F40-worthy low light camera?

[Gekko4321]

I had an F30 and after the case seperated on me twice and Fuji kept wanting more and more money, I got rid of it. I am looking for replacement but cannot seem to find any sort of compact low light camera that performs as well (based on reviews). Very frustrating to hear that the fragile F30 is still the standard. F50 reviews keep coming in bad too. What about the F40? Is that a good alternative? If 12MP has crowded the F50 sensor then is the 8MP F40 the answer for now? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[David Metsky]

The F40 doesn't have manual controls, it's strictly a P&S. Are you OK with that? Otherwise it's the best of the bunch for low light compacts.

[Gekko4321]

I am fine with it being a P&S. It is what I am looking for. I just want to know if the F40 low light shots are better than the F50 and if they are comparable to the F30. Thank you.

[Gekko4321]

Anyone have a good assessment for me? I want to know if the F40 is comparable to F30/31 for low light abilities. Sounds like F50 is not as good as due to the 12 MP sensor. Did the jump from 6 MP to 8 MP F40 affect low light on that camera too? Thanks!

[sjseto]

Based on the samples from reviews of both the F40fd and F30 on this site, I'd say that the F40fd is not quite the high ISO performer that the F30 is, but it's pretty close. The F30 seems to retain a bit more detail once you get to ISO 800 and above. However unless you're pixel-peeping, cropping heavily, or printing at very large sizes, you might not notice the difference. I do prefer the images from the F40fd to the F50fd. If Fuji had only added IS but kept the same sensor from the F30 or F40fd, they could have had a real winner.

It's too bad that you were having quality control issues with your F30. Maybe it was just a bad sample.

Stephanie

[Rob Mac]

I bought a new F20 last week for a bargain price. Really good low noise pics. Basically point and shoot but with IQ comparable to the F30. Same lens, sensor etc as the F30/31. Good battery life too and solidly (metal) made.