Did some searching, seems occasional to a few owners & Sony Cams in general. Wondering if anyone else had any first hand experience with this. Basically, its when loading the tape the error code just flashes in the LCD screen. It's tough to eject the tape, though I've found partially closing the lid, then pulling it back open works.

Ultimately though I gotta get it repaired. I've sent two places for estimates, however, I'm also debating if it's likely $300 or so, would that $$ be better put to use into a HVR-MRC1 CF recording unit, which costs $750. Though then my camera remains pretty unable to use tape, in case anyone/client wanted a MiniDV format. Though thats becoming less frequent.

ditto, only mine's 32:21

apparently it could be the ribbon cable on the transport 'door' that's 'cracked'. they do break and can give various 32 messages. seems you haver to replace the whole metal carriage as it's not a plug in cable.

in my case i'm told to 'reinsert' the cassette after ejecting - tape record tab closed. anyway, i'm loading / unloading tapes while camera is off - doesn't (thankfully) effect recording.

putting it in for service as soon as i get a break in my schedule.

btw. i also record to mrc - but MOST of my clients still demand tape backup.

I bought card unit from eBay SONY HVR-MRC1K Compact Flash Memory Recording Unit for HDV DVCAM DV | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SONY-HVR-MRC1K-Compact-Flash-Memory-Recording-Unit-for-HDV-DVCAM-DV-/320987098066?pt=US_Memory_Card_Readers_Adapters&hash=item4abc526bd2&_uhb=1#ht_2638wt_922)
It works great with my hdv 5z

Thanks to you both for responding. Leslie, what kindof work do you do that they demand tape? Funny, cause I still wanna shoot to tape & fix it cause I too thought occassionally I'm asked for the tape. However, I noticed in the couple years I owned this that less ask for it on tape, and most if not all now also can obtain video HD/Memory cards, but also still take tape.

Mark, how do you like to overall? What CF cards & sizes do you shoot to & how many minutes per card/gb. Also, any issues with needing to stitch together long clips & files together. I'll definitely buy that, just a question of now or later.

i shoot horses (love saying that), and the company i work for demand tape (and since they pay exceedingly well..... and i do over 100 tapes a year...). i also shoot for a national broadcaster whose preferred option still is tape. and, given the cost of decent cards, i wouldn't trust any large organization to get them back to me in a timely (if at all!!) fashion.

i used sandisk 16gb ultras, but tried a 32gb adata high speed one that cost a fraction of the sandisk ones and after a couple of years is still going strong.

Thanks. Funny, I shoot horses too, but at a casino/racetrack & use their cameras for that. I think I read your shoot horse shows right, or do you shoot racing.

(BTW - I also like saying that as well)

i shoot for sales / auctions / catalogs / promo's / stallions / stud profiles, etc.,

that what comes of 'retiring' to the horse capital of the southern hemisphere (scone, australia).

when asked if i like horses my usual reply is - yes, especially with onions in a hamburger!

nothing worse than a yearling trying to parade ;-)

ditto, only mine's 32:21

apparently it could be the ribbon cable on the transport 'door' that's 'cracked'. they do break and can give various 32 messages. seems you haver to replace the whole metal carriage as it's not a plug in cable.

in my case i'm told to 'reinsert' the cassette after ejecting - tape record tab closed. anyway, i'm loading / unloading tapes while camera is off - doesn't (thankfully) effect recording.

putting it in for service as soon as i get a break in my schedule.

btw. i also record to mrc - but MOST of my clients still demand tape backup.
Yes you are right, but there's also more to it too. The tape transport (VCR Mechanism) has a lot going on inside of it and if one or more parts are not working in perfect harmony then you will have problems. Luckily the mechanisms are somewhat reliable, yes they do break but only after several hundred hours of use. Things that you could do to prolong the life of the tape mechanism are: using the same brand and grade of tape, storing you camcorder in a bag or case when not in use (to keep dust and debris out of it), and making sure that you avoid impact or rough conditions with your camcorder. Your camcorder is definitely worth fixing or having the mech replaced on. I would however get the MRC1 to use in conjunction with the tape mechanism.

Thanks to you both for responding. Leslie, what kindof work do you do that they demand tape? Funny, cause I still wanna shoot to tape & fix it cause I too thought occassionally I'm asked for the tape. However, I noticed in the couple years I owned this that less ask for it on tape, and most if not all now also can obtain video HD/Memory cards, but also still take tape.

Mark, how do you like to overall? What CF cards & sizes do you shoot to & how many minutes per card/gb. Also, any issues with needing to stitch together long clips & files together. I'll definitely buy that, just a question of now or later.

Hi David sorry so long on reply the 32gig sandisk cards i get 146 miniutes very quick to download approx 20 minutes for full card, I still think the tape quality is better also have a Sony FX1 did a comparison between the FX1 and card system camera NX5 showed it at a video club meeting and asked audiance to pick better video not telling them which was which they choose the FX1 on tape

strange. card and tape record the same file - hdv?

Yes, of course. There's no difference between hdv on tape and hdv on CF card if you are talking about simultaneous recording to both via the FX1000/Z5 (or any other cam with FW) with the MRC. Any perceived difference is purely the placebo effect and is all in your head. Bit for bit the files are identical unless you are talking about a physical flaw like a tape dropout.

If you had a cam with HDMI out (not the FX1) and compared that to tape it's unlikely you'd find tape better, from what I am told.

However, some may certainly prefer the softer, more filmlike look of the FX1/Z1 to the harsher, flatter, sharper, more video-like look of the Z5, but that is purely due to the Lens and chip, which are quite different from the older technology of the FX1/Z1. In the case of the NX/AX, then the codec does come into play as well, as it is not HDV and may in fact suffer from even greater compression than HDV.