I film outdoor hunting and I am going to use the new HV40 for interviews and things of that nature from now on just because it is easier to use in vehicle, etc... due to the size difference.

I was wondering though, I do see on some programs where it doesn't look like the camera man is using a light while in front of the camera. The person actually looks quite ghost white in the film, but I like the way it looks.

Since I film for big game, flashlights for light are not always that smart of an idea to use. So, as long as I keep my subject close to the camera, is there a setting that uses infrared or something similair to get what I am trying to do?

Infrared, I think, is what you're talking about. Sony's consumer cams used to have a feature called "Night Shot" and "Super Night Shot" that I believe used infrared. It was on two cameras I've had, the TRV-10 and TRV-19 plus plenty of other models. These are older SD models. I don't know if any manufacturers' current SD models have it now, nor have I heard of any HD models but I haven't been looking for it.

AFAIK, ALL Sony handycams have the nightshot/IR feature. That includes pretty much any HDR-HR, CX, SR, HC series - the higher end cameras w/3 Chips don't have it, I think there's a technical issue with doing it with a 3 chipper, but not sure... also, IIRC, Canon added it to the HF-S11 feature set.

You can use the inbuilt IR light for short distances, and Sima makes some add on IR LED lights that aren't expensive and will give you some pretty decent range for IR shooting.

I don't think the HV40 has the nightshot capability at all... the closest Canon would be the HF-S11 if my memory is correct. Nightshot has been one of those "Sony features" for quite some time, only popping up once in a great while on other brands.