Brian,

Thank you for your low light observations! I expect to be pleasantly surprised that the 953 won't be as bad in low light as I keep reading.

In this 2 part http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t29777.html personal comparison of the 953 vs. Sony PC330 (both PAL), "widecam" seems to rake the 953 over the coals for its low light abilities (grainy with excessive edge enhancement) in auto mode in the store. I suppose his observations are valid but I wonder if it was some user inexperience combined with a Sony that's geared towards being auto point-and-shoot for the general public? Could it be that the PC330's 1/3" CCD really does make a difference?

-Stewart

I'm sure a 1/3" CCD model is going to be much better under low-light conditions than our 953's. But for a 1/6" CCD camera, I don't think it does too bad at all under normal lighting. I've shot footage indoors under 1 x 100W bulb, and it does just fine. I bring the gain up manually to around 6+ or so, and as long as I don't go above that it does fine. Slightly more grain then I get outdoors in sunlight, but more than acceptable.

I guess it all depends on one's definition of "low-light". I always have at least 100W bulbs all through my house, because I can't stand dimly lit rooms -- gives me a headache. But under these conditions the little 'ol 953 does just fine. I'll pop a 60W in over the next few days and see how it does under those circumstances.

And remember, I'm not a "pro" by any means. I'm a complete beginner at all of this so perhaps I'm not seeing what some of the more experienced guys are seeing. I've never held a $10,000 pro camera in my hands so I don't really have anything to compare the 953 against except my consumer Sony and Canon models. And compared to those the 953 does great under low-light, and completely whips up on them in daylight!