Hey there, I was not sure where to post this, I just put it here.

I recently got into Wedding Videography, and it has been goin good thus far. I recently noticed that few of my MiniDV tapes lost a few frames in the ACTUAL TAPE (not in the capturing.) This is information I cannot get back. I am lucky that in previous instances, these frames were not too important, however if the tape decides to skip during the vows or anything I am in deep trouble.

The Camera I use is the HVR V1U, and the tape that skipped on me this week was the FUJIFILM 60 MiniDV tapes

Amazon.com: Fuji 4 Pack 60-Minute MiniDV Tapes (DVCM604PK): Electronics (http://www.amazon.com/Fuji-60-Minute-MiniDV-Tapes-DVCM604PK/dp/B00005T3BN/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1249597160&sr=8-1)

Are there certain tapes or certain things I can do to prevent frames from dropping? Thanks in advance guys!

In my experience to date, the answer is to use a better quality tape.

I had been using the Sony "reds" which are the cheaper tapes that get used domestically and are good in themselves. But once every 10 to 30 minutes I would see a blocking glitch (shooting SD).

The answer has been to move up to the Sony DVM60PRO tapes which are made with a better tape formulation, almost the same as what is used in the specially made HDV tapes.

So far ..... I haven't had any issues and that's how I like it to be.

Andrew

Only use cheam miniDV tapes for shooting SDV or when shooting HDV where you don't mind an occasional dropout. If you need to eliminate dropouts then you will need to start using miniDV HDV tapes. You don't need to use the expensive Sony Pro tapes that run something like $15 each. Anything labeled HDV should work without problems. The ones I use cost me $6 each. The cheap ones I use when dropouts are not an issue cost me about $2 each.