Has anyone ever experienced damaged tapes or clogged heads when the camera is left in pause mode for a long time? I have always tried to run the tape for a few seconds every minute or so when in pause mode for extended periods to avoid such problems. Is this unnecessary with today's tapes in a VX-2000? Is the tape guaranteed to still be OK if the camera shuts down automatically after 5 minutes?

I like your idea of running the cam and not letting it time out. Pause mode is a 'not recommended' mode in my book. OK, at times it's unavoidable, but (at weddings for instance) I let the camera run rather than go into pause rec - that way I don't have the head and tape heat buildup and I gather audio that might always be useful, even if I'm running to a new shooting point.

tom.

I can only speak from experience. I frequently leave my VX2000 in pause mode -- often enough and long enough so that it routinely shuts down. I've never had any probems with ruined tapes (though I make a point of using on Sony Excellence and then only once), and I've not needed to clean the heads after a hundred hours or so of use.