Canon Powershot S3 IS Review

The Canon Powershot S3 IS is a six megapixel digital camera with a 12x optical zoom lens. As with an increasing number of digital cameras it offers image stabilisation. The camera is also packed with advanced features including fully manual exposure.

With the combination of features and long zoom lens the Powershot S3 IS is likely to appeal to someone who is serious about photography, but does not want the full blown expense of a Digital SLR camera. Although the camera can be used in fully automatic mode it is not likely to be suited to someone looking for a straightforward point and shoot digital camera.

The images produced by the Powershot S3 IS are of a very high standard. The camera works well outdoors, indoors and in lowlight. Having tested so many Canon digital cameras there really is a consistency throughout the range and I am fairly confident of the type of photos I am going to see before I even look at them.

Canon tend to produce the sharpest photos out of any manufacturer. This is highlighted in the first outdoor photo when I look at the roof of the building and also the brickwork. The tiles on the roof are an area where many digital cameras struggle to produce a good level of definition. Other factors I like about these photos are the level of detail shown in the lighter areas of the shot and also the colours.

One area where this camera shows an improvement on previous models and also does well against competitors are in the levels of purple fringing. This is where a purple line is added to the edges of light objects in bright conditions. It is something that effects all super zoom cameras to different degrees. Although the Powershot S3 IS is unable to eradicate it altogether it does a fair job of controlling it.

Strong colours show in the dedicated test for colours as well. Blues are very vivid without being overpowering. This helps to produce good sky colours in the scenic shots.

The outdoor portrait works well. The levels of lighting are about right. Overcast conditions were around at the time the picture was taken and I used the cloudy white balance setting to help add some extra warmth to the colours. This helps to enhance the skin tones in the shot.

Moving indoors the indoor portrait is a big success too. A powerful AF assist lamp helps the camera to focus in lowlight conditions. This leads to a sharply focused photo. The lighting levels produced by the flash are good too. With a pop up flash unit available rather than one built in close to the lens there is no trace of red eye in the shot.

The indoor shot of bottles is taken in more or less complete darkness. Even so the camera manages to produce a well focused shot. Again thanks to the power of the flash unit the photo is brighter than I am used to seeing in this test.

Testing for close up photography the macro shot is excellent. That is not something I say often, but in this case it is certainly merited. I was especially impressed by the level of detail the camera managed to produce. It is a very good reflection of how the watch face looks. Again the sharpness of the photo catches the eye.

Finishing off with the tests for high ISO levels the results are average. This is an area where cameras find it difficult to maintain overall picture quality. Even at ISO 400 though there is a clear decrease in photo quality and this decreases further at ISO 800.

I was able to take a single photo in 0.32 seconds. This is an average time. It took 7.24 seconds to take five shots. This is quite a fast time.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

Canon have made the Powershot S3 IS the most fully equipped super zoom digital camera I have tested.

The 12x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 36 - 432mm in 35mm format. The zoom lens has optical image stabilisation and an ultrasonic motor. The motor provides very rapid zooming compared to other cameras. There is also 4x digital zoom available.

The auto focusing system offers one point auto focusing with any position available. Other focusing options include manual focusing, auto focusing lock, focus bracketing and an auto focus assist beam for lowlight photography. For close up shots the camera can focus from virtually no distance from the subject.

For composing images you can choose between a viewfinder or the LCD screen. The viewfinder is electronic. It also has a Dioptre Correction. This allows you to adjust the focus of the viewfinder to suit your own eyesight. The LCD screen is 2". It twists and pulls out and is made up of around 115,000 pixels. This lets you change the angle of the LCD screen to either suit the conditions you are shooting in or move the screen out of direct sunlight. The brightness of the screen can be adjusted.

The pop up flash unit has a maximum range of 5.2m. This falls to nearer 4m when the zoom lens is in use. You can adjust the power of the flash. To add more flash you can buy an external flash unit to go with the Powershot S3 IS. This is Canon's High Power Flash HF-DC1. The standard flash modes available are auto, on and off. Slow sync speed and red eye reduction are available as is Second Curtain Synchronisation.

The camera can help you to take better photos. In order to do this there are a number of predefined scene modes available. All you need to do is select the most appropriate one. The camera will then decide on the optimum settings for the shot. The scene modes available are Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Indoor, Night Snapshot, Color Accent and Color Swap. A Stitch Assist mode is also available for panoramic type shots.

