Leaving Dv cassette in GL2

[Gary Wood]

I have always wondered if leaving the tape cassette in the Gl2 is
a serious transgression. I mean for several days between recordings or
between captures and recording. Its not used up yet--why not just
leave it in the camera?

Many Thanks Gary Wood

[Ralph Keyser]

I'm guessing that this probably belongs somewhere other than the audio forum, but...

It depends. In a production environment, it's a sure way to eventually get some portion of the tape accidently recorded over. If it's your personal camera and no one else ever touches it, then you will probably go a long time before getting bitten. It's not physically bad for the tape or the camera. The GL2 (and all other cameras I know about) unload the tape from the heads when they power off.

[Gary Wood]

Thanks Ralph. Answears my question completely.

[Jonathan Jones]

I'm a little confused by the earlier response regarding tape unwinding from the heads when powering off. I may be wrong here, but it seems to me that perhaps the tape is disengaged from the heads themselves, but I believe that it still remains threaded throughout the threading mechanisms until it is actually actively ejected. Quite simply, in cases where power is shut down 'suddenly' by abrupt removal of the power source (among other methods), then it stands to reason that there simply is no existing power available to unwind the tape from the threading mechanism. Again, I have to say that I may be wrong on this count and frankly can't remember those details from my camcorders and don't have one in front of me right now to check.

I have heard it recommended that it is best to remove the tape from the machine if it is going to sit for more than a couple of days, simply because if the tape is threaded throughout the mechanism, it will expand and contract in relation to the natural changes in the environment (ie: warm daytime temps, cooler evening temps, etc), even if infintesimally so, and these little expand/contractions can introduce minimal amounts of tape stretch that could play havoc with decoding depending upon the level of stretch.

Now, this post is likely to be followed by other folks who will share insights from both extremes - those who obsessivley remove the tape as often as they blink....and those who will state that they haven't removed the tape from the cam for over 2 1/2 years and have never had a problem...so I'm just sayin' what I have heard and what seems to make sense. Your mileage may vary

[Jonathan Jones]

Yep, just double-checked. I don't have a GL2, but I do have two different Canon models, and one Sony. On every one of them, the tape is wound into the mechamism upon insertion, and remains that way, even though power-downs. Only when the cover door is opened all the way (enough to trip the internal eject sensor) does the tape disengage and the mechanism unthreads and moves the cassette bay outward for tape removal...this then leads me to believe that as long as the tape remains fully inside the cam, it is threaded throughout the mechanism.
-Jon