I have had my Z1 for a few days - absolutely amazing camera, I can't really fault it (though a power on/off switch on the top handle would have been nice). I do find it a little akward without a shouldner brace, I have just ordered the horribly expensive sony one from B&H and are waiting for it to arrive. Regarding the low light performance, after reading the posts from people saying how bad it is I was expecting the worse but actually pleasantly surprised, the first day I tried the camera out far dark, grey and miserable weather (like it currently is here in the UK) but when I checked out the footage it looked spectacular! I did some more tests when it was even darker outside (almost dusk/late afternoon - grey and dark) - again, no grain, nice detail and you would not even know from the nice bright looking picture that it was dark conditions. In conclusion this is a camera that makes your footage LOOK GOOD, it's not a camera where you have to fight to get good results, you can expect fabulous results that look smooth, sharp and grain free and I would be surprised if the PD170 can produce better low light results than this. (I would have liked to have seen a night shot feature on this camera too, for use in total darkness). I am very happy with the Z1 - it's an amazing camera.

You effectively have the same thing as "night shot" on this camera, it's called "Hypergain." Glad you're finding it a great value!

I havent tried the hypergain yet but I have no heard good reports about it - I think it's just a way of increasing gain which will introduce lots of noise whereas the dedicated night shot feature on the cheaper cameras is really amazing.

The hypergain seems to be very good...I've used it once or twice and been surprised. Usually, the gain on cameras introduces grain...this one isn't to bad.

Also, if at all possible you want to avoid using gain anyway. Adding light sources is better...if you can't then gain is the last thing you want to us.