So I have an A1 but id like to use my sony handycam as a capture deck will this effect the quality of my media ??

You can't use an SD camcorder to capture HDV. If you shoot DV with your A1, you might be able to use the Sony to capture (with no loss in quality - it's digital), but I believe some people have had trouble with other brands of camcorders being unable to read from tapes shot with Canons.

i captured some of my footage from my A1 in SD on my friend's sony vx2000, so it should work. Just as long as its Standard Def

The 60i SD will work on most any deck, and so will the 24P. I don't know about 30F, but I have shot 24 SD and it plays back fine in a Sony DVCAM deck.

What absolutely will not work is 24P or 30P in HDV. I believe 60i HDV should work in a Sony HDCAM deck, but I'm not 100 percent sure about that.

JVC's HDV will not work in a Sony HDV deck either. Presumably Sony's HDV will not work in a JVC deck or Canon camera. It's as if we have 3 different HDV standards now.

Bill 60i HDV will run in a sony deck.

24F got my tape stuck in the deck and a repair bill from Sony.

Yeah, as long as it's a Sony HDV deck. Basically, Canon 24P HDV won't run in anything but a Canon camera, JVC 24P HDV won't run in anything but a JVC deck, and I'll bet that Sony's V1's 24P won't run in anything but a Sony deck.

Wouldn't it be nice if "standard" meant standard.

Just for the record:
I can capture my Canon A1 50i tapes from my Sony HC1 in HDV
When I tried a 25F tape in the Sony HC1, I got an error message. Nothing broken, though.