determined by changing both the shutter speed and the aperture values manually. You can visually see the screen lighten or darken as you change settings and when you half-press the shutter, the EV (exposure value) will be indicated in the upper left corner. In Manual mode you can also adjust the output level of the flash.

You can manually select the position of the AF frame by pressing the SET button and using the arrow keys to move AF target mark on the screen.

Record MENU (in P, Tv, Av and M mode).

Flash Sync - 1st-curtain (leading) or 2nd-curtain (trailing) flash sync
Slow Synchro - Enable or disable slow sync flash mode
Red-eye - Enable or disable red-eye reduction flash mode
Cont. Shooting - Select standard 1.5fps or high speed 2.3fps continuous
Self-timer - 2 or 10 seconds or Custom
Spot AE Point - Center or follow the AF Point
MF-Point Zoom - Magnify focus area during manual focus
AF Mode - Continuous or Single auto focus
AF-assist Beam - Enable or disable AF-assist lamp
Tally Lamp - Enable or disable movie mode tally lamp
Digital Zoom - Enable or disable digital zoom
Review - Post-capture review time, Off, Hold or settable for 2 - 10 seconds
Reverse Display - Flip display output upside down
IS Mode - Image Stabilizer: Off, Continuous, Shoot Only, Panning
Converter - Wide angle or Tele auxilliary lens
Intervalometer - Enable timelapse recording mode
Custom Display - Control the display of Shooting Info, Grid Lines and Histogram on the LCD or EVF
Set Shortcut button - Resolution, Movie Size/Framerate, Metering, WB, My Colors, IS Mode, AEL, AFL, Display Off, Create Folder
Save Settings - Memorize camera settings

FUNCtion menu (in P, Tv, Av and M mode).

Exposure Compensation - Metering override +/- 2.0EV in 0.3 steps
White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash or Custom
My Colors - Off, Vivid color, Neutral color, Sepia, B&W, Positive film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom (Contrast, Sharpness, Saturation)
Bracketing - Enable and set options for Exposure or Focus Bracketing modes
Flash Compensation - Adjust the output level of the flash +/- 2.0
Metering - Evaluative, Center Weighted Averaging, Spot
Movie Quality - Select 640x480 or 320x240 at 30fps or 15fps
Image Size - Large 2816x2112, Medium1 2272x1704,
Medium2 1600x1200, Small 640x480, Wide 2816x1584
Image Quality - Superfine, Fine or Normal JPEG compression

ISO is adjusted by repeatedly depressing the ISO button. Available settings are 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, Auto and High ISO Auto

Movie mode lets you record high-quality motion video with stereo audio at 15fps or 30fps. The image size can be 640x480 or 320x240. The maximum length of capture in any mode is limited to 1GB or 1 hour, whichever occurs first.

The optical zoom can be used during recording thanks to the virtually silent ultrasonic motor (USM) used in the zoom mechanism.

Pressing the Sound Record button on the top of the camera lets you record stereo audio anytime it is desired. See the "Audio" option in the Setup menu below, it lets you select a mic level, wind filter and sampling rate.

SETUP menu options.

Mute - Off, On: Mutes the speaker
Volume - Speaker level for Start-up, Operation, Selftimer, Shutter and Playback
Audio - Set the microphone level, wind filter and sampling rate
LCD Brightness - Adjust LCD backlight intensity
Power Saving - Auto Power Down (On, Off) and Display Off (20s, 30s, 1,2,3,10m)
Time Zone - Set Home and Destination Time Zone
Date/Time - Set the internal clock / calendar
Format - Format the CF device or display space remaining
File No. Reset - Off=sequential number, On=start back at 0
Create Folder - Create a new folder on demand, or daily, weekly or monthly
Auto Rotate - Orientation sensor (On, Off)
Distance Units - Focus distance in feet or meters
Language - Set the menu language
Video System - NTSC or PAL video output
Print Method - Auto or Wide with Canon SELPHY
Reset All - Resets values to their default settings