This camera doesn't have manual control over gain, and I was curious what gain settings were used on some some in the dark. I put the tape in my A1 and the gain goes as 24db in some of my shots. This may account for the banding and super grain in extreme lowlight. I have never seen over 18db in a consumer cam.

I haven't conducted any tests yet, but from my eye, the gain up to 12db looks cleaner than the A1.

This is my second day with the cam and I still love it. I shot some stuff at sundance yesterday, I will try and post it soon. Too bad this puney camcorder doesn't look more professional, I could use it for more b-roll in the field.

I thought the 'exp' button gave some control over gain ?

OH, I never thought about that, problem is, you dont know if it is gain or aperture at a point. And in any case you can never see it displayed, through the HV10's controls, but it does offer a little control to back down when needed, thanks a million!