I would never have thought my stupid iPhone camera would win in a camera battle, you're has a better mic though. Actually, if you crushed your blacks it probably wouldn't look nearly as bad.
I've tried crushing the blacks (LOL P.C.?). It helps a little bit, but there just isn't any data in the dark areas to recover. My camera is 7 years old, and the CCD just isn't getting it done anymore. My camera has never performed well in low-light, but If you compare it to clips from 2002/3, dark video looks completely different.
But ah, that camera has served me VERY well over the years.