Canon Powershot S3 IS Digital Camera[6MP 12 X Optical]

This is a fantastic camera and the 12x zoom is phenomenal. I looked at a number of superzoom cameras including the Panasonic FZ7 and decided that this had the best range of features in its class. I wanted a camera that I could grow with, so the manual features do not dissapoint. The camera also functions well as a simple point and shoot when required with an ultrafast startup time.

The fact that it takes standard AA batteries is also a plus point. Last weekend the batteries ran out on me while in the Lakes, so I just popped into the nearest shop to buy some cheap alkalines.

Some reviews have criticised the screen for being too small. It may be smaller but the flip out screen is a boon which no other manufacturer seems to offer. It is great for ground work or above peoples heads.

Finally, the movie mode produces excellent results but there is a catch which in my view is the only negative point for the camera. At full resolution (640x480 30fps) it chews through 1Gb of card space in about 8-9 mins !!! 1gb (or an hour) is also the maximum length of a single clip of video, so some storage headaches here. Canon do not use MPEG4 so hence the large file size, however the results are excellent and a big plus is the abilty to use the optical zoom for video which is silent in use.

All in all a superb camera which I would definately recommend, a good compromise between a compact and an SLR.

Have recently purchased this camera to replace my Panasonic FZ-20. I purchased the Panny because of it's standard Leica lens as I wanted the best. But to be honest, I was always a little disappointed with the results from it, especially when using the zoom to it's maximum. I mean, what's the point of buying a camera with 12 x Optical if you aren't going to put it to use. The images I got from it were never as sharp as I expected them to be, always a little "fuzzy"....

My first reaction with the Canon? It knocks spots off of the Panny in this respect without a shadow of doubt. I have taken quite a few pictures at maximum zoom and printed them out and the quality is fantastic. Pin sharp.

The zoom is almost silent in it's operation and a lot, lot quicker than the Panasonics in going from wide angle to telephoto. It's taking some getting used to!

I haven't had much time to play around with the manual settings, most of my piccies have been taken in "auto" mode but this camera never lets me down. The autofocus is very quick to get a lock, with a lot less "hunting" than my previous camera.

Downloading images onto the PC is a doddle too.

Most buyers of this camera will be tempted by it's zoom capabilities. Based on my experience with the camera to date, they won't be disappointed.

This camera can take razor sharp superb images, proving your ISO setting is either 80 or 100. Use anything higher than that and you will get digital noise (grainy images). For its class, getting digital noise at ISO settings above 200 is expected, but getting significant digital noise at 200 is disappointing.

Most of the time, I take pictures during daylight and outside, so a lower ISO setting is fine.

If you use auto settings and the pre-programmed modes, then generally the camera tries to keep the ISO setting as low as possible. This may result in blurry images in low light as the shutter speed will slow down, but otherwise, you will see very good results with this camera.

The 12x zoom is great and the ability to add a tele converter lens to this camera is useful. The focus at the long end of the zoom is excellent - much better than other camera's in this class. The camera also takes fantastic close ups using the super macro option.

This camera is fast to react. The zoom is very fast, but once you get used to it, easy to control. The menus are good.

I also like the fact that it does have the manual settings, such as aperture priority and shutter priority.

I found I had to up the brightness on the electronic view finder as it's difficult to see. In bright light, it's still quite difficult, especially if you, like me, wear glasses - the answer is to take your glasses off - but that is quite inconvenient.

Overall, the digital noise is the main thing that disappoints me with this camera. Other cameras in this class don't have digital noise at ISO 200 (the Panasonic Lumix, for example). Some of them even have noise reduction software (Sony DSC H5).

The other slight disappointment is that there is no option to have RAW images on this camera.