Camera for low light situations?

[emilymad]

I am shopping for a new digital camera. I currently have an Olympus Stylus that is about 3 years old. It is really bad at taking pictures in low light. Even inside pictures turn out grainy. Forget about anything taken actually at night. In shopping for a new camera, is there a term to look for that would address this situation? I am only looking at P&S pocket sized cameras if that helps. Thanks so much!

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Pocket-sized? Good in low light?

Your best bet is the Fuji F30/F40fd (or whatever version they're up to, now).

Best thing next to a DSLR for low-light/high ISO and it will fit in a shirt pocket.

 

[Code]

Yep, Fuji is the best (only) bet for what you want. I get decent 4x6 (even 5x7) prints at 1600 ISO from my F30.

The Fuji F50fd just came out but there aren't any reviews up yet. Over the F40fd, it adds image stabilization and has more manual controls (like the F30), but it also adds 4mp (12 vs 8) from the same sensor size (not a good thing) so I am waiting to see how it performs. If I can turn it down to 8mp and get the same results as the F40fd, it will be worth upgrading my F30 just for the stabilization. Low light performing, image stabilized pocket camera? Yes, please!

 

[Code]

Just went searching for some F50fd samples, and it appears that even turned down to 6mp, the results aren't even close to the F30/F31fd Very disappointing.

So if you want manual controls and a few more features, go with the F31fd, otherwise the F40fd.