Canon Powershot S3 Camera Movie Mode – Is It Any Good?

There are quite a few of the Canon PowerShot cameras which possess some of the greatest video capture capabilities out there. The video option on these cameras is what Canon has dubbed the Movie Mode. It unfortunately has a one gigabyte file size limit, but before we get to that let’s talk about the different movie mode options.

When you go to record, you will have a number of choices. First of all, you have VGA, and this is a mode that lets you record at 640 x 480. VGA stands for Video Graphics Array, and while it has been in use for some time there are still many that do not know exactly what it means anymore.

The next mode you can worry yourself with is QVGA, an acronym for Quarter Video Graphics Array. It is literally a quarter of the screen size in a VGA resolution, being 320 x 240. Such a resolution is also used on many mobile devices today.

When you decide to make use of the Canon PowerShot, you will be able to make the choice between 15, 30, or even 60 frames per second in movie mode, and this is dependent on the resolution you picked. The only problem is that eventually you are going to hit that one gigabyte limit which will annoy some people to no end. You will only be able to record until the card is full or until it reaches that one gig limit.

At maximum quality setting, which is VGA 640 * 480 at 30 frames per second, the 1GB limit is reached in approximately nine minutes. So, the maximum resolution will give you approximately 9 minutes of movie time before you hit the 1GB size limit. This doesn’t mean that you can only store 1GB of movies on the card. You can store as many 1GB movies as your card will allow. If you have an 8GB card, you could store eight 1GB movies at the maximum resolution.

If you’re using a Canon PowerShot for video, you will probably be uploading your content to the web. YouTube still has a 10 minute limit on video length. And frankly the attention span of most people will wane considerably sooner than 9 minutes! If you want longer movies, you have a couple options. Reduce the frame rate to 15 fps. That may work for you but remember that the slower frame rate will give you a lower quality image.

You could also go to QVGA quality which will reduce the resolution. If you want, you can try lowering the quality of the audio as this will guarantee a smaller file size. A faster frame rate will also do well, as it will give you a high quality video even at the lowest resolutions.

By doing this you could indeed record for a bit longer than the normal nine minutes, and you would even retain decent video quality. Make sure that you check the results of this before you actually use it however. One thing that you need to know however, is that the Canon Powershot will definitely outdo any other handheld video camcorder on the market. This is a combination of both the lens and the technology integrated into the PowerShot.

For additional information including reviews, picture and video samples and more about the Canon Powershot S3 Is follow these links and get cannon powershot s3 special deals.