As far as shooting photos in low light conditions with a point and shoot, I suggest one of two things:
turn the iso down as far as possible, but shoot with the highest resolution/filesize possible, turn the flash off, turn the timer on, and steady your camera with a tripod, on a rail, or a makeshift 30 rack holder.
I took this photo at night, with a little available light from the highway up above, with a crappy 3.1mp camera, on iso50, resting on the train tracks, at the highest resolution that camera had:
If you really need an insurance shot, or if a piece is so hot you just need to remember it, i suggest using the old trainwriter method of taking two angle shots with a flash and photoshopping them together.
I have a camera now with some sort of dumb stupid high iso setting, like, 3200 maybe? and I would never use it, it just makes things look weird. I'd rather take a darker photo and then edit it, rather than have a bunch of weird noise going on.