DVX Hours/ Head Question

Garrett Johnson

Garrett Johnson

New member
I am new to this site and this is my first thread.

I have a few question that need to be answered before I buy a DVX.

1- Is 298 alot of hours and how many more can I get out of it?
2- If I get the heads cleaned does it matter how many hours it was used and why?
3-What is an average price for a new DVX100a?
4-For its price what has the best quality DVX100, DVX100a, or DVX100b?

Thanks for your help in advance and I am very sorry if I put this in the wrong section.
 
1. Panasonic says that, for best performance, the heads need replacing approximately every two thousand hours.
2. Panasonic says clean the heads every 50 hours or so, unless they get dirty before then. Cleaning them too often increases head wear and shortens the life of the heads. Also, choose a tape brand and stick with that one brand. Changing brands can cause problems with clogged and dirty heads. Some tape brands use wet lube and some use dry lube. Panasonic, Fuji and Maxell use dry lube. Sony and JVC use wet lube. Mixing tapes with different lubes clogs the heads.
3. Unless somebody has an old NOS DVX100A sitting in a warehouse somewhere, you can't get a new DVX100A
4. The DVX100B is the final, and most advanced version of the line. They are going for less than $2500.

To reduce the wear on your heads, use a cheap miniDV camera for capturing your footage tp your computer.

Also, you can reduce, or even eliminate, head wear by using a cheap miniDV camera as a slave unit. You can use the slave to record anything the DVX100(A)(B) sees with a tape in the DVX. Here's how:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=142362
 
Jaimebailon,
No, the DVX does not NEED a slave. But the use of a slave camera has a few advantages:

The use of a slave allows recording without the use of the DVX's own recording heads and, therefor, reduces or eliminates wear on the DVX's recording heads. This, in turn, increases the DVX's resale value should you decide to sell it at a later date.

When shooting important scenes or footage where it would be impractical or impossible to do a reshoot, a slave can give you an instant backup tape of anything you shoot in the event of a damaged tape or dropouts.

By connecting a slave camera to the DVX, you can shoot non-stop for hours, if need be (such as shooting concerts and events), with no lost footage due to tape changes.

So, no, the DVX does not need a slave unit, but the capability to use one can certainly come in handy.
 
Robstene,

I saw somewhere that head replacement costs in the neighborhood of $1000. That is what prompted me to start using a cheap, $180 camera as a slave, as well as for capturing my footage. I have shot about 50 hours of footage but the meter on my DVX100B shows only 7 hours.
 
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