Yes, the GL2 has a 20x zoom but it's covering a much smaller 1/4" chip (4.12 mm diagonal vs the PD170's 5.5 mm). The image circle of the PD's zoom has to cover a 35% bigger surface area, and this increase reflects in the overall size of the lens. Don't forget hat the GL2's lens is f2.9 at max telephoto whereas the PD's is f2.5, well over half a stop faster. Same with the XL2. That lens is f3.5 at full telephoto.

It all points to the fact that the VX/PD is king in the low light stakes. It has bigger chips with less pixels (always good for sensitivity). It has the fastest lens of the big boys (DVX, GL, XL, PDX and even the new FX1).

tom.

The one thing you can never compensate for in your camera is its ability to deal with low light. You can put on wide angle or telephoto lenses, but apart from using a camera light, you can never get around a grainy picture if your camera doesn't handle low light well.

I just filmed a wedding in a very dark cathedral, followed by a reception in a dark banquet room. I was using a VX-2000, a VX-2100, and a PD-170. The video came out beautiful in spite of the low light conditions. I have never regretted my decision to go with these cams.