IMO, you are expecting to find a P&S that is capable of doing the abnormal.

You must be using a prop to get sharp shots at 1/8. Even if you get
'acceptable shots', you will be at the maximum wide focal length.

Shooting in low light comes at a cost. Either you:
- Increase ISO to make it more sensitive to light (more noise),
- Use a big aperture lens to let in more light (more expensive, loss of
DOF),
- Use image stabilisation (more expensive, no good for moving subjects),
- Use a tripod (more to carry),
- Create your own light (obvious reasons).

As for your original question, compare an IS camera with a non-IS camera
with increased ISO. I can't see any other way of coming to a conclusion as
to whether increased ISO can compare with IS.

Bear in mind that good quality big aperture lenses for SLR's with IS cost a
fortune. There is a reason for that.

Given your understanding of the technical aspects of photography, I
personally think that a P&S is the wrong choice for you, unless you have
financial limitations.


"bob smith" wrote in message ...
My 1/8 pictures with image stabilization on are quite sharp. 1/4 is
dicey -
maybe one out of 5 come out acceptably sharp.

I'm strictly a recreational P&S'er - I'm not hauling around tripods and
lights on vacation, or out with friends. :-)


"Arnold" wrote in message
...
1/8 and 1/4 handheld shutter speed is pushing it for sharp photos.

Can I ask why you don't want to use a tripod? I am not sure of the
weight
on this camera, but even small, cheap telescopic tripods are available,
measuring around 30cm X 1cm.

You also missed another option. Create your own light.




"bob smith" wrote in message
...
Just curious, if I want to do a lot of lower light/indoor photography
without flash, whats better?:

1)Cleaner high ISO sensitivity: Something like the Fuji Finepix F10
which
can shoot cleanly at
ISO400 and can do up to ISO1600

2)Use of an image stabilizer (for example, in the camera I currently
have
the Panasonic DMC-FX8)
to allow you to use a slower shutter speed. For example, in this camera
I
can take clean shots at 1/8
shutter speed handheld without problems, sometimes even 1/4.

I believe typically without image stabilizer you would want to use no
slower
than around 1/60 shutter
speed? So if 1/8 is usable, does this mean 8x more light? If so, does
this
mean that 1/8 @ 100ISO
is equivalent to 1/60 @ 800ISO? Is it just a simple formula like that?

For purposes of this discussion assume I want a small P&S digital
camera,
no
tripod, and the shots
are of static images (so slowing the shutter speed doesnt matter except
for
camera shake from being
handheld)

Thanks a lot!