I don't think modern digital sensors actually under perform human vision, or it's at least not obvious. They have made huge improvements in the last decade.
Also, When a digital camera records an image, a gamma curve is applied to it before display, which makes up for a bias against the darker portions which the digital equipment does not inherently have.
Considering the streetlights, I cannot imagine any excuse. This video will sadly give them the benefit of public doubt but anyone familiar with lighting digital video will be unconvinced that the video feed was the culprit.
I take a photo with my iPhone in night conditions and the image I see on the screen comes out way darker than I saw with my eyes. That has to be corrected for, no?
No. The term we need to introduce here is "Dynamic Range". It is pointless to say "Sony A7s can vastly outperform the eye" where it could have been set for a low light exposure. Human eye has an amazing dynamic range - I don't know the exact number today, but last time I checked was like 3 years ago and the cameras at the time (D800) were not even close to human dynamic range.
That's because you're comparing a single exposure from a digital camera. You can have dynamic range far in excess of the human eye with HDR techniques, by combining difference exposures and/or by exposing different pixels on the same image differently.
Also, When a digital camera records an image, a gamma curve is applied to it before display, which makes up for a bias against the darker portions which the digital equipment does not inherently have.
Considering the streetlights, I cannot imagine any excuse. This video will sadly give them the benefit of public doubt but anyone familiar with lighting digital video will be unconvinced that the video feed was the culprit.