Lost my F30 and want something with ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution.

I copied that last part from a review of the F30. I don't understand the terminology just know that the F30 took great low level light pictures.

ISO is rather an ancient term from the days of film which referred to the speed at which the film could absorb the light image. It's been transferred to the digital realm and refers to the speed at which the CCD chip absorbs the light image and converts it to a digital signal. The rule of thumb, however, is that the higher the ISO speed, the more grain or noise gets into the image. Most point and shoots begin to really lose the noise battle at ISOs above 800. With a few notable exceptions.

CCD chips on point and shoot cameras, however, are smaller and as such, fitting in more pixels without a corresponding increase of chip size, causes them to lose light sensivity. Sure, there’s more data on the chip, but the chip can’t absorb the light data and what it ends up with is a picture that has more noise than image quality. In other words, a smaller MP that can balance all these needs may indeed be a better answer.

So don't fall victim of the "more MP is better" myth. A camera like the F60 isn't going to perform as well at 3200 as your F30 did.

Thanks James but while your information was interesting, I'm not a pro, never will be. Just want to replace my F30 with something that performs as well as it did, in low light situations. Why did you not make a suggestion as to what camera I should consider?

You don't have to be a pro. I was merely going with the fact you didn't understand the terminology, but I felt i twas important to mention to you that at higher ISOs, there's more noise in the picture in low light situations. Sometimes, it helps to understand how your camera works when faced in situations where you need as much light as possible. If you don't know how it works, then you end up taking pictures you end up being dissatisfied with. All I was saying.

But you are right, I got on such a roll with my terminology lecture, I forgot to offer a camera suggestion! Sorry about that.

I like the Canon SD990IS. It has a new updated processor in the DIGIC IV, and a little larger chip size to handle the additional MP.

Another goodie is the Panasonic TZ5. It has great low light performance as well. I just wish it had a viewfinder!

Thanks James! I appreciate the info. I'd take better pictures if I paid attention to your advice and wasn't so lazy. I'm going to check out the Canon SD990IS and Panasonic TZ5.

Have you looked at the reviews on the Fuji F200EXR? Admittedly I'm easily swayed by the hype but the F30 was a perfect camera for me, long battery life, easy options and the best pictures I've ever taken in low light. I keep thinking the Fuji folks will put out another model with the same great features but if they have, no one's talking about it. Can't find any reviews that compare the F30 straight up. I'm sure that's also because the features I'm looking for aren't widely appreciated by people who really understand cameras.

I don't know if this thread ends because my question has been answered but if not, I'll look forward to your reply.

I believe that the Fuji F40fd is the next in line after the F30. It has served me well.