Canon PowerShot
S3 IS
 vs
Canon PowerShot
SX20 IS

Updated (September, 2010): Compare the Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

58

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Macro focus
 Great macro
0 cm
External flash
 External flash
Better lighting
Canon PowerShot S3 IS

47

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Size
 Really small
Prosumer size 113x78x76 mm
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies

differences

Advantages of the Canon S3 IS
Size Smaller 113x78x76 mm vs 128x88x87 mm
Help
 More than 30% smaller
Aperture Slightly wider aperture f/2.7 vs f/2.8
Help
 At its widest zoom, the S3 IS's lens captures marginally more light (0.1 f-stops)
Weight Lighter 510 g vs 600 g
Help
 Around 20% lighter
Thickness Thinner 3" vs 3.4"
Help
 More than 10% thinner
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 1.5 fps vs 0.7 fps
Help
 More than 2x faster continuous shooting
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Learn more about
the Canon S3 IS

Advantages of the Canon SX20 IS
Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 36 mm
Help
 More than 20% better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 5.9 MP
Help
 Capture around 70% more detail in your photos
Screen size Much larger screen 2.5" vs 2.0"
Help
 Around 30% larger screen
Macro focus Much better macro capability 0 cm vs 10 cm
Help
 Almost the same
Zoom More zoom 20x vs 12x
Help
 Around 3x more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
 Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Sensor size Larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/2.5" 5.8x4.3mm
Help
 More than 10% larger sensor
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 230k dots vs 115k dots
Help
 2x higher resolution screen
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 1,600 ISO vs 800 ISO
Help
 The SX20 IS's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX20 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent super zooms, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot S3 IS
47 vs 58
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonPowerShot S3 IS
 Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
CanonPowerShot SX20 IS
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
1
0
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
0
0
Vote Vote
Features Low light image quality Low light image quality
Lack of noise, sharp details
0
0
Vote Vote
Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
0
0
Vote Vote
Performance Image stabilization
Ability to reduce blur from hand shake
0
0
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Aperture Wide aperture Help
S3 IS:f/2.7
SX20 IS:f/2.8
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Viewfinder Both have digital viewfinders Help
Digital
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
1/3200 of a second
Weight Heavy Help
S3 IS:510 g
SX20 IS:600 g
Thickness Quite thick Help
S3 IS:3"
SX20 IS:3.4"
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Screen size Very small screens Help
S3 IS:2.0"
SX20 IS:2.5"
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Size Large Help
S3 IS:113x78x76 mm
SX20 IS:128x88x87 mm
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
S3 IS:800 ISO
SX20 IS:1,600 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S3 IS:1.5 fps
SX20 IS:0.7 fps
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S3 IS:115k dots
SX20 IS:230k dots
Movie format Poor movies Help
S3 IS:480p @ 30fps
SX20 IS:720p @ 30fps

Compared to recent super zooms

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.
Supports RAW No RAW support Help
Less editing fidelity
Zoom Poor zoom Help
S3 IS:12x
SX20 IS:20x
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
S3 IS:36 mm
SX20 IS:28 mm

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$379
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$420
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon Coolpix P500

Nikon Coolpix P500

Super zoom

$339 - $350
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix P500 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the Coolpix P500 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon Coolpix P100

Nikon Coolpix P100

Super zoom
Zoom Has significantly more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix P100 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the Coolpix P100 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon Coolpix L120

Nikon Coolpix L120

Super zoom

$227 - $230
Wide angle Has a slightly wider wide angle lens
Screen size Has a much larger screen
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$834 body only

$500 - $984 with 18-55mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a much larger screen
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization
Compare the D3100 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the D3100 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Super zoom

$245
Wide angle Has a much narrower wide angle lens
Compare the PowerShot S5 IS vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Compare the PowerShot S5 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Travel zoom

$127 - $245
Screen size Much larger screen
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Canon PowerShot G1X

Canon PowerShot G1X

Boutique

$799
Sensor size Much larger sensor
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Macro focus Much worse macro capability
Zoom Less zoom
Compare the PowerShot G1X vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi

Entry-level DSLR

$485 body only

$629 with 18-55mm lens
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Autofocus Faster autofocus
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the EOS Digital Rebel XSi vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10

Travel zoom

$195 - $328
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen size Much larger screen
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the Lumix DMC-ZS10 vs the PowerShot S3 IS
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Autofocus Faster autofocus
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Compare the D7000 vs the PowerShot S3 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR

Fujifilm FinePix HS20

Super zoom

$310 - $475
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity
Zoom Significantly more zoom
Size Significantly larger
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
Compare the FinePix HS20 vs the PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

Super zoom
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Movie format Lower resolution movies
Compare the PowerShot SX10 IS vs the PowerShot SX20 IS

appearance

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Find similar cameras

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discussion Which do you think is better?

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