I was thinking about buying this camera for my wife and daughter to use. I know it's features and specs, It got a pretty good review and user ratings from cnet.com. I am wondering about it's ease of use, Is it a good camera for a novice??

Mark

I've been looking at this camera to replace the Pro 1 that was stolen a few months back. Price is about $399 and it seems to have about the same features as the Pro 1, but for about half the price of the now retired Pro 1. I think the Pro 1 was 8 MP and this one is 6 MP.

It seems to have the same features and arrangement of controls as the Pro 1.

I'll be following this thread as well.

I have the original incarnation, the S1 IS. The general UI and all is pretty much the same between the two, although the S3 has 12x instead of 10x zoom, and 6MP instead of 3.2MP.

However, after 2.5 years using the camera, I can't rave about it enough. I've probably taken 8000 shots with it, and they're always great. VERY easy camera to use, and a lot of things to do with it.

The only reason I'm thinking of replacing it is because I'm kind of "ready" for the DSLR step. But the SX IS series allows you to do a pretty good amount for the camera and its market point, while still being completely "idiot-proof" if necessary. And you can start out on full Auto and expand out if necessary.

Even if I do decide to get a D50, I'll still hang on to the S1 for moments where I don't/can't use the bigger SLR. It's just so great to use.

In an odd coincidence, I got a magazine yesterday that I've never heard of or subscribe to called "Best" which has a number of top 10 lists for some new tech stuff and they claim to have tested about 300 digital cameras and the S3 IS came in at #6 on the list with another nice review.

Here is the entire list and the prices they have listed in the article
# 1 - Canon EOS 5D, under $4000.00
# 2 - Nikon D200, under $1700.00
# 3 - Nikon D80, under $1300.00
# 4 - Canon Digital Rebel XTi, under $900.00
# 5 - Olympus Evolt E-500, under $700.00
# 6 - Canon Powershot S3 IS, under $400.00
# 7 - Canon Powershot A-710 IS, under $400.00
# 8 - Olympus Stylus 720 SW, under $400.00
# 9 - Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T10, under $400.00
# 10 - Fujifilm Finepix F30, under $350.00

I'd say that that's a good place to place, considering that the 5 cameras above it are all DSLRs!