Prepare for a rant.


I went looking to buy two Panasonic miniDV tapes, preferably the Linear Plus (lowest grade). I went to Circuit city, and was relieved when they had them. I was not, however, relieved by the prices. They were selling them (remember, they SHOULD cost you 3-4 dollars apiece) for $8.00 a tape if you bought them singly, and, get this: $35.00 for a five-pack! Unbelievable! These people suck! I feel pity for the poor people that shoot for a hobby and think this is how much tape actually costs 'cause they aren't members of DVinfo or don't go the right dealers.

I was in a pinch for tapes, so I went to Ritz cameras and got a five pack... $30. If there were someplace closer, it would have been different. Otherwise, I have to mail order.

Around me, the only store that has good deals on tape is Sam's Club. Six Maxell tapes for $22. All the electronics or department stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Target, and WalMart, to name the ones i've tried personally) charge at least $6 per tape.

Pricey indeed... but consider the cost of a roll of super 8 film

20 dollars for 3 minutes. Then another 12 for processing.

But it does give you that FILM LOOK !

Well I was doing this for my tapes until about 2 months ago when I finally found someone cheaper. I would buy them from a local electronics store and they cost me $30 each (NZ) which is about US$17 dollars each - YUP you read right - seventeen - . Now I get them for a *bargain* $13 which is about US$8 but that's a lot better than $30.

Joy

Aaron