I'm not a professional photographer, but want great quality pics. I can't decide between the three. Help!
First you need to decide if you want 4x zoom or 12x zoom. Do you want a compact camera or something a little bigger?
Do you want to shoot photos would nice background blur (shallow depth of field)?
If you want a compact and/or 4x zoom, you would choose the SD700 or similar.
If you want 12x zoom, nice background blur and don't mind a bit bigger camera, you would choose the S2/S3.
The S2/S3 are the closest Canon sells that are dSLR like but aren't dSLRs. The SD700 is strictly in the P&S category with all it's limitations (the biggest to me being the inability to get good background blur).
Personally I would recommend the S3. The S2 (which I have) is last year's model. The S3 is 6MP whereas the S2 is 5MP, and of course Canon finally made it black (I wish the S2 was black).
I've shot over 14,000 pictures in the 11 months of S2 ownership and I haven't been disappointed. I'm now at the point where I'm outgrowing the S2 and am looking at getting a dSLR. I really like the S3 but it's not a big enough upgrade for me. If I had the choice like you do, I would get the S3.
My only concern about the S3 is that someone like me, with no knowledge of anything to do with photography (although I want to learn,) will be overwhelmed with the camera. Is it easy enough for me to use? I'm really not even as concerned about myself as I am about my husband, who likes to turn a camera on and just take a picture!
Don't worry, it's very easy to use. There are automatic modes (Which a lot of time I use with my Powershot A80). I really only use the manual modes on my small camera when I want to make an outstanding photo. But most of the time when I am using a small camera like the A80 I don't mind if it's a super good shot or not, as long as it's good image quality. With the S3, you can just turn it on (in automatic mode) point, and shoot.
The manual is also very helpful if you want to learn the manual modes. Not to mention you can come here and ask questions if you need.
Comments
First you need to decide if you want 4x zoom or 12x zoom. Do you want a compact camera or something a little bigger?
Do you want to shoot photos would nice background blur (shallow depth of field)?
If you want a compact and/or 4x zoom, you would choose the SD700 or similar.
If you want 12x zoom, nice background blur and don't mind a bit bigger camera, you would choose the S2/S3.
The S2/S3 are the closest Canon sells that are dSLR like but aren't dSLRs. The SD700 is strictly in the P&S category with all it's limitations (the biggest to me being the inability to get good background blur).
Personally I would recommend the S3. The S2 (which I have) is last year's model. The S3 is 6MP whereas the S2 is 5MP, and of course Canon finally made it black (I wish the S2 was black).
I've shot over 14,000 pictures in the 11 months of S2 ownership and I haven't been disappointed. I'm now at the point where I'm outgrowing the S2 and am looking at getting a dSLR. I really like the S3 but it's not a big enough upgrade for me. If I had the choice like you do, I would get the S3.
Yes, I do! I want my pictures to look much more professional then they do now with my Digital Elph (that just died, but I did love.)
If I ever buy a new P&S camera that has manual modes, I'm definately going for an S3 or equivalent model.
http://redbull.smugmug.com
"Money can't buy happiness...But it can buy expensive posessions that make other people envious, and that feels just as good.":D
Canon 20D, Canon 50 1.8 II, Canon 70-200 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4 L, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, Canon 430ex.
The manual is also very helpful if you want to learn the manual modes. Not to mention you can come here and ask questions if you need.
http://redbull.smugmug.com
"Money can't buy happiness...But it can buy expensive posessions that make other people envious, and that feels just as good.":D
Canon 20D, Canon 50 1.8 II, Canon 70-200 f/4L, Canon 17-40 f/4 L, Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro, Canon 430ex.