What Brand of tapes do you use in your FX1?
 

What Brand of tapes do you use in your FX1?

Sony mini-dv.

heath

It's not possible to overstate how important it is to use the very, very best tape you can possibly get with the FX1. Dropouts on tape are much more devastating on HDV than they are on DV.

Sony introduced a new $18 tape specifically for HDV use. I'd strongly consider trying it, because highest-quality tape is vital for HDV recording.

Some friends/sources of mine say using the Sony mini-dv are fine, but I'll give those HDV tapes a shot.

heath

those tapes are BS in my opinion, its a sony excellence with a different cover and case design. its just a marketing attempt for you to spend more cash, and obviously its working. if you can use a normal mini dv tape in an HD cam while filming HD its definatley going to be the exact same as an "HD" tape. see it would make a difference if you wanted to film beta cam on a PD, cause you need special tapes for those, for HD though if normal mini dv's work they im sure are the exact same... was i too redundant?

i woulddnt say that its BS, more to the point that theyre using peoples paranoia of teh format as a marketing tool.

Ive been using teh Pana MQ series taps, which have 4 times teh emulsion density and run a dry lube and have not had a dropout on about 50hours worth of footage with no head cleans so far..

I've had very few dropouts on my FX1 and have used cheepo Panasonic, Fujifilm and Sony tapes with only 1 or 2 dropouts in the 7 tapes I've gone through.

Marketing bru-ha-ha-ha? I think so.

-Steve

I tend to stick with one tape constantly to avoid any problems. I used Sony tapes for 3.5 years with my old XL-1, then went to JVC to save money and all my footage for a client had audio sync problems. I lost the client, btw.

heath

My choice of tape brand actually came down to being able to spot which camera I used without having to read! I know if I see a Panasonic tape on my desk, I must've used my TRV, if its a Sony, it'll have been shot in my PD.