OK, so a 12mp camera with a standard 1/2/3 sensor will take more noisy pictures than a 6mp camera?

I found a book at the library, 365 something for Digital Photography. It may sound weird to ya'll, but I have never taken a photography course or cracked a book on the subject until recently. I have always just had a good eye, I will post an example photo from my A560 when I am able.

Anyhow this book tells me that cramming more megapixels on a small sensor (I am using 1/2/3 as shorthand for standard, compact sensors) create more noise, because the pixels are smaller, and smaller pixels are not as sensitive to light.

In another thread where I posted someone was wanting to be able to find cameras based on their image quality rating. Someone in reply said that an 8 or 9 back then would be lower today. You see where I am going with this.

If a camera with a standard sensor back then got an 8, say it was a 6mp, then any newer camera more than 6mp with the same size sensor should have more noise and a worse image. At least for compacts t seems as if more megapixels is actually a bad thing, unless you get a camera with a larger sensor.

I just want to verify this, be sure I understand it correctly. Because to me it means I am on the right path. Just get myself an 8-10mp compact with the largest sensor I can afford, and it should beat out any 12+mp standard sensor current camera.

For me it is all about the noise present in low-light conditions. I don't want a camera blurring and smudging my images. I don't want to see static in every low-light picture. I should be able to find some species of compact camera in the $100.00 vicinity that will do this for me. Something that will take satisfactory, if not stunning, night shots.

I would go with DSLR or mirrorless, but you are lucky if you can get the body for $100.00. Then you have to figure out your lens, then you need a case, then you need extra batteries, flash... By the time you are done you're going to be lugging around a lot of bulky, heavy gear and have sunk about $500.00 into everything, just for something used and halfway decent.

Even though I assume most DSLR and mirrorless cameras don't have the noise curse of compacts, I am sticking to compacts for now, with my eye especially on bridge and rangefinder styles.

I appreciate your advice and thoughts. Here's one of the pictures I took (no editing):

Offering