Rear of Camera Controls

The control layout on the S3 Pro has been cleaned up with a more logical layout for the BACK, 4-way controller and MENU/OK buttons. At the top of the rear are four photographic setting controls (Bracket, Flash, Metering mode, AE/AF Lock), on the left the Control Panel and FUNC button. Sadly, just like the S2 Pro the camera can only be woken from 'sleep' mode by half-pressing the shutter release button, it is not possible to wake it by pressing any of the rear buttons (such as PLAY or MENU).

Photographic settings buttons

Button
BKT Auto Bracketing Enable

• On
• Off

Auto Bracketing: Shots / EV

Choose any combination of:
• 2 or 3 shots of
• 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 EV steps
Flash sync mode

• Front-curtain sync (normal flash)
• Red-eye reduction
• Red-eye reduction with slow sync
• Slow sync
• Rear-curtain sync		 No function

Metering Mode

Metering
 
Description
 

3D Matrix Metering with 10-segment SPD

Selects 3D matrix metering which uses a 10 segment sensor to calculate the best exposure for the frame. Use D or G type lenses with 3D Matrix Metering for the optimum metering.
Center Weighted Metering

The camera uses the entire frame for light measurement but assigns a greater weight to an area in the center of the frame (indicated in the viewfinder by the circle).

Spot metering

The camera measures light only in a circle 4 mm in diameter. This is tied to the currently selected AF area point unless dynamic AF or a non-CPU lens is used when it defaults to the center of the frame.

Other controls

Button
 
Description
 
AE-L
AF-L

Auto Exposure and Auto Focus Lock

Pressing this button locks the current exposure and focus, they remain locked for as long as you hold the button even if you press or release the shutter release button.

Control Panel buttons

The function of the four buttons below the control panel display panel depends on the status of the display and selected menu. By default the display is used to relay information such as ISO sensitivity and frames remaining, press the FUNC button and the display switches to a menu of four options, each controlled by one button. In play and preview modes a menu is always displayed. Each of the available menus and the function of each button is described below.

Menu
  		Button 1 Button 2 Button 3 Button 4
Record / shooting mode
Record 1 White balance

• Auto
• Custom 1
• Custom 2
• Sunny
• Cloudy
• Fluorescent 1
• Fluorescent 2
• Fluorescent 3
• Incandescent		 Image quality

• High (RAW)
• Fine (JPEG)
• Normal (JPEG)		 Image size

• 4256 x 2848
• 3024 x 2016
• 2304 x 1536
• 1440 x 960		 Film simulation

• Standard
• F1 (Portrait) *
• F2 (Velvia) *
Record 2 Dynamic Range

• Auto *
• Wide 1 *
• Wide 2 * 		Color

• Standard
• High
• Original
• Black & White		 Tone

• Standard
• Hard
• Original		 Sharpening

• Standard
• Hard
• Off
Record 3 Focus area mode

• Single Area AF
• Dynamic AF		 Lock

• Off
• On		   Reset Function

• Ok
Play mode
Play Histogram

• None
• Master (Lumin.)
• Red Channel
• Green Channel
• Blue Channel
• Blinking highlights 		Erase

• No
• Ok		 Protect

• On
• Off		 Thumbnail index

• On
• Off

* Camera must be in 'Wide' Dynamic Range mode (record menu option)

Rear controls

Button
 
Description
 
FUNC

Rear Display Panel Function

Press the FUNC button to rotate through various options available in the current mode (record / play) which can be executed using the control panel. The panel will change its display and up to four options made available on the soft keys below the panel.
PLAY

Playback

Displays the last image taken (or the last image on the storage card) in this mode you can browse through images and view various items of exposure information (detailed later in this review). The S3 Pro is a shooting priority camera, a half-press of the shutter release will turn the monitor off and ready it for the next shot.
MENU
/OK 		Camera menu / Confirm

Display or cancel the camera menu or confirm a selection (detailed later in this review).
4-way controller

In shooting mode where AF point selection is enabled the 4-way controller is used to choose AF points. In playback mode this control reverts to image navigation / menu movement. The 4-way controller can be locked by turning the small lever below the dial to the 'L' position. Unfortunately the 4-way controller lock is a physical lock which disables the controller for use in menus too.
BACK Back

Back out or cancel the display of a menu.

Front of camera controls

On the front of the camera are two controls, on the left side of the lens is the depth of field preview button, pressing this button stops the lens down to the selected (or metered) aperture allowing the photographer to preview the depth of field of the final shot. On the right side of the lens mount is the focus mode selector (modes defined below).

Focus modes

Mode
 
Description
 
M

Manual Focus

Focusing is carried out using the focus ring on the lens, the focus indicator on the viewfinder status bar will indicate 'o' when the manually focused subject distance matches that calculated by the camera's AF system.
S Single servo AF (focus priority)

If the subject is stationary, the camera focuses when the shutter release button is pressed halfway. Focus remains locked while the shutter release button is held in this position (focus lock). The shutter can only be released when the in-focus indicator is displayed.
C

Continuous servo AF (release priority)

The camera adjusts focus continuously while the shutter release button is pressed halfway, automatically tracking moving subjects (focus tracking). The shutter can be released at any time, whether or not the camera is in focus (release priority). Focus is not locked when the in-focus indicator is displayed.