I just emailed Canon and asked whether it was okay to use Sony mini-dv tapes in my XL2 and they replied that, Yes, it is fine but do not switch to other brands once you use Sony tapes as their lubricants are different and will not mix well with other brands...

I know other people have talked about this subject to death on this board but just wanted to share what Canon said...

The info Canon gave you is correct and true for other cams as well. Iv'e shot a 1000+ hours with Sony tapes with no issues to speak of. Recently I have switched to using Panasonic tapes. If you decide to switch brands, simply clean the heads with a dry head cleaning tape before using the new brand. Keep that head cleaning tape handy and check playback on your first few tapes. If you see any dropouts, then run that head cleaning tape again and you should have no problems.

- don

Not to hijack this thread, but I have beenlooking for a definitive listing of which brands are wet and which are dry. No one seems to be able to say with certainty, other than "Sony is wet". But then I've heard people say "Sony makes Fuji, so Fuji's are wet" and "Only the high end Pannasonnic tapes are dry, the low end are wet".

So, even within brands, it's best to stick with a particular version.