Canon Powershot S3 IS Review


Record Screens & Menus
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
FUNCtion menu (in P, Tv, Av and M mode).
Exposure Compensation - Metering override +/- 2.0EV in 0.3 steps
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.
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 |
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