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>>174888 Yeah, the S3IS has a 1/2.5" sensor, which is at the noisy-end of the scale of small sensors. And its lens is designed for length more than speed. So for the purposes of this discussion, an S3IS is *worse* than some compacts for low-light ability.
And yes, digital SLRs will do it a lot better. Canon's cheapest Rebel XT has roughly the same high-ISO noise characteristics as the XTi, XSi, and 30D, and 40D, which is really quite good. ISO1600 on a digital SLR will look better than ISO400 on your S3IS.
Additionally, SLRs can get much faster lenses. Canon's 50mm f/1.8 is the cheapest lens they sell, and it'll give you slightly better than a stop of light over your S3IS's f/2.7 max. Combine that with the two stop advantage in ISO and your blurry 1/15th picture from your S3 becomes a sharp 1/120th.
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