Tapes

M

Mike Caffrey

Member
Does tape stock make a big difference in image quality (beyond reliatbilty and dropout etc)?

This would be for use with a DVX100B
 
Your best bet is the Panasonic MQ tapes. Other offbrand tapes may damage or dirty the head, such as wet lubrication vs dry lubrication etc. Whatever you go with though, the basic consensus is to stick with it and not change. I have made the decision on the MQ as that is what is recommended and I spent too much on the camera to risk screwing it up with cheap tapes.
 
Yeah, I had a baby in my arm earlier so I could not fully answer (I was simply answering exactly what you asked about). However, to add in more, Cryogenic Filmworks is correct in saying to use the Panny MQ tapes because they are good *quality* tapes. I initially started by using other brands of tapes and noticed that they screwed up my tape heads, giving a recording error every once in a while. Once I started using MQ's, all of that went away. Don't skimp on what you are recording to.
 
PQ or MQ are fine. When your done recording for the day remove the tapes from the camera.
 
Be careful to pick one tape and stick with it. There are two kinds of lubricants used by the different tape manufacturers. And if you mix them up they will foul the heads.
 
ncje,

I haven't done that before. What is reason to take them out at the end of the day?

Ken
 
Agree with Panasonic

Agree with Panasonic

We tried all kinds of dry tapes and the upbeat is that the Panasonic tapes give us the least dropped frames when used in either the DVC60 or DVX100B. AND (equally important) a used tape has far less dropped frames than a new tape! Explain that one tape guys??? New tapes drop frames twice as often as used ones.

Our dropped frame experience average

new = 1 (occasionally but seldom more than 1) incidence per 3 to 5 tapes
used = 1 (seldom more than 1) incidence 6 to 10 tapes

How much experience? We use approximately 15 to 20 tapes per taping session (3 to 4 cameras on 4 to 6 taping sets) one to three times a month and 4 to 8 new tapes per single session (constantly switching tapes AND YES we'd love to have firestore or somebody like them . . but . . $$$) and thus we're logging about 15 to 20 camera hours across 3 or 4 cameras.

Hope that helps. BTW . . we use NO SONY tapes because of the wet lubricant issue and have used only Maxell other than the Panasonics. What kind of Panasonic? The ones on ebay for under $2 each and we buy by the 50 or 100 :)
 
dammit i just bought $200 worth of Sony HDV/DV tapes for my DVX-100B someone tell me thats not a bad buy?!
Is it really that big of a difference the lubrication thingy?
 
andy_starbuck said:
Be careful to pick one tape and stick with it. There are two kinds of lubricants used by the different tape manufacturers. And if you mix them up they will foul the heads.
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I agree with Andy. It's important to use only one type of tapes for all recording for the reasons he mentioned. I first used the DVCam tapes from Sony recording in my Sony Camcorder and later a bought me some PQ cassettes. I must tell you that I noticed richer colors from PQ's. Even my friends using them told me the same thing. Also every professional camera operator working with the DV told me that PQ and MQ are the best tapes made for DV format.
 
Originally Posted by kenackr
What is reason to take [the tapes] out at the end of the day?
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From the Panasonic DVX100B Operating Instructions:
"After use, remove the cassette... the tape can become slack or damaged if you leave it in the camera."

Also, "Completely remove the battery [after use]. (The battery continues to be used even if you have turned the camera off.) The battery can over discharge if you leave it in the camera and it may become impossible to recharge it."

It says elsewhere that should tapes be stored for long periods of time, they should be wound every six months or so to prevent the tape sticking or becoming slack.
 
Hey Dr.D, I would suggest looking at your computer. I was getting no dropped frames at first, then I started getting mucho dropped frames on used tapes, then I started to get dropped frames on new tapes. As the dropped frames started with the used tapes I assumed that was the problem. When the new tapes did it I looked elsewhere - I bought a new computer. (My other was a couple years old, packed with 800tons of crap and very boggy.) The new computer has had not a single dropped frame on new tapes to tapes that have been reused 20 times.

I think most dropped frames is a processer issue.

-GageFX
 
-D-

Thanks for the input, I guess I skipped that part in the manual.

I really wonder what the difference in leaving them in the camera overnight really makes, if you are actually going to be using it the next day.

As far as taking the battery out every night, I believe that may be overkill and is probably intended for those who will put it in the closet and forget about it for weeks or months.

Ken
 
I really don't think that you must take them out if you use it next day. That rule applies only to those who leave it in for couple of weeks. I also heard that is best to storage them in the upward position in your closet.
 
bilgami said:
what u mean upward position? i put the side of the batt that goes on the cam down on my closet shelf.
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No bilgami, I'm talking about the tapes. Store tapes in upward position. The battery doesn't need to be storaged upward.
 
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