Should I always remove the tape?

V

viperforce

Member
Sorry for all the Q's but like a parent with a new baby I want to know whats best and you guys are my "Dr. Spock"!
I have a nasty habit or is it? When I shot with my vx2000 I always left the tape in the camera at least until I was ready to change it for another one. Is this bad? Do the tape heads disengage from the tape when turned off? I know from past experiences I never had a single problem and when ever I got the urge to shoot or needed to it was always ready. But if this is a bad habit I want to break it now as I truley want the best for this camera!
Thanks,
Viperforce
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

Yes, always remove the tape for storage. There are a number of reasons for this, some of them based on older camcorder designs which only tension relase and do not respool tape into the cartridge when the camera shuts down (no longer the case on camcorders I am familiar with) but you can consider it good hygiene. The main reason now days to do so is that if you grab your camcorder and start shooting, you may not have the tape you desire inside of it.
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

As for my ENG camera at work, I do the opposite. I always keep a tape in the camera because you never know when something crazy is going to happen. Being in the right place at the right time with no tape in your camera would suck! Can you imagine being the first camera person to the scene of the 9-11 attacks and you didn't have a tape in the camera. As for my DVX100, I do the opposite, I take the tape out and also take the battery off.
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

I think.....ALWAYS.

There have been some incidents of the camera having got stuck...where the cassettes were left inside...
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

Until buying my PAL DVX last month, nearly all my shooting was done on domestic Canon miniDV and Sony Digital8 cameras - used cheap Panasonic "Linear Plus" tapes in the Canon and Sony HMPs for D8 - never took the tapes out until full - and NEVER had a single pixel drop out. Now with my DVX I use Panasonic "professional" tapes and in the first month have had two single frame multi pixel dropouts ( on two different tapes ) - I thought having spent so much on this wonderful piece of kit and Pro tapes that I would be safe from dropouts. - is it just that I've been lucky before ?
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

All I know is that the manual says to remove the tape and battery every time.
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

What will leaving the battery in do to the DVX?
thanks

-griffin
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

[quote author=Tony_H link=board=Events;num=1088362134;start=0#8 date=06/28/04 at 22:47:45]I think it will slowly drain the battery. Might be other side effects[/quote]

Any electrical device "rests" better with no power going in. A battery will, if left in, slowly trickle out, but the most important reason is to prevent a freak short or open circuit that could damage the camera. This would be very rare, but electronics in storage, particularly portable electronics, could accumulate a little moisture, resulting in a shot if a battery is present.

Again, I would not stay up nights loosing sleep over this, but it is simply good heigene for your camera to store it in its base position.
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

I used to leave batteries and tapes on my TRV-120, but with the DVX, are you crazy? I just follow all the instructions on the manual. I don't want to damage my baby. No way!
I am even buying the Sony DSR-11 deck to transfer the footage to my computer and to rewind tapes. No more rewinding tapes on the camera. I want to keep it sharp.

Am I just being crazy here, or what?

All the best

Fidel.
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

[quote author=Harry_Destin link=board=Events;num=1088362134;start=0#11 date=06/29/04 at 13:50:47]That's how I treat my baby too. ;)[/quote]

I tell my students that their camcorder is to be treated like a baby.  I also enter a $3600 charge on their college account if they damage one.  The first time I charged for a damaged camcorder, it made everyone else treat them very carefully.

(By the way, in case your wondering, total emersion under salt water for seven minutes of a camcorder in operational condition (with battery and tape) destroys the entire camcorder. It was a total loss. So much for a student thinking they would not need to buy a divers bell for the camera and could instead use clear glad baggies).
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

water + camera = bugger! :(
salt water + camera = oh ****! :o :(

got to love those water proof glad bags! ;D
 
Re: Should I always remove the tape?

mmmhh, maybe you should have administered the same type of treatment to the student
(I mean immersing him in saltwater for seven minutes, but maybe without the plastic bag...)
 
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