Tape Deck Question

L

logan

Member
Ok, I've been doing some searches on the board for tape decks. These are out of my price range at the moment. However, I've also seen posts about using a cheaper Panasonic 3ccd camera to transfer footage instead of the DVX100b. What I haven't been able to find is if there are any suggestions on specific cameras that would work. Any tips or ideas on a good camera that would be suitable as a cheaper but quality tape deck?
 
you could use any miniDV camera it doesn't have to be a 3CCD. i've been using a PV-DV52 for awhile and it just recently "gave up the ghost"...so now i need to find another camera, but while it was working everything was fine. hard to know which one will last longer considering the cameras aren't that old. it's like asking how long will a DVX100 last when they've only been out for going on 4 years. i guess the life of a product should be how long does it last after the warranty :grin:
 
So far, I've been using my DVX to transfer footage and as a tape deck. Is there something wrong with this?
 
Gordon JL said:
So far, I've been using my DVX to transfer footage and as a tape deck. Is there something wrong with this?
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No, there's nothing wrong with that at all.

The concensus is though, that if you'd do a LOT of shooting (many, many hours), you could wear the DVX's heads out.
Look at it this way: the DVX is an expensive piece of equipment, and transfering footage is a simple task that even a $280 cheapo mini-DV cam can do perfectly; so there is no nead to subject the [relatively expensive] DVX to this simple job.
So, people who use the DVX a LOT, will use it mostly to record, and then they use something else to transfer with (a cheap miniDV cam, or a proper tape deck).

But, if you shoot only a few tapes here and there, the DVX is perfectly fine to use to transfer with.
 
I hate to be redundant, but seriously it doesn't need to be 3CCD, just mini DV? Because that rocks in the saving me money department lol. B&H is selling a PV-GS29 mini DV for like 270. I think this will be the route I will go.
 
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The 3CCD is for capture, not tansfer so it doesnt factor in at all.

I got a GS35 at Best Buy for $260 and the thing's great. I've transfered about 30 hours with it so far and I also set it up on a tripod to record behind the scenes stuff. And I took it to Six Flags yesterday. Good times. And when it dies, I can buy two more before I hit the cost of the cheapest standalone deck out there. (And try sitting in the front of a roller coaster filming the ride with a Sony DSR-11. You'll miss most of the ride.)

-GageFX
 
I use a Canon zr80.

Cheap, dependable and only about 60 dropped frames in at least 60 hours of capture.

It should be 0 dropped frames, I know, but you take what you can get.



ian


FYI. 60 dropped frames over that amount of capture on a cheapie camcorder is my idea of dependable. If I could afford a deck....*sigh*...maybe someday.:)
 
Ian brings up a good point, and I dont say this to compete with his Canon - I'm sure almost any miniDV camcorder will work about the same - but I've had about 6 dropped frames in over 30-40 hours of transfer and I'm now on my 3rd and 4th usage of some of my Pan. MQ tapes. I attributed the drops to the multiple tape usage and not the camcorder, but I'm not 100% sure of what the actual cause is, but I consider that very slight droppage and there has never been more than a single frame dropped from an entire 1:03:00:00 tape.

(As to why I'm reusing tapes, it's 'cause it's all BTS fight training, weapons training, firearms training, makeup tests, and readings, etc. so it will all be highly edited down for special features. So a single dropped frame out of an hour is nothing. I use brand new tapes for all actual shooting.)

-GageFX
 
Maybe it's just me and I am stupid. But I get dropped frames like every five min on my tapes. I can't figure out what it is. Maybe it's some weird final cut setting that I don't know about here is what i have been doing. I always use a new tape. I only run Panasonic master grade tapes. I had my camera professionaly cleaned a few months ago and it didn't maka differance. I have a JVC deck (the SVHS Mini DV combo that is a piece of junk.) it has glitches as well as time code breaks every five min. I have a orignal DVX 100 that I have reset the camera and charged the internal battery and have the thing on AC when I capture from it. When i go to capture the entire tape it will go for 5 min and then say "locating time code break" and then capture the tape into little pieces most of the time skipping big chunks in the middle. When I run the tape back and re-capture it does it again in different places this time. I really am at the end of my rope. If anybody has any sugjestions that would be really great. I am running a duel G5 2GigHz and 2.5 gig of Ram. It doesn't seem to matter where I put the scrach disk ither. Capturing from ither a JVC deck or DVX 100.
 
(the SVHS Mini DV combo that is a piece of junk.)
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Good to hear. I was deciding between the JVC and the GS35 camcorder. Glad I got the camcorder.

I'd be pulling my hair out too if I were you. I cant even begin to tell you what the problem is, just give a little more detail about my setup. PC w/ Vegas. (AMD 2800 w/ 2G ram and running external USB2 drives. - I have a 1Ter SATA RAid waiting for my production footage and a new computer, but that wont be until post.)

-GageFX
 
I only get dropped frames if I open another program or move the mouse to another while Adobe Premiere 2 Pro is capturing.
 
I'm using a Samsung SC-D365. It's ideal for using as a MiniDV VTR. It's got a Widescreen LCD, FW, S-Video I/O, RCA I/O, and it works with FCPs remote commands flawlessly. Paid $270 at Best Buy.
 
yeah I got an old Sony Handycam I can use for this. However, I'm afraid to put my tapes back in the DVX after putting them in the Sony...that thing has seen a lot of cheap consumer tapes, and the heads probably aren't too clean. I feel like I'd taint my wonderful DVX if I put the tapes back in...
 
I'm going to ask this here, just because this thread is called tape deck questions. And i'm seriously asking this, but what makes real tape decks so expensive? What sets it apart from a camcorder? Where does the thousands of dollars go to?
 
Well for one it Fast forwards and rewinds much much faster. you can also hook them up to your production monitor and computer. The tape mechanism is sturdier. Also depending on which one you get it will support DVCAM or DVCPRO formats as well as Minidv
 
Does it matter what brand camera it is or what tapes have been played on it before? Cuz i mean, i have a sony miniDV cam that i used lots of cheapo tapes on, so i don't wanna screw the panny tapes i have up by capturing using that camera. Can anyone tell me if i should get a new capturing camera for it?
 
i have the panny pvdv100 that ive used as a deck for 2 yrs now. i bought it at a pawn shop for a hundred bucks it dont do firewire in/out but it works like a champ for me.
 
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