Dave the ShutterBug

I've turned into a shutter bug! I've owned a digital camera of some sort for years and have thousands of pictures on my hard drive(s). As a webmaster, I've taken photos for many clients but have been deemed the "photo guy" at personal events as well. Even in the Air Force, I was commonly tapped to take photos of different events.

As an "artistically challenged" individual, I've never really been overly concerned with the mechanics of photo taking. Kind of my writing, I just kind of wing it without concern to the academic rules. I enjoy taking pictures as much as I like writing posts on my blog and just like my articles, I've used affordable tool and do it in my spare time.

Just like my blogging, my photo taking is taking a leap from strictly amateur status to pseudo pro. I was recently tasked by a new client to take photos of his establishment as well as special events. I have been using my little Canon Elph with adequate results but I have a desire for more control, more features and better quality.

I tried to create a "to scale" image but
something is lost in the translation.

A couple of years ago I made the "leap" from my older (and bulkier) Kodak DC3400 to the Canon PowerShot Elph SD200. I chose the Elph mostly because of the size and the fact I could drop it in my pocket and go. With the desire to take photos in all kinds of places from Air Force missions (on and off duty) to our vacation travel agency trips, I wanted a camera that easily fit into my pocket and would be available on a whim.

The Elph was perfect for my needs. I chose the SD200 (3.2 Mega-Pixel) because my photos were intended for use on the web. It would appear the requirement for traditional prints has increased and as such, so has my need for more quality.

I also have a digital video camera and while that has been "fun," I have not used it as much as my little Elph. It's a little too bulky to take everywhere and the stills have been lower quality than I had hoped. I don't use it too often.

As an untrained photographer with a desire for better quality images, I decided to upgrade to a camera that might offer more features designed to be more forgiving. I really wanted to get a Canon EOS digital camera but it's a little too advanced and frankly, too expensive. I did stick with Canon however and even the PowerShot, but I have just purchased the Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS 6MP Digital Camera.

From the Manufacturer
The sleek PowerShot S3 IS digital camera offers you high resolution, an extra-long zoom, advanced yet easy-to-use movie functions plus great new shooting options. Also, with Image Stabilizer technology, images and movies taken with the S3 IS are sharp and smooth, even when the camera gets jostled. It's everything you need to capture the fun, excitement and beauty of your active life - wherever it takes you!

The main features that inspired my investment was the 12x optical zoom and the image stabilizer technology. The Elph has been great but the smallness of the camera coupled with my oversized hands and lack of coordination results in way too many out of focus images. When zooming, this out of focus status gets even worse. I decided to give this one a try and see if it will cover up my own lack of stability. We shall see.

The Elph offers a video feature but the resulting video is... well... not exactly the best in the world. This new PowerShot is going to be my go to camera when needing higher quality still and video images. Fact is, I'm not retiring my Elph!! That dude is staying in my pocket for those times I'm just chillin' but just gotta have a picture.

More key features...

Canon PowerShot S3 IS features:
 

12x optical zoom lens with USM and UD lens element

Optical Image Stabilizer

6.0-megapixel CCD

Larger size 2.0-inch vari-angle LCD

30-frame-per-second (fps) VGA movies with stereo sound and Photo in Movie feature

DIGIC II, iSAPS, and Flexizone AF/AE for fast, precise results and 2.3 fps continuous shooting performance

20 shooting modes and My Colors photo effects

High ISO Auto and ISO 800 for low light flexibility

Widescreen (16:9) recording

 Okay... where'd I get it and how much? I bought mine online (duh), and on Amazon. The vendor is "Ace Digital Club" who was ranked well but coming through Amazon I have a warm fuzzy that I can return it if need be. Oh... the price? I could have ordered just the camera for $355 with free shipping but Ace Digital Club offered an accessory pack that I just could not pass up. So all said, it looks like I paid $441.43

So what did I get?

• Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS 6MP with 12x Image Stabilized Zoom (Includes Manufacture's Supplied Accessories)
• 1 Gig SD Memory Card - High Speed USB SD Card Reader
• Fully Padded Interior camera case with Side Pocket & Strap
• Rechargeable AA Nimh battery 4 pack with dedicated battery charger
• Flexible Mini Tripod - Lens Care Cleaning Kit

So there you have it! Dave the ShutterBug! I'm thinking this is the next logical step in the progression from amateur to hobbyist. I really can't wait to get this camera in and I'm even thinking about buying a "photography for Dummy's" book just to learn the basics.

So let's see... professional webmaster and small business consultant... hobbies include photography, bonsai trees, fitness/nutrition, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Video Editing, volley ball, social networking online and more. Wow... who needs to sleep anyway?

Watch for more artsy fartsy photos in the near future. One of these days I'll blog on the software I use for managing photographs.