Is switching tape brand a big deal?

D

Dualcam Shooter

Member
I mostly rent now but am considering buying. Is it really that bad to switch tape brands? I'm sure rentals get different brands every time. When I was in college those cams got different brands after every shoot and had over 700 hours on them. Does this decrease head life? I also heard over head cleaning can damage them so what are the recommendations. If I buy a cam soon i want to know this info so i can keep my cam running for a while. If I buy should I run a head cleaner as soon as i buy it so I can switch to my brand of tapes?
thanks
 
Changing DV tape brands does not decrease head life, but it might if you use unbranded very cheap rubbish off Ebay. It could be the equivalent of using abrasive sand paper.

When you get your new rig try and stay with the one recognised brand and buy 2 same brand cleaning tapes first time out. You can't see in the little window when the first one is about to run out .. follow the instructions, you'll upgrade the rig long before you wear its heads out. Don't buy cheap stuff off Ebay.

Recent threads ..

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=224912

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=224844

btw Panasonic have stopped stocking their DV cleaning tapes in Aust. I bought 10 to stock up and be able to sell my 2 Canon A1s
as going rigs .. if others stop importing theirs.

Cheers.
 
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Is Sony an OK brand? I can get them pretty cheap at BJ's. I would think they have a good name, but don't know about their tape quality.

Thanks
 
When I think back (its been a while since I've used tapes) I remember that it was unwise to switch tapes because the emulsion/gum on different brand tapes can mix on the head and then become corrosive.
 
From the panasonic site: http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/app_dv_24qaboutdv1.asp

17. What is the best blank videocassette media to use with the AG-DVX100.​

The AG-DVX100 is compatible with all brands of mini-DV videocassette, but for optimum performance we recommend the use of Panasonic DV Master Series videocassettes. The elimination of traditional "wet" oil based lubricants in favor of modern "dry" synthetic lubricants leads to greater resistance to tape dropouts, and more reliable operation in high humidity environments.

:thumbsup:​
 
Well, it would be surprising if the Panasonic web site said that you should use Sony tapes for best results... :)
 
I agree with Zaza.

Also, if you do end up switching tape brands, I recommend skipping the head-cleaning tape all together and having your heads professionally cleaned before starting to use the new brand. I've found that head-cleaning tapes are rough on the heads and do a poor job. It'll cost more to get the heads cleaned by hand, but in my opinion it's worth it; in other words, it's NOT worth risking damaging your heads.
 
...also... try to stay with no more then 60 min, tapes. You have to remember that the physical size of a MiniDV cassette can't change, so the longer the tape, the thinner it is.
The thinner the tape is, the better the chance of it getting hung-up in the transport.
 
From my own research I concluded that this problem with different lubricants was from the beginning of DV.

Today all brands use dry lubricant and have no problem with getting mixed with each other.

I'd stay away from cheap stuff (of course) but mixing Panasonic and Sony wouldn't worry.

HOWEVER... I think I've only used one Panasonic tape when I owned my FX7.

Better safe than sorry.
 
I'll stick with the sony. Panasonic are prob best, but there to expensive. BJ's sells sony. Yea i read about the not using 80 recently...we used them all the time in college. I don't know what this camera had in it before i rented it but it seems to be doing ok with Sony. I'm gonna buy my own soon though.
 
ZazaCast said:
The thinner the tape is, the better the chance of it getting hung-up in the transport.
Click to expand...

With respect Zaza that concept applies to old audio cassette tapes.

There's a 1 micron difference between DV63 and DV83 length tape. The design of the modern DV camera tape transport is light years away from the cassette tpt and makes no difference to the 63/83 min tape thickness. Just don't run at LP speed, it's a gimmick keeping up with the other cam manufacturers.

btw Panasonic now offer a AY-DV276AMQ tape which runs at 276mins/4.5hrs at SP speed and they cram it in a standard DV tape shell, work that one out. I've ordered 10 and I'll report back.

http://protape.stores.yahoo.net/pana-ay-dv276amq.html


Cheers.
 
I've had 2 DVXs and its best to use Panasonic tapes. With my 1st DVX I used all types of tapes and I think that caused my heads to get dirty.
 
Doesn't anyone know how to do a search on this site?
This question has been done to death so many times already.
 
Raster said:
With respect Zaza that concept applies to old audio cassette tapes.

There's a 1 micron difference between DV63 and DV83 length tape. The design of the modern DV camera tape transport is light years away from the cassette tpt and makes no difference to the 63/83 min tape thickness. Just don't run at LP speed, it's a gimmick keeping up with the other cam manufacturers.

btw Panasonic now offer a AY-DV276AMQ tape which runs at 276mins/4.5hrs at SP speed and they cram it in a standard DV tape shell, work that one out. I've ordered 10 and I'll report back.

http://protape.stores.yahoo.net/pana-ay-dv276amq.html


Cheers.
Click to expand...

I am almost positive that you just bought a bunch of full size DV cassettes. Those will now work in a DVX. Great for ENG cameras though.
 
Dualcam Shooter said:
Is Sony an OK brand? I can get them pretty cheap at BJ's. I would think they have a good name, but don't know about their tape quality.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I got problems when mixing Sony and Panasonic tapes, even if I cleaned the head before the switches.

I got the Red X mark while shooting because of dirty heads.

So, now, I only use Panasonic tapes in my DVX.
 
Somewhere on this site is a very specific head cleaning tutorial - I don't know about tape transports, but in the tape days of audio recording, using denatured alcohol and rubber conditioner was the only accepted way to maintain high-end gear; of course, multi track tape heads and capstans are very easy to get at. I recall a great post here that showed specific photos of what to clean and how.

I've only got 35 hours on my DVX so I've never messed with it, but for high hours, you might check 'er out.
 
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