Hey krooj, thanks.
First, a word about what I'm using: the camera is a decent compact, a Panasonic Lumix LX5... I'm shopping slowly for a more capable system camera. Meanwhile the Panny is fairly small, despite the protruding barrel - fits into many of my coat pockets and goes with me most of the time as I make my way around the city. It's getting battered, which is a good sign - means I'm using it a great deal since I bought it shortly after its debut on the market. A great investment, but I find myself wanting more versatility and a larger sensor, with the superior image quality that affords.
My camera's low-light capabilities are somewhat limited because, when all is said and done, it's still a relatively small sensor compared to most DSLRs and the new breed of compact mirrorless system cams coming from Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus (and let's not forget Sony!). I compensate for that by shooting exclusively in RAW and then developing in Lightroom 4. It's a huge step up from version 3 - more flexibility in terms of shaping the image. Sometimes I force the (perceived) sharpness by boosting the clarity or by actually using the sharpness tool. Sometimes I mess with the contrast, or boost the blacks while also bringing out mid-tone detail in the shadows. But that said, the glass in this camera is pretty nice and sharp on its own, and the 24 mm makes it ideal for shooting landscapes and architectural details. However, it's not a great camera for zoomed up, intimate details of people in candid street scenes.