I feel in LOVE..........

[oldnavy170]

With this camera. I so want to buy this one. My fiance said that he might buy it for me for Christmas......Yeah for Santa!!!!!

Anyways, if anyone owns this camera, feedback would be welcomed.



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[boclcown]

Yeah. It's defintaly one of the better point and shooters out there. Perhaps the best.

I've read many reviews, and almost all of them complement its speed and image quality. Also, they cite how SLR-like it feels.

 

[Big Mike]

Supposed to be one of the better ones in it's class.

I'd still recommend holding out for a DSLR though.

 

[Dylan]

Wow. I wish I'd seen that one befor I bought my Casio Exilim. That is one sweet camera. Good luck. I hope you get it.

 

[ckrieg]

I've been using it quite a bit lately...all of the pictures in my photo website were taken with it http://photos.gad.ca

Awesome camera! It has a 12x optical zoom, and it zooms quick! It's a little bigger than most, but still takes AA batteries which is really nice, and also has a built in image stabilizer. It was either that, or a rebel XT, and we went with this because of the image stablizer. Both take very similar shots (quality wise, with stock lens), it's hard to tell the difference. The XT had more dof tho (due to a bigger lens)

 

[Big Mike]

Just for clarification...the XT will most likely have less DOF in most situations because the sensor is so much bigger than the sensor in the S3. For this same reason...the XT can take great looking shots at ISO 800 and pretty good shots at ISO 1600. The S3 will most likely struggle with ISO 400.

 

[ckrieg]

interesting...for some reason, I found that it had more dof...maybe the xt was on aperature priority by accident?

 

[Big Mike]

Focal length of the lens has a lot to do with the DOF as well. So if you were zoomed way out on the S3...it would have a shallow DOF at closer distances.

Typically, it's hard to get a shallow DOF with a digi-cam because of the small sensor.

 

[boclcown]

the XT can take great looking shots at ISO 800 and pretty good shots at ISO 1600. The S3 will most likely struggle with ISO 400.

Yeah. My Minolta dimage is noticably noisy at 400 iso...

Although image quality might not be noticably different, there are many, many shortcomings that Point and Shoot cams have as opposed to DSLR's...

For example, although it is possible to shoot in manual mode and play with settings, I can only go between F3.8 and F8, and my shutter speed maxes out at 1/1000. Also, performance is extreemly sluggish. It may be faster than older cameras I've tried, but after using a D50, Rebel XT, D80, and a D200 (in the store, friends, etc.) it feels like mud.

I wish I had just saved up the extra money at the time.... I'm having so much trouble now, with school taking up all the time I could be working...

I've still got about $800 to go before I can afford the D80... ^_^

 

[Big Mike]

That's why I try to recommend for people to hold off on the digi-cams and get an SLR. Digi-cams are great in the right situations...but they really do have short comings. A DSLR may be twice the price...but it will be 10 times the camera.

Value is a big issue as well. How much is a used digi-cam worth? Not much. DLSR bodies do go down in value too...but not as fast. The lenses however, will remain rather valuable...as long as there are new cameras to put them on.

 

[markc]

I think Mike's opinion is completely valid, but I lean the other way. It often takes a while for someone to get good at photography. Things like noise matter, but once you've been working at it for a few years, how many of your early images are you really going to be still hanging on the wall? For many people, they will be doing their best work "now". A camera like that can be great to learn on. It's not too expensive, and after a couple of years you may want to upgrade, but with digital moving so fast, you'll get better use of your money spending it when you need it, not before. At $350, that's the price of a decent lens alone, and you'd still need a body. The 10D was $1500 when it came out in 2003. The 30D is $1180 now. Someone could have bought a $320 camera then and a 30D now for the same amount as just a 10D then, and be further ahead.

When I was learning on my Canon Elan, I was shooting a lot of 800 ISO Fuji Press so I wouldn't have to bother with a tripod. I have only one shot from my early years that I still consider displayable. I do wish it wasn't so grainy, but I wouldn't give up the convenience I had at that time for that one improvement.

Either way works. It just depends on how fast you think you will be learning all the ins and outs. Most people think they need to upgrade to get better, when they really just need more practice with what they have.

 

[markc]

ckrieg, I was wondering what you were refering to as DOF. I think it's a not uncommon misconception that DOF refers to blur. It's not unusual to see someone say something like "nice DOF", so I can see why. What they are really saying is "nice choice in DOF".

"Depth of field" is the depth of the field of focus, the area that appears to be in clear focus. A large DOF is a large field, so a lot is in focus. A small DOF is a small field, so only a little is in focus. Most lenses will stop down to at least f/22, which is often enough to give a very large DOF when the far end is placed at infinity. Only primes open up to the really large numbers, so it can be hard to get a narrow DOF on a zoom without spending some money. And as Mike said, the sensor size will affect that also.

 

[Iron Flatline]

I was taking a serious look at this camera as an alternative to my D5. I love my big camera, my lenses, and all that other gear, but sometimes I just want something small with basic settings. I'd also prefer an aperture of 2.8 and below, or higher shutter speeds, but it would suffice. What bothers me is the absence of RAW. I just don't want to shoot JPEGs.

 

[mysteryscribe]

To be honest a person just starting out will want a really new model of a dslr when they figure it all out and todays dslr will be history. Buy the best camera you can comfortably afford and shoot it. Learn you lessons on what you have, then transfer them to a dream camera when you understand them. That has been my advice to my family for about twenty years now. No one has complained yet but then why would they I am FAMILY...