Leaving tape in camera.. good or bad? at DVinfo.net

John B. Nelson · June 19th, 2007, 09:03 PM

Ok, this may sound like a stupid question but I read somewhere in the manual that you should remove the tape from the camera when you are done using it. Well sometimes I forget.. ok, most of the time I forget.. and I put the camera back in its case with a tape still in it.

Is there an explanation (Canon forgot to say why) why the tape should be removed? I can understand if the camera isn't going to be used for a long period of time, but a few days or a week.. can that really do any damage?

-John

Colin McCaffery · June 20th, 2007, 01:06 AM

Being a newbie with very limited experience, I expect that I am risking being shot down in flames for this, but it seems like a possible answer to me....

Is it possible that when loaded in the camera the tape is exposed to the atmosphere (i.e. the tape cover lifts up while the tape is loaded) and more importantly to the recording/playing heads in the camera? This could lead to easy contamination of the tape or of the heads themselves if there is a possibilty of the tape touching them. Could be especially true for the heads if there is any ambient heat involved in the contact.

Just a thought....

Colin.

Kathy Stannard · June 20th, 2007, 02:49 AM

Tapes are very delicate things and it's not a good idea to leave them in the camera. Most of the time you probably wont have a problem. I've know tapes to get stuck in cameras, especially in hot weather.

Don Palomaki · June 20th, 2007, 07:04 AM

Both of the above are valid considerations. The tape is best protected when rewound and in the cassette in its storage case, not mid tape and threaded through a camcorder mechanism. Long term sitting in the camcorder could subject the tape to cycles of changing temperatures, humidity, what ever dust is in the camcorder, and possible condensation cycles, none of which is especially good for tape and which could induce it to take a 'set,' stick to the mechanism, or even introduce particles of tape material into the camcorder mechanism in worst cases.

Also, there is always the very real risk of accidentally recording over material on a tape in the camcorder, especially if the camcorder has multiple users.

For short periods of time (hours or a few days) the risk is minimal, but for weeks, months, and beyond it is greater, potentially much greater. The decision boils down to the value of what is on the tape and the risk you can tolerate. If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.

In any case, most working shooters (as opposed to recreational home shooters) would probably remove the tape at the end of the day for editing, cataloging, or to go to the next shoot with a fresh tape for the next client.

Chris Hurd · June 20th, 2007, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John B. Nelson

Is there an explanation... why the tape should be removed?

I think it's a good practice to remove the tape when the camera is not in use, although a few days or even a week should not present a problem. In addition to what Don posts above, one of the real dangers over long periods of time is that there are some tiny, delicate little springs in the transport which can lose their tension if they're continuously stretched out from always having a tape loaded. That's the main culprit of transport failure.

Kathy Stannard · June 20th, 2007, 10:25 AM

Taking into consideration the last 2 posts, I'd like to add that the times when the tape had become stuck in the camera it was left in only for one night.

The cameras were in daily use shooting a soap opera in Africa, so obviously conditions were pretty dry and dusty. It may have been down to the harsh environment, but having had that experience I wouldn't leave a tape in a camera overnight.

John B. Nelson · June 20th, 2007, 07:12 PM

Thanks for your responses.. they were very interesting. In case anyone is wondering.. I removed my tape from the camera. :)

-John

Salah Baker · June 20th, 2007, 07:34 PM

another good idea is the set the one custom key to "VCR STOP"

Paul Joy · June 21st, 2007, 07:55 AM

This is an interesting one. The only problem with removing a half used tape from the camera is that after that point the end search function no longer works, so it becomes tricky if you want to continue recording to the same timecode.

For this reason I leave my tapes in the camera.

Paul.

Don Palomaki · June 21st, 2007, 09:40 AM

Just add few seconds of waste footage (e.g., the inside of the lens cap), and when you put the tape back in, be sure to queue up in this area to preserve continuous time code.

