Higher ISO with 30D or XTI-noise?

I have and S2 and will be upgrading soon to either an XTI or 30D...can't decide. I hear the 30D has the option for even higher ISO than my current S2 or the XTI-which might serve well in low light.

Just wondering about the amount of noise at higher iso with both the XTI and 30D- more so the 30D since it has higher options. My s2 sucks at higher ISO than 400. I have a clean up program but it gives the photos a soft look that I don't always want. Pictures can look almost out of focus.

Thanks for the help.

Any samples would be great too.

I have an XTi and, if you expose it properly, it does pretty well at ISO 1600. It's superior to the ISO 400 shots I took with my G6. It is my understanding that the 30D has less noise at ISO 800 and 1600. I haven't seen shots done at ISO 3200 with the 30D.

Here's a shot from today with the 30D at ISO 3200 through a 100-400L IS.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

From what i have seen in the tests, the 30D will do slightly better(ISO 800, ISO 1600) due to less pixels being packed into the same amount of space.

You also can do 1/3 ISO stops with the 30D, which means ISO 100, 125, 160,200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600. Gives you a little more flexibility if ISO is your biggst concern.