Good Camera that requires effort to get the best from it

The Canon S3 IS is my first foray into the world of digital cameras after 13 years of sterling service from my Canon EOS 10QD SLR. My initial impressions are that the Canon S3 IS is a good camera and capable of taking some excellent pictures, but, it takes some work and is therefore not ideal as a point and shoot.

For example, if you set the camera to auto mode and let the camera make all the decisions on exposure, ISO settings etc, indoor flash photography results in very noisy photos indeed. Taking control in the creative zones, you can force the camera to use lower ISO settings of 80 or 100 which result in much better pictures. The camera is also fussy about exposure. It is very easy to get underexposed images with indoor flash photography or overexposed and blown highlights when using it outdoors on sunny days using the auto-mode. Put some effort in and take a little control with the Program mode (using flash compensation for indoor flash shots) or even more control with the Shutter or Aperture priority modes for outdoor shots and the results are so much better.

This baby is surprisingly heavy. Though much smaller than a traditional film SLR, it's still quite large and it would be difficult to take a discreet photo with it. The camera does look great so perhaps you wouldn't want to be discreet anyhow.

The other disadvantage of using this as a point and shoot is that you must manually raise the flash every time you (or the camera) want to use the flash. This is, as I see it, a major drawback to this camera.

The movie mode is excellent and has almost completely replaced my 'standard' video camera. However, it too suffers from high noise levels - particularly in indoor settings where my dedicated video camera has no problems - so be clear about what you're going to use the camera for before you take the plunge.

Battery life is simply phenomenal and you can easily expect to shoot hundreds of photos with each set of batteries. I use 2300Mha rechargables which work a treat. This coupled with the excellent 12X telephoto lens makes the S3 an ideal camera for traveling and holidays. Personally, I'd prefer to see the lens offer a little more wide-angle - say 28mm equivalent - at the expense of the extreme telephoto range but overall, and considering how small the lens is, I have no real complaints.

I guess the bottom line is that like all good cameras, this camera rewards the owner with what they put into it. That means if you're going to spend most of your life in the green auto zone, you're likely to end up disappointed. Otherwise, I recommend this camera with confidence.