Hello Jeanne, Temple and I just watched your Flikr slideshow, and all we could say was wow Wow WOW! You've taken some truly wonderful pictures. We've abandoned the Auto setting in favor of Program, Tv(aperture), and Manual modes now. We also use HContinuous a lot, and toss a many of our lesser shots to get the often fleeting poses from our unpredictable birds. The tripod is helpful in fixed and especially low-light shooting, but we still take most of our pictures hand-held. I can sure understand your not wanting to lug one down to the river though, and you're getting superb photos without one anyway. I've visited lensmate and examined the sample shots taken with their TC offerings, and I really do want to try one. But the one thing I find with the S3 is that its basic lens just doesn't gather that much light, and I'm always struggling to get enough shutter speed while maintaining a good exposure. I know the TC lens will DECREASE the light at least somewhat, and this has caused me to hesitate. Anyway, I wax pathetic... ;) Your pictures are excellent, and the TC waxwing shots really do encourage me to try the long lens. Please continue to post your TC photos on the forum. I look forward to seeing more. best regards, Kenn

Clair, this site should answer your question: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/TX1/TX1A3.HTM Here is a link that might be useful: Cannon Powershot TX1

Before I upgraded I had two Canon S500 (I think) and after dropping it several times the shutter broke on one of them, the screen on the other. After combining the two cameras into one, I had the same problem where the lens was stuck in the retractable position and wouldn't allow me to close the lense cover. I just delt with the issue until I upgraded my camera and bequeathed it to my younger sister.

I do not own either one. I read some reviews on both cameras though. It seems that despite the FZ50 having 10MP it doesnÂt really out perform the FZ30, which only has 8MP. The S3 looks like a good camera. If you are not printing over 8x10 the 6MP is all you really need. I used to print 8x10 with a 4MP I had once. ItÂs picture quality was that good. However I would suggest looking at the Fuji Finepix S9000z (S9500), same category as the others you mentioned. It definitely has better resolution, better optics, sharper pictures, and better noise control. ItÂs just a better camera. The only thing the S3 and FZ50 have over the S9000 is the long end of the tele. The Fuji stops at 380mm, but, it has 9.1MP and since it has sharper images and better quality of a resolution, if you decide to crop, you will still be better off than the 10MP of the FZ50. Remember the resolution of the FZ50 did not beat the resolution of its lesser brother the FZ30. Ohh, I just remembered the S9000 doesnÂt have IS, but that have never been a deciding factor for me. I am adding a link to a S9000 sample gallery. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: click me!