I had a second a second thought about asking this question because I have already asked a very similar question here but then I decided to proceed and make this one as different as possible.
I understand the fact that the light entering the camera is directly proportional to the square-root of the aperture. The maximum aperture I can get in my Fujifilm Finepix S2980 is f/3.2. Still I'm not getting satisfactory dim-light performance(I don't want to use a flash). Some friends suggested me that I should go for a camera(perhaps something like a DSLR) with a better sensor and f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens.But as I don't want to become a photographer by profession, I need to think twice before I leap because of the high cost factor associated with these cameras and lenses.
The first question I need to address is whether a lens with an aperture f/1.4 or f/1.8 perform considerably better than a f/3.2 lens(let us assume same shutter speeds) in dim light conditions.I haven't dealt neither with f/1.8 nor with f/1.4 lens before. I would like to see your suggestions based on real-life experiences.
Note: Fujifilm Finepix S2980 is a point and shoot camera with 14MP maximum resolution 18x Optical Zoom with some handy Face Detection,Auto-Focus and Image Stabilisation options.