Another reason that I use autoexposure ("spotlight mode") and incandescent (or "indoor") white balance at all times in three cams for a stage production.

Would that it were true. But Mike, your choice of words sounds speculative. Before I got too excited I'd have to hear "Fred, I have personally changed or witnessed the changing of the performance of a Sony VX2100 to produce nearly the same video under challenging stage lit conditions as a Canon GL2." 8>]

My problem with the auto mode and auto-focus is sometime it's not reliable. For example, I recently recorded a high school production from the control room above and in front of the stage with my VX2100 set on auto-mode, mostly due to my lack of knowledge on the manual controls. This was a big mistake because in high contrast situations, the auto-focus was less than desirable, and sometimes it seemed like the VX2100 accounted for my dark surroundings to make the auto adjustments rather that what was lit on the stage. It looked OK on the LCD screen, and I didn't think anything of it, but in post is was so overexposed it was hard to work with.

I have since learned how to operate in full manual mode and it works much better. But like everyone else seems to think, if it works for you... keep doing it.

Yes, that's what happens if you don't use spotlight mode. Spoltlight mode adjusts for what the lighting is near the center of the frame. So it works if there is a spotlight, and it works for even lighting.

I'm not in complete agreement with you there Fred. When I select Spotlight mode on my VX2k it works to reduce the exposure of a bright light wherever it appears on screen.

It's an easy test to do. In a darkened room with a single hanging bare light bulb, pan the VX across the light in Spotlight mode. Do the same in auto exposure mode and notice the hige (4.5 stop) difference.

The Spotlight mode is a real boon for stage plays, and I couldn't live without it. It means that some of the very flat-lit scenes are a smidgen under-exposed, but that's a lot better than having all the faces recorded as white blobs.

Spotlight mode is very intelligent; backlight mode is a moron in comparison.

tom.