I do not want to put that wear and tear on my GL-2. I have already had to have the tape transport mechnism replaced. But, I also can not afford $900 for a Mini-DV deck.

The best suggestion I would give is to get a backup Mini-Dv camcorder. Get something cheap on ebay for 200-300$ and that can work as your deck, that's what I do.

That is something I have considered. What brand/model do you use? It most have Firewire, S-video and Composite to be effective.

I personaly have a GL2 as a main cam and I use a ZR60 as my backup seems to do fine. I believe all MiniDV camcorders have Firewire and the works. So you should be alright.

Does a camera like the ZR60 read and output timecode? That would be essential for batch capturing and editing with programs like Adobe Premiere Pro.

yeah I'm pretty sure the ZR60 does transfer how it's sipposed to but I use Adobe Premier 6.5 but yeah you can use the ZR60 as a capturing device no problem