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Do all digital cameras under $300 dollars take noisy pictures at higher ISO settings?

Are there any digital cameras out there that have good image quality and good low-light picture taking ability that are under $300 dollars. I have been looking at the Canon powershot A710 IS and A640, but it seems they all have poor low-light quality pictures and some unclear image quality. I have been looking at these models because I like the my colors options and the manual controls. Is there another camera I should look at or another brand besides canon that can give me better quality and still have the manual controls? Shutter lag is also a huge factor and I need a fast camera that has fast flash recovery. At looked at reviews and it seems all cameras have the ISO problem. Is that true....

Public Comments

1. yes most of the camers do that what you said
2. The Fujifilm F-series always seem to do very well in low light situations. Check out this comparison page. Click on "In-depth review" and "Read Owner Opinions" for each camera. Be sure to note that the reviews are many pages long so you don't stop after page one. Check the sample images, also. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the file name shown below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like purple fringing around items in high contrast photos or noise in darker areas of the picture. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=fuji_finepixf30%2Cfuji_finepixf31fd%2Cfuji_finepixf40fd&show=all
3. From My experience....yes...At this very minute I am having problems with my digital camera. I used to wonder why some cameras cost more than others..now I know. Quality is more important than price. I have went through several low-priced cameras, to discover than they all work the same. I'm gonna throw in the towel and purchase one that is atleast $300. My advice to you is to do the same. Several of my friends have Kodaks, and are very happy with them.
4. my suggestion go to yahoo shopping digital cameras digital camera GUIDE be sure to check titles on the left side the guide should answer your questions
5. I agree with the second poster who said the Fujifilm F series. This is a case where brand matters. I have the F10, which I've been happy with but it's been discontinued. If it ever dies, I'll get the F30 because it goes up to 3200 ISO. The way I see it, if it takes tolerable pictures at 3200 ISO, it must take really good pictures at 800 ISO. I'm not sure what manual controls you want though. You'll have to shop around to get the F30 for less than $300 though.
6. Dr Sam is right as rain. I am going to use the "S" word, and say it's time for a digital SLR. Realistically, no compact or even pro-sumer digicam will give you the performance and image quality, especially at higher ISO, of a dSLR. The entry level dSLRs are getting more affordable. Olympus has a pretty nice kit with two lenses for $599 USD, and the Canon & Nikon offerings with the kit lenses are not too far from that price. Good luck.
7. D - S - L - R (sung to the tune of "Gloria) ;-)