hi guys
I bought this used (but mint) sony Z1J from a very reputable seller.
I hadn't realised the camera was set for 60i and I shot a few test things with it.
all good....

when I then switched to 50i (i live in europe) i noticed a slight flicker (really light but somehow "noticeable") - somehow the screen looks different

what i mean is that the screen seems to react to the different setting. in PAL mode even some of the symbols in the top side of the screen are slightly "different" for example the top of the battery symbol

has anyone noticed anything similar? doesn't seem to affect the output itself, but I definitely notice the difference.
it's as though the screen was a little less sharp when used on PAL mode. I would have expected the opposite, i.e. using it on 60i in PAL region.....
could it be because this was the Japanese version and the screen is optimised for NTSC?
mmmm

this guy seems to have noticed the exact thing I did....

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/sony-hvr-z1-hdr-fx1/45685-excessive-aliasing-pal-recording-z1.html

can anyone do the same test (it takes 30 seconds) and tell me their findings?

can you switch to PAL from NTSC or the other way around and check if you see any difference in the LCD and VF (check the menu fonts for example and the flickering)?

I certainly do

I have used my Z1 for both NTSC and PAL, and yes I also noticed the slight flicker on the LCD screen in 50i mode. So I would say this is "normal" and you should just try to ignore it. The actual footage that you capture should be fine (or at least that was the case with my camera). It is just some sort of artifact related to the way that the LCD display works.