Panasonic S3

Panasonic S3 is Panasonic's Small Sensor Compact digital camera first introduced on January of 2011. The camera has got a 14MP, CCD 1/2.3" size sensor with a max resolution of 4320 x 3240.

The S3 is ranked #152 out of 261 in Small Sensor Compact cameras & over-all #1063 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our collection. You should try out our Advanced camera search to see camera results based on your customized requirements.

Here is a chart of different factors used in the rating system.

The Panasonic S3 is part of a family of products. You can read the full list below.

You can look at the S3 from various angles in the gallery underneath.

Here is a shortlist of advantages and drawbacks of the Panasonic S3 based on aspects that are oftentimes considered useful in a digital camera.

The Panasonic S3 is powered by the Venus Engine IV chip. The sensor size in the Panasonic S3 is 6.08mm x 4.56mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor can capture 4320 x 3240 pixels using aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera features Image Stabilization (Optical). In body stabilization is more effective than digital stabilization as the latter might produce cropping.

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The CCD sensor has 14 megapixels and provides a standard ISO range of 100 - 6400. Unfortunately, RAW photos are not saved which means that the user has less margin for error.

The picture below shows the S3's sensor size when compared to other popular sizes. The S3 sensor has a crop factor of 5.9 and is highlighted in green.

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To get a sense of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the graphic below.

Panasonic S3 has a weight of 0.26 pounds (117 gr / 4.13 ounces) & has outside proportions of 99mm x 59mm x 21mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 0.8"). The weight of typical Small Sensor Compact camera is 174 gr so the Panasonic S3 is less heavy as compared with various rivals.

Photography Glossary

Listed below is a visual of the Panasonic S3 besides a soft drink to help you to get a sense of its size.

The top view directly below will illustrate the button arrangement on the S3.

The S3 includes an inbuilt lens having a focal range of 28-112mm giving it a 4.0 x zoom which isn't amazing nevertheless it is going to be helpful in certain cases.

At it's widest 28mm, the lens features an aperture of f3.1 which will be quite sluggish and not the best for low light situations and you will find it difficult to get a shallow depth of field. You will likely also need to boost your ISO leading to noisy shots. On the long end, 112mm comes with f5.6 which is really slow and you would have to set slower shutter speeds.

The S3 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes

Digital cameras with NFC and Bluetooth compatibility can be controlled wirelessly via smartphones. You will be able to copy files and at times alter settings without connecting directly with the camera.

A few apps also allow a Liveview and hit the shutter whenever you are not near the camera. If the camera provides a HDMI port, it can be attached to an external screen. Many cameras will allow you to recharge the battery pack with the USB port.

The max video quality in the Panasonic S3 is 1280 x 720 and you can record in MPEG-4 file format. 720p is awful for today's standards. You should really shoot for at least FUll HD quality for good video. The body does not have a microphone and headphone jack which means you have got absolutely no control over the sound. It is perhaps best to get an alternative camera in case you need good sound for your videos.

Panasonic S3 does not have environment sealing so wet conditions may ruin the camera.

The Panasonic S3 has got a 2.7 inch fixed screen having a resolution of 230 thousand dots.

Unfortunately the screen isn't a touch screen.

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The ViewFinder specs for Panasonic S3 are the following:

• ViewFinder None

For bright outdoor conditions that make the camera displays washed out and difficult to see, viewfinders can be pretty useful.

Panasonic S3 continuous shooting speed is 2.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1600s.

Panasonic S3 features just inbuilt flash without external flash support.

Panasonic S3 features only Contrast Based AF & doesn't have Phase Detect AF. Phase Detection focusing is a lot more snappier & exact as compared with Contrast Based focusing.

The Sensor has got 11 focus points to select from. Panasonic S3 has no manual focusing. Manual focusing ability is good in low light situations or you want more precise control on depth of field.

The battery pack for the Panasonic S3 is made to last for 250 images with respect to the CIPA specifications which is about average when compared to it's rivals. The usual Small Sensor Compact camera battery life is 241. Fujifilm X30 has the maximum (470) battery life in this type of cameras.

Listed below is a list of Small Sensor Compact cameras that come with the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X30
S3 vs Fujifilm X30470 yesnono

Casio EX-10
S3 vs EX-10455 yesnono

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Ricoh GR Digital IV
S3 vs GR Digital IV390 yesnono

Canon G12
S3 vs G12370 yesnono

Canon G16
S3 vs G16360 yesnono

The following bar chart shows a summary of the Panasonic S3 for different forms of photography. To view more, have a look at the specific section below.

The Panasonic S3 receives a rating of 28 which is dreadful, and means the camera is simply not good for portraits. Shooting portrait images favors greatly towards sensor resolution, RAW support along with the capability to work with off-camera flash.

Coming in at a nice rating of 63, the Panasonic S3 is a fine choice for street photography. A good street photography camera gives a good balance of picture quality plus portability.

A dreadful sports photography rating of 35 indicates the Panasonic S3 is simply not good for taking photos of sports. A camera needs fantastic autofocus and shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is really critical in selecting a travel camera. Over-all, the Panasonic S3 gets a above average 68 for a travelling camera which makes it a good pick for your vacations.

For anybody planning to buy a camera for landscape photographs, the most essential aspect is going to be image quality. The Panasonic S3 and it's dreadful score of 38 for a landscape camera is simply not good in the current market.

A vlogging camera preferably should come with a moving screen, mic port and ideally IBIS. Considering every thing, the Panasonic S3 is simply not good as a vlog camera as it comes to a dreadful rating of 31.

If you are looking for replacements to the S3, here is a collection of the top ranked cameras that fall under the category of Small Sensor Compact.

The chart underneath will give you an overview of the S3 versus it's highest scoring rivals listed above.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may take into account as alternate options. To check out a extensive comparison, just click on the "compare" link.