You can add different colour effects to your photos. There is a comprehensive range of colour filters available. These are Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Positive Film, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green and Vivid Red. There is also a Custom Color setting.

As well as the standard 4:3 shape of a photo. You can also shoot at an aspect ratio of 16:9. This is ideal for viewing photos on a widescreen television. There is no 3:2 ratio available. This ratio is ideal for producing 6x4" prints.

For when you would like to appear in the photo there is a self timer. This can be set to a delay of two or ten seconds. There is also a setting that allows you to select a delay time of up to thirty seconds and to reel off up to ten consecutive shots at the end of the delay time. After a photo has been taken you can add up to sixty seconds of voice recording to it. A histogram is also available to help get the exposure levels right.

For those of you looking to take complete control over a shot the camera offers fully manual exposure. Aperture priority and shutter priority are also available. You can set shutter speeds in a range of 15 seconds to 1/3200 seconds. The maximum aperture is f/2.7 (wide) and f/3.5 (telephoto).

Other advanced features include three metering modes (Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre or linked to focusing frame)) , exposure compensation (+/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments) , bracketing (1/3 - 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments) and ISO equivalents of Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400 and 800.

To help get colours right there are also a variety of white balance settings available. These are Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash and Custom. There are two continuous shooting modes available. The first allows you to shoot at a maximum rate of 2.3 frames per second. The second offers a speed of 1.5 frames per second. In both modes you can shoot until the memory card is full.

A feature you see on less and less digital cameras is an intervalometer. This allows you to shoot time lapse movies. Typical uses are to plot clouds moving across the sky or a flower opening. With the Powershot S3 IS you can take up to 100 shots. The delay time between each shot can be set between one minute and one hour.

The movie mode is very advanced. You can shoot standard movies at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480. This type of movie can have a top speed of thirty frames per second. Digital zoom can be used while shooting the movie and sound recorded. The maximum length of the movie is either 60 minutes or 1gb of footage.

A second type of movie is much shorter. Up to one minute of footage can be shot at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. These movies can have a maximum speed of 60 frames per minute. This allows them to be replayed in slow motion.

Canon supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the Powershot S3 IS to a PictBridge compatible printer, television set and a computer.

To increase the capabilities of the camera there are a small number of lens converters available. The first is a 1.5x tele converter (TC-DC58B). Next is a 0.75x wide converter (WC-DC58A). There is a close up lens and also a lens adapter / hood set too.

Not surprisingly considering the array of features available The Powershot S3 IS is not particularly easy to use. To get the most out of the camera will take time and you will need to be prepared to study the manual and experiment with the controls if you are to get the most out of it.

You can pick up a Canon Powershot S3 IS for around £310. This compares to around £275 for a Sony DSC H2, £250 for a Panasonic DMC FZ7 and £195 for an Olympus SP-500.

As you can see the Powershot S3 IS is the most expensive camera of its type by some way. Even so based on the features and picture quality the camera offers I think it is fair that the camera sells at a premium.

The Powershot S3 IS looks similar to a small SLR camera. I don't know if it is just my imagination, but the build quality seems to have taken a step up from how I remember its predecessor the S2 IS. It is an attractive dark grey colour with dimensions 113.4 × 78.0 × 75.5 mm. It weighs 410g.

Four batteries are required to power the camera. Canon estimates the batteries supplied with the Powershot S3 IS will take around 110 shots before they need replacing. These are standard alkaline batteries. You are likely to be able to take far more shots with a set of good quality rechargeable batteries. If you do decide to buy rechargeable batteries look out for ones with a minimum mAh rating of 2500.

A 16 mb SD card is supplied with the camera as standard. I was able to take nine photos before the card was full. Therefore you are likely to need a high capacity card to go with the camera.

Click here to save money on SD cards.

Picture quality
Macro shots
Features
Movie mode
Twisting LCD screen

Battery life

If the overall quality of the camera is more important to you then the price you pay then the Canon Powershot S3 IS is an ideal super zoom camera. It is packed with features and the picture quality is top drawer. I really struggled to come up with anything to put me off this camera.

Canon Powershot S3 IS Front View

Canon Powershot S3 IS Back View

Canon Powershot S3 IS Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Canon Powershot S3 IS