I am planning to buy a suitable semi-pro Mini Dv VTR deck for capture of tapes from an XL1 to my edit suite. Did a search, but nothing recent that I could find.

1. I have heard of potential issues between the Canon's and Sony decks - but I don't have personal experience. I was considering the Panasonic AG-DV2500 deck. My plan was to get the AG-DV2500 rather than a Sony GVD1000. The AG-DV2500 has been around for over a year now, so there must be plenty of people with first hand experience? Can someone please briefly comment on their experiences with that deck? I guess another alternative is to go for a Sony DSR-11, but the alleged issues have me scared about that, and it's a slightly higher price point again.

2. In the case of also having digital 8 capability in a (separate) deck, I was looking at the Sony GVD800. This would be other people's tapes for small DVD jobs etc. This deck will also take Hi 8 analogue tapes. Any feedback or suggestion on that choice?

Best regards to all. M.

Getting a used digital8 camera might be a better idea than the deck? It should be cheaper and good enough when you don't use the deck much and the camera will double up as a camera.

The older cameras were better and were top loading.

I have the AG-DV2500 deck. Well built. Works great. No problems. I'm happy with my choice.