SuperCCD's in some fujifilm finepix compacts are pretty amazing for a compact i.t.o. sensitivity and low light signal-to-noise. I have the F30 which is probably one of the best low light compact digital cameras around. It has ISO setting up to 3200, with ISO 1600 still quite usable for web-sized pics.
It's a tiny camera so it is impressive that it can even do the odd astrophoto if pushed hard enough.. Here is a shot of comet mcnaught I took last year:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...&postcount=414
Unfortunately the lens has fair amount of chromatic aberration on high contrast subjects. The better Canon compacts have better lenses. So I'd go either for the Canon for optics (the model Starkler recommended) or a Fujifilm with a SuperCCD like the F30 for good low light performance (best for indoor pictures without flash). Unfortunately there is still no compact digital camera on the market to my knowledge that has both but maybe things have changed since I last looked...
Good wikipedia entry on finepix f-series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_FinePix_F-series - the F100fd sounds pretty amazing...