Friend of mine is after a good quality digital camera with a 10 or 12X zoom and has narrowed his choice down to the above 3 cameras. Response times and image quality are his priorities.

Any advice appreciated !

Graham

I have the S2 IS and the old man has just got the S3. Great cameras and they get some fantastic images too.

The IS helps a lot for the telephoto shots, though the images can be a bit on the soft side at 12x. The AF can hunt a bit at 12x, especially for images where the contrast isn't very high, or in gloomy conditions.

The fold out screen is good too, for getting shots from different angles... saves lying on the ground or climbing over walls etc.

The camera is on and ready for use in a couple of seconds, and the zoom control can be slow or fast.

Despite having a 350D, I still carry mine round with me... but that's partly because I'm too lazy to swap between the kit lens and the zoom that lives on it. :)