Updated (September, 2011): Compare the Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs Canon Powershot SX40

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

66

"HD image quality is excellent and the stereo mics do a good job of picking up voices at distances of up to several metres."
cameralabs.com | talking about the SX30 IS's video-quality
"The PowerShot SX30 IS is a super-zoom truly worthy of the name. It will, without doubt, prove even more popular than its predecessors."
cameralabs.com | talking about the SX30 IS's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Zoom
Great zoom
35x
Wide angle
Wide angle lens
24 mm
True resolution
High true resolution
9.8 MP
Macro focus
Great macro
0 cm
External flash
External flash
Better lighting
Canon PowerShot S3 IS

45

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Size
Really small
Prosumer size 113x78x76 mm
Thickness
Thin
3"

differences

Advantages of the Canon S3 IS

Size Significantly smaller 113x78x76 mm vs 123x92x108 mm
Help
Around 50% smaller
Thickness Significantly thinner 3" vs 4.3"
Help
Around 30% thinner
Weight Lighter 510 g vs 601 g
Help
Around 20% lighter
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Learn more about
the Canon S3 IS

Advantages of the Canon SX30 IS

Wide angle Much better wide angle 24 mm vs 36 mm
Help
More than 30% better wide angle
Zoom Much more zoom 35x vs 12x
Help
More than 8.5x more zoom
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 2.7" vs 2.0"
Help
Around 40% larger screen
Macro focus Much better macro capability 0 cm vs 10 cm
Help
Almost the same
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 SX30 IS's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX30 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent super zooms, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot S3 IS
45 vs 66
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Canon PowerShot SX30 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX30 IS.

advice

Need help deciding?

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I am considering either the S3 IS or the SX30 IS,
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similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Aperture Wide aperture Help
f/2.7
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
SX30 IS:601 g
Thickness Quite thick Help
S3 IS:3"
SX30 IS:4.3"
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Size Large Help
S3 IS:113x78x76 mm
SX30 IS:123x92x108 mm
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Screen size Very small screens Help
S3 IS:2.0"
SX30 IS:2.7"
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
S3 IS:800 ISO
SX30 IS:1,600 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S3 IS:1.5 fps
SX30 IS:1.1 fps
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S3 IS:115k dots
SX30 IS:230k dots
Movie format Poor movies Help
S3 IS:480p @ 30fps
SX30 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
External mic jack Neither has an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$347 - $380

Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$390 - $496

Screen size Has a slightly larger screen
Screen resolution Has a slightly higher resolution screen
Wide angle Has a significantly narrower wide angle lens
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Super zoom

$742

Lowest price Is much more expensive
Weight Is slightly heavier
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$619 - $700 body only

$745 - $1,000 with 18-55mm lens

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Lowest price Is significantly more expensive
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS

Entry-level DSLR

$348 - $595 body only

$439 with 18-55mm lens

Sensor type Has a CMOS-family sensor
Sensor size Has a much larger sensor
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $597 body only

$600 - $697 with 18-55mm lens

Sensor size Much larger sensor
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Size Larger
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$356 - $430

Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Zoom Less zoom
Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Zoom

Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Zoom

Super zoom

Macro focus Much better macro capability
Supports RAW Shoots RAW
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Canon PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot S95

Pro digicam

$340 - $389

Screen size Much larger screen
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Zoom Less zoom

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Nikon Coolpix P500

Nikon Coolpix P500

Super zoom

$300

Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100v

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100v

Super zoom

$409

Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Zoom Significantly less zoom
Wide angle Significantly worse wide angle
Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR

Fujifilm FinePix HS20

Super zoom

$299 - $335

Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Zoom Significantly less zoom
Size Larger
Nikon Coolpix P510

Nikon Coolpix P510

Super zoom

$397 - $400

Zoom Significantly more zoom
Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen
Aperture Narrower aperture
External flash No external flash support
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

Super zoom

$611

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Screen size Significantly larger screen
Zoom Much less zoom
Wide angle Worse wide angle

appearance

Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX30 IS
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX30 IS
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

discussion

Showing 4 comments

Nillohit Mukherjee (7:57 PM, October 08, 2011)
i'v operated both the cams maintaining similar conditions, but don't know why i got better results with s3. the resolution was far better, and s3 can sense 'green' and 'blue' more accurately  
 
Arius (10:16 AM, July 02, 2011)
S3  Has! a super macro mode. It can focus from 0cm. So, the phrase about SX30"Much better macro capability" is wrong.
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (2:24 AM, February 26, 2011)
Thanks Mm, we've corrected that mistake!
 
Mm (3:37 AM, February 25, 2011)
S3 Has ! a flip-out screen