I have a DVX100 which I often use in low light. I have read that the XL2 equal the DVX100 in low light, but I would want to know if the gain circuit on the XL2 is usable or not (6dB on DVX is OK but 12db makes visible noise)

Another question, is the sensitivity, in progressive mode, falls by 6dB, by comparison with interlaced mode (like the DVX100)

Thank.

I don't own an XL2, but I looked at the gain on one of them just yesterday. In my opinion it's really pretty clean at +12 and shows some noise at +18.

I have never shot beyond 6db of gain yet. That is because when I set the gain to +12db I see a lot of noise in the Viewfinder. However in all fairness this noise may be only in the viewfinder. For example I shot a lot with the DVX100 prior to getting the XL2 and my experience with that was that the LCD always looked very noisy in dark areas when I had the gain on. However the recorded footage played back on a TV screen showed significantly less.

So I may actually shoot in 12db this weekend and test this theory.

Marc

On a SD monitor the 12db gain is largely unnoticeable...depending on the lightsource (dimmed incandescants, sodium vapor etc can cause some problems when you try to white balance and gain up). You can see it on an HD monitor but its not horrific (as marty says, you do see it more through the eyepiece.)

I haven't tried it yet but this should be controllable somewhat by adjusting either the sharpness setting or the coring...albeit at the loss of some sharpness.

Barry