Agreed, noise is bad.
There are cameras, that for nominally identical settings, one is noiser than the other. Some of this delta is due to the camera/sensor's sensitivity, and some of it is because there isn't a direct object conversion to digital, shared among manufacturers for the wet-film concept of ISO.
The answer, of course, is try it out for yourself.
I don't know how my camera compares to this one or that one wrt noise, but I do know how it compares to my standards for noise. And, I have found that lately I've become something of a noise snob. I don't like it. Since I have just the one camera, and I am otherwise pretty happy with it in toto, I have to take other steps to turn down the noise.
For me, that means shooting at the lowest possible "ISO" setting, and using my other options to compensate for the exposure. Finding a camera with a complete set of manual controls is necessary for this. I must say that I doubted (ever so briefly) HLJ's statement that his camera didn't have a manual focus mode (He was right, I was wrong, it does not). I would consider this kind of design choice unacceptable for my needs, and probably yours too.
While I'm on my high horse, I just want to say that 10x optical zoom is quite impressive and that "digital zoom" is no better than simply moving your head closer to the screen. Do not be mislead.
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Be Just and Fear Not.
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