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Reviews (2)
10 September 2007
Canon S3 IS Digital Camera
5 of 5 found this helpful The S3 is an enhanced version of the renowned S2. It has 6 MP (vs 5) and a slightly larger viewing area. Although no longer produced it is readily available. Significantly less expensive than the current S5. It has everything I wanted and then some. I thought I was getting a good bit of camera for the money.
I have owned the classic Canon AE-1 35mm for several years. Thousands of photos and several different lenses. But it was time. I felt digital had finally gotten to the point that I needed to make the break. And besides, everyone was doing it. A good friend has an S2 and it has performed well.
Although you can't directly compare the ASA/ISO speed to a 35mm it is fairly sensitive. Can take indoor pictures without flash with reasonable amount of light. The flash, although quite small, does a nice job. Quite a change from the Speedlite 199A that I am used to. Again the flash guide numbers don't directly compare.
Haven't had it long enough to find any faults yet. It is very compact and light weight. I does everything it says it will and does it just fine. Must say, quite a jump for me from the film mindset. You can shoot to your heart's content and just throw away what you don't want with out wasting anything. Scary.
It has a ton of options that I have not yet tried. Different formats and granularity, motion pictures, back-light and fore-light compensation, color enhancement and correction for artificial light and all. However I am a techno-gadget type person so I like that. Just need some time to familiarize myself with them. Also you don't have to worry about any of that stuff if you don't want to. Just put it in Auto and go. Haven't done much flash work yet either so that remains to be seen.
I did buy the extra wide angle, macro and telephoto adaptor lenses for it. And these did not cost very much compared to the SLR interchangeable lenses. So, as it stands, it is very close to the AE-1 in functionality. Just no super telephoto like 500mm.
So far so good. The package I bought came with a 2GB memory card. The 16MB that comes with it doesn't hold very much. Also came with a SD/MMC card reader and rechargeable batteries and charger and basic carry bag. So all in all it hit the spot.
Need to wait for my first trip/vacation with it to really put it through its paces. Also I have not commercially printed any pictures yet. Just on the PC. We'll see if I can retire the AE-1! Maybe just a little tear there.
Bruce.
10 May 2008
House on Haunted Hill (Yr 2000)
1 of 1 found this helpful This is a modern day remake of the classic "House on Haunted Hill" from back in 1959 which starred the legendary Vincent Price. The old movie seems primitive by today's standards but still ranks right up there with the best of them.
This newer version follows a similar story line but is quite different in location, guest invitees and rationale. I found it quite good. Technically they made very few gaffs [There are always a few. What can I say! None were outright stupid.] The suspense is good. Keeps you guessing. Props are good.
All in all, the movie could really have happened. To make a "horror" movie realistic is a challenge. And when it is realistic it is great. The new twists and themes are well done. This is not a simple blood and guts movie where half the cast gets chopped up one way or the other. Yes, they die, but not by the hands of a crazy guy with a chain saw. More sophisticated than that.
If you like suspense and a bit of horror sprinkled in you will like this one.
Bruce.