Conclusion

Many decent compacts can produce almost SLR-like quality at their lowest ISO, but whatever the marketing departments of the camera manufacturers may like you to think, there is no way you can get acceptable results from a small sensor compact at high ISO settings - some struggle even at ISO 400. The only exceptions are the Fujifilm FinePix F30 and F31fd, which use a combination of large pixels (lower megapixel count), clever sensor design and clever noise reduction to produce decent results at ISO 800 and usable results at ISO 1600 (the ISO 3200 mode is, however, a step too far).

For 'serious' photographic purposes your options for high ISO photography with a compact camera are very limited. You'll get perfectly acceptable results using the lowest ISO and a tripod, but if you want to produce decent enlargements (in some cases anything from 6x4 inches up) you'll find the high ISO modes are of very limited use.

Of course the manufacturers would argue that compact cameras are not 'serious' photographic tools, and for the 'average' consumer - the typical 'point and shoot' user - the loss of resolution and detail is not as important as getting the shot, recording the moment. This is true, but as our studio tests show in some cases the output isn't even as good as a decent camera phone, and would, we suspect, be disappointing to even the least discerning snap shooter.

So then, if you're looking for something suitable for the ability to take casual snaps of friends and family in low light without always needing flash, there are cameras that offer high ISO performance good enough for small prints or reduced-size JPEG emailing. Even a very noisy 10MP picture will look perfectly acceptable on-screen if reduced to 1600 x 1200 pixels and sharpened. The same goes for 6x4 inch print, though even at this size you'll be able to see the lack of detail compared to a lower ISO shot.

If, however, you're an enthusiast photographer looking for a pocket camera capable of getting even close to a digital SLR, you're out of luck - you're going to have to accept some level of compromise.

There are some compact camera brands we would currently absolutely avoid for regular high ISO photography (Casio, Panasonic and Olympus spring to mind), but in reality - aside from one or two 6MP Fujifilm Super CCD models - the only real difference between the best and worst models is the quality and quantity of noise reduction, and none really impress.

Compact camera high ISO modes: summing up

• There is a lot of variation in the appearance high ISO output of different cameras, but they're all crippled by the same small sensors / lack of sensitivity.
  
  
• Do not expect to be able to produce large prints from compact camera high ISO modes.
  
  
• Subject matter matters: portraits are a lot more forgiving of noise reduction than landscapes.
  
  
• Once you get over ISO 400 any advantage of higher megapixel counts is usually lost.
  
  
• There is no compact camera on the market that can produce acceptable full size results at ISO 3200, and only a handful that can at ISO 800 or ISO 1600.
  
  
• Even viewed full screen on a large monitor you will see the loss of quality.
  
  
• Optical image stabilization is not a replacement for high ISO - it can combat camera shake, but it doesn't allow you to increase the shutter speed and therefore cannot do anything about blur due to movement of the subject in low light.
  
  
• If you intend to buy a compact for use in low light look for a fast lens (wide maximum aperture) - it's worth a lot more than a pointless ISO 1600 mode.
  
  
• For small social snaps (friends in a bar, for example) high ISO modes may well produce acceptable results as long as you are aware of the quality limitations and stick with small prints.