Rodger, I am really surprised at the poor low light performance you experienced with the Z7. Virtually every reviewer has said it has superior low light performance to the Canon. Spec wise they are 3 lux (Canon) compared to 1 1/2 lux (Z7) according to B & H for example. I can understand seeing great images on the LCD and not on tape. If I find the LCD and the final tape output do not match, I will try to tune (detune?) the LCD to match the tape output. WYSIWYG. I still find it useful to use the viewfinder much of the time. I just feel like I can trust it more.

That must be a very special dvx you have there Rodger :) I happen to have a dvx100b and a xh-a1 and if it comes to overal look I like the dvx better because it has much better color straight out of the box but in sharpness? Not really and then we also have to consider the difference in resolution between ntsc and pal.
You can choose the "squeeze" option in the dvx to get anamorphic 16:9 but that doesn't add any resolution whatsoever, it's still a 4:3 camera producing a 16:9 image to be played on a widescreen tv. You will loose vertical resolution.

You also have the anamorphic adapter which produces the highest resolution possible but that's virtually impossible to work with for run and gun because the autofocus will not work correctly and you have to use a focus chart to get it right.

If my output is dvd then there certainly is a visual difference in sharpness when the lenses are wide between the dvx and a1 and you can see the a1 doesn't loose any resolution.
but comparing 720p to standard definition when viewed on a full hd tv, sorry, but there is no comparison, the hd image will blow away the pana anytime, then the difference is hugh.

Now that we have a dedicated Z5 / FX1000 forum, please start a new thread or respond to other existing discussions, as we're finished with this one. Thanks in advance,