View Full Version : what tapes to use?


Patrick Smith
August 19th, 2004, 12:39 PM
im currently using a fuji tape which were recommended to me by a guy at best buy.

i was wondering if i can really get a better outcome in film in using a better tape? if so..what kind?

Michael Wisniewski
August 20th, 2004, 04:41 PM
Better tapes will not enhance your image, the same data is recorded whether you buy a $2 tape or a $30 tape.

More expensive tape may be more reliable for recording and storage.

Chris Hurd
August 20th, 2004, 04:52 PM
And cheap tape is more prone to glitches and dropouts. We have an entire forum about this called "The Long Black Line (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=64)."

Kevin A. Sturges
August 21st, 2004, 02:51 PM
When I first bought my Xi, I had a box of the more expensive Sony DV tapes. Every shot I took was full of dropouts, not matter how many times I cleaned the heads, and head cleaning tapes are not something you want to use very often. Almost every shot was ruined by excessive audio and video glitching. I almost sent the camera back because I thought something was wrong with it.

Before I did though, I bought a box of 10 Panasonic tapes off of eBay for under $40. I don't believe I've had a single drop out since.

Because I was a user of the larger format 8mm Digital8 tapes before, I was worried that the miniDV's might not hold up as well. I know it's not recommended that you do this, but I have experimented with recording over a tape at least four times now (playing it back at least a couple of times first), and still haven't had a drop out yet! OK, so I'm cheap...

I think the most important issue is to find a brand of tape your camera is happy with, and stick to it.