Chris Hurd · June 21st, 2007, 09:56 AM

Or record a few seconds of color bars. This is a convenient way to find start and end points when shuttling through a tape.

June 19th, 2007, 09:03 PM	#1
John B. Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bradford, PA Posts: 67	Leaving tape in camera.. good or bad? Ok, this may sound like a stupid question but I read somewhere in the manual that you should remove the tape from the camera when you are done using it. Well sometimes I forget.. ok, most of the time I forget.. and I put the camera back in its case with a tape still in it. Is there an explanation (Canon forgot to say why) why the tape should be removed? I can understand if the camera isn't going to be used for a long period of time, but a few days or a week.. can that really do any damage? -John

June 20th, 2007, 07:04 AM	#4
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	Both of the above are valid considerations. The tape is best protected when rewound and in the cassette in its storage case, not mid tape and threaded through a camcorder mechanism. Long term sitting in the camcorder could subject the tape to cycles of changing temperatures, humidity, what ever dust is in the camcorder, and possible condensation cycles, none of which is especially good for tape and which could induce it to take a 'set,' stick to the mechanism, or even introduce particles of tape material into the camcorder mechanism in worst cases. Also, there is always the very real risk of accidentally recording over material on a tape in the camcorder, especially if the camcorder has multiple users. For short periods of time (hours or a few days) the risk is minimal, but for weeks, months, and beyond it is greater, potentially much greater. The decision boils down to the value of what is on the tape and the risk you can tolerate. If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. In any case, most working shooters (as opposed to recreational home shooters) would probably remove the tape at the end of the day for editing, cataloging, or to go to the next shoot with a fresh tape for the next client. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

June 20th, 2007, 07:12 PM	#7
John B. Nelson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bradford, PA Posts: 67	Interesting comments. Thanks for your responses.. they were very interesting. In case anyone is wondering.. I removed my tape from the camera. :) -John

June 21st, 2007, 09:40 AM	#10
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,488	Just add few seconds of waste footage (e.g., the inside of the lens cap), and when you put the tape back in, be sure to queue up in this area to preserve continuous time code. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

June 21st, 2007, 09:56 AM	#11
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Or record a few seconds of color bars. This is a convenient way to find start and end points when shuttling through a tape. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

June 20th, 2007, 01:06 AM	#2
Colin McCaffery New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Aberdeenshire Scotland UK Posts: 24	Being a newbie with very limited experience, I expect that I am risking being shot down in flames for this, but it seems like a possible answer to me.... Is it possible that when loaded in the camera the tape is exposed to the atmosphere (i.e. the tape cover lifts up while the tape is loaded) and more importantly to the recording/playing heads in the camera? This could lead to easy contamination of the tape or of the heads themselves if there is a possibilty of the tape touching them. Could be especially true for the heads if there is any ambient heat involved in the contact. Just a thought.... Colin.

June 20th, 2007, 02:49 AM	#3
Kathy Stannard Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London Posts: 35	Tapes are very delicate things and it's not a good idea to leave them in the camera. Most of the time you probably wont have a problem. I've know tapes to get stuck in cameras, especially in hot weather.

June 20th, 2007, 10:25 AM	#6
Kathy Stannard Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London Posts: 35	Taking into consideration the last 2 posts, I'd like to add that the times when the tape had become stuck in the camera it was left in only for one night. The cameras were in daily use shooting a soap opera in Africa, so obviously conditions were pretty dry and dusty. It may have been down to the harsh environment, but having had that experience I wouldn't leave a tape in a camera overnight.

June 20th, 2007, 07:34 PM	#8
Salah Baker Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Patterson La. Posts: 207	another good idea is the set the one custom key to "VCR STOP"

June 21st, 2007, 07:55 AM	#9
Paul Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 627	This is an interesting one. The only problem with removing a half used tape from the camera is that after that point the end search function no longer works, so it becomes tricky if you want to continue recording to the same timecode. For this reason I leave my tapes in the camera. Paul.