Bob...
Sadly, you're right. My XL2, which I love, has that old Canon focus hunting problem when used for head shots...at least, that's when I ran into the problem. I couldn't see the background focus hunting until I blew up the captured stream on a widescreen monitor.

Spot/Mark...
Yes, I hear what you're saying. It really sounds like the Z1 will be everything they say it is. I know Spot knows his stuff and I beleive him. Regardless of the image quality, feeding that image to clients, right now, is next to impossible. Yes, I could downconvert, yes I could record in DV to start with. But then, I can do that with my XL2, right now. In 6 months, after the Z1 has hit the streets, I'll probably kick myself in the arse for not having one. But, I can't use that HDV if I can't put it in customers' livingrooms. When that problem gets resolved, I'll probably forsake all this Canon gear and get a Sony. Of course, by then Canon probably will have an HDV cam out. Then, I will have a pile of glass junk with all these lenses.