The S3IS is nice, but not great. I think you got your money's worth but not a bargain. It's the S5IS's predecessor, so you're three generations back from the current model (the S20XIS).
The +2/-2 thing may or may not control the aperture, depending on what shooting mode you're in. If you want to set the aperture directly, set the mode dial to Av or M. However, be aware that your lens has a maximum aperture of f/2.7-f/3.5--that means at the wide end of the lens, the widest it will go is f/2.7, and at the long end, the widest it will go is f/3.5.
Aperture is also not that likely to affect your depth of field and blur out the background, because of the tiny sensor and the fact that your actual focal lengths are 6mm-72mm.
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