Canon Powershot S3 IS

Canon Powershot S3 IS ... equipped with an approximately 6.0 million camera effective pixel 1/2.5-inch Charge Coupled Device (CCD). Also, with DIGIC II, higher resolution and high-speed processing were achieved and the startup time and response time were shortened.

This camera is equipped with a 12x optical zoom lens, which covers a 35mm film equivalent focal length ranging from 36 mm (Wide Angle) to 432 mm (Telephoto), and has an f/2.7 (Wide Angle) - f/3.5 (Telephoto) aperture. By incorporating a UD (Ultra Low Dispersion) lens into the lens element, the chromatic aberration has been reduced. This model incorporates an image stabilizer, which reduces the effects of camera shake while shooting. In addition, the zoom lens's super-smooth, super-fast ultra sonic motor (USM) provides all the zooming speed you need.

This camera can take VGA (640 x 480 pixels) movies with exceptional image quality at a full 30 frames per second. Furthermore, it can shoot movies even in the still image shooting modes and vice versa. Also, a new mode to take very smooth QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) movies at 60 frames per second has been newly added. Moreover, digital zoom and manual focus are available as well as adjusting the zoom or exposure, or locking the AF or exposure while shooting a movie. Movies can be taken continuously (depending on the storage capacity of the recording media) until the clip size reaches 1GB or the clip length reaches 1 hour.

The recording pixels include a "Widescreen" feature that has the same aspect ratio as 16:9 widescreen TVs for shooting wide images. Adding ISO [800] has resulted in a faster shutter speed even when shooting in dark environments. Also, [High ISO Auto] that has a program diagram with a higher ISO speed setting has been added to the ISO speed position.

Featuring "Sports" as a shooting mode has resulted in better focusing of moving subjects, which is especially useful when shooting sporting events. A "My Colors" mode that changes image colors when shooting has been added to the FUNC. Menu of the PowerShot S3 IS.

Macro mode is used to record subjects at close range, and Super Macro is used when the distance from the front of the lens to the subject is in the range of 0 to 10 cm (0 to 3.9 in.).

This camera is equipped with an upgraded 2.0-inch Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Information display on the LCD monitor and LCD viewfinder when shooting can be customized. The function (shooting mode: P/Tv/Av/M) to display the histogram when shooting was added and Grid lines can be displayed for easier photo composition. Also, this camera shows the possible shooting range within which auto-focusing at the current zoom position.

As the recording quality is set up to 16 bit, 44.100 k Hz with the stereo microphone, high quality recording is possible when shooting movies. In addition, "Sound Recorder" can record sound only, without images.

Using My Colors, effects can be added to images that have already been shot (still images only). The functions to create a folder to store recorded images by shooting date or shooting month, and to jump to the first image of each shooting date or to a movie and play have been newly added. Transition effects can be applied while transitioning between scenes or on slide shows.

A Print/Share button has also been equipped, letting you easily print your images by connecting the camera directly to a direct print compatible printer and then simply pressing this button. When the camera is connected to a computer, pressing the Print/Share button lets you easily download images directly from the camera to the computer.