been shooting with the 300, how does quality on z7 compare to those who have shot with both.
im figuring the quality to be closer to the pd170, a softer look due to 1/3in chips.

got a buddy of mine who has been shooting with a 300 for a LONG time now, probably
10 years. His video still looks fabulous and crisp. if thats what your used to,
get teh EX1

I presume you're talking about the DSR-300 vs. the Z7 in DV/DVCAM Standard Definition mode.

Comparing a SD image from a 2/3" CCD camera to a HD image from a 1/3" CMOS camera is apples and oranges. I wouldn't know where to begin to compare those images in any meaningful way.

DSR300 is 1/2 not 2/3, and I don't have Z7 but I had FX1, Z1 and now A1, all of them has better picture quality on the final DVD than DSR300, but if you shoot those HDV camera in DV mode and compare that to the DSR300 DVCAM and those little camera will not look to good compare to the DSR300, why cripple its capability? the better the original footage, the better the final delivered quality will be.