MWCT wrote:.

Pun intended, there is a serious dark side to P&S that I only justdiscovered today - they seriously suck in low light conditions..

Well, I've seen worse.  Don't feel bad, these cameras can be made to work, but they do require you to work with them. Probably the biggest detriment is the lack of a hotshoe for an internal flash on that particular camera..

Contrast based autofocus in low light can be slow and cumbersome, but you can take advantage of that (otherwise problematic) deep depth of field by setting the camera to manual focus, pre-selecting a focus point more or less within the range of distances you expect to be shooting at. As long as you don't zoom in too much, and perhaps stop down just a bit from wide open, you won't have to worry about focusing, just let the DoF handle the job. It worked for Aunt Nellie's box brownie, it'll work even better with the S3..

As long as you are shooting with flash, it usually won't be necessary to bump the ISO up all the way to 400. Try leaving it at 200. You might even consider setting the camera into Manual mode so you have more control over the shutter speed. Since the camera offers Rear Curtain Sync, go ahead and turn that on. From there, just select a shutter speed that brings in enough ambient light without introducing too much blur. With some care, you can probably go as long as 1/30s to 1/15s if needed.

Just choose an f-stop that's not too small in order to give the flash a little bit of a break. If the flash seems to be to bright or dim at whatever distance you're shooting at, just use the flash exposure compensation adjustment to fine tune the metering..

If you want to get fancy (assuming the ambient light is tungsten), place an orange color correction gel over the flash head, and set the cameras white balance to tungsten, so you won't have to contend with mixed color balanced lighting between flash and ambient..

Mainly, just spend some extra time experimenting with different approaches around the house at night. The conditions will be similar. A little time spent chasing the family and/or pets around will do wonders in helping you get comfortable with the possibilities..

Here's a few examples taken with an old Coolpix 5700, notorious for being a trouble maker in poor light.....

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Have fun!'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'.

Tom Younghttp://www.pbase.com/tyoung/..

Basically your last sentance summed it all up. Low light performance really is one of the key reasons to get into the DSLR arena. Like you I have an S3 and love it under most conditions, but the low light performance and DOF limitations have forced me to buy a 400xti with a 50mm f1.8 prime..

Steve..

If you want DSLR performance buy a DSLR. Expecting DSLR performance from a P&S is irrational. So is endlessly complaining that a P&S is not a DSLR..

In perspective mid-'90s 35mm Canon and Olympus P&Ss would not equal mid-'70s SLRs in absolute performance under any condition. On the other hand my wife could use the P&Ss and and had/has no interest in learning all the skills I brought to bear when using the SLRs. The same performance differences exist today..

Today I use a P&S camera in the same class as the S3IS (a Z612) because I don't want to deal with the expense and logistics of a DSLR system and I'm not expecting anyone to pay for that expenditure of effort. Under many conditions I can equal the quality of 8x10s done with SLR/film, some conditions not and a few exceed but in truth most current DSLRs, in the hands of a skilled photographer will exceed the absolute quality of film SLRs of the past...

The Fuji Film F30, F31fd and s6500fd are very good at higher ISO's needed for low light photos.Fuji Film S9100..

I don't see much problems there, except over-exposure. The shining lights focused on faces would call for -ve exposure compensation or use of spot metering. That is it. You could have got similar results with DSLR too!Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

MWCT wrote:.

Obvious in allphotos are blurring (even with IS),.

IS won't freeze moving subjects!.

Chromatic aberration, noise,flattening due to telescopic focusing with no bokeh to compensate....

Just try to use spot-metering or exposure compensation. P&S are less forgiving to exposure errors..

So if there is one compelling reason to go dSLR this may be it..

No doubt, DSLRs have better noise performance & dynamic range. But under high contrast situations, exposure errors will jump out in similar way.Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

I am posting some shots taken with previous generation 3MP Fuji S602, just to show how correct exposure is critical.This is indoor.

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Outdoor.

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Indoor, artificial lights.

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Waterfall.

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Overexposure is not such a bad thing always..

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In no way I am building a case against DSLR. Just that P&S are equally capable (due to their added functionality of big zooms and compact size), if used properly.Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..

MWCT wrote:.

So if there is one compelling reason to go dSLR this may be it.>>.

Don't you beleive it! The darn things will still foul up (IOW not do the impossible on their own) from time to time. I'm recalling now a shoot I did in a salon which had a dark decor and mirrors all over the place with mixed lighting sources. Getting the exposure and balance right was hell. Carnivals can be tricky too..

You can still rescue many of your shots with sympathetic use of curves and a little bit of dodging and burning. Perhaps a little bit of USM too (or download the Focus Magic plug-in which is not too fierce.), The Red Eye, that's easy to fix. Noise can be fixed realtively easily too..

Bottom line: camera with a hotshoe and decent accessory flash that can either work on it's own or with the camera TTL. Also, if working in available light you can actually see in an EVF if the shot is going to be less than optimal, with a DSLR you second guess and check after..

John.Please visit me at:http://www.pbase.com/johnfr/backtothebridgehttp://www.pbase.com/johnfr..

Before looking at your pics I expected based on your comments that they'd be way under-exposed with barely identifiable subjects or a complete blurry mess..

The pics are slightly over-exposed, the white balance is off, the colors look a little flat, and there's some blur due to subject motion..

The pics can be improved with some post-processing attention..

No offense intended, but I suspect that if you'd had a DSLR you'd have gotten similar quality pics..

Instead of shooting flash pics of moving subjects in Av mode and thus letting the camera choose a shutter speed which will probably be too slow, shoot in Tv or Manual to keep the shutter speed fast enough to freeze subject motion - say 1/125th..

If on image review the camera is tending to over-expose then dial in some (-) negative flash exposure compensation - start with -1/3..

On-camera pop-up direct flash isn't great quality light whether the camera is a point & shoot or a DSLR. In addition red-eye can be a result as in the one pic..

Some info.

Flash Photography with Canon EOS Camerashttp://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/.

Good Day,Roonal.

'Money doesn't buy happiness, but it makes for an extravagant depression' by golf tournament sportscaster..