Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

If bet I would have had a sony hvr-dr60 a few years ago when I just got my brandnew canon xh-a1, I wouldn't have lost 1 full hour of wedding footage due to over a 100 dropouts on a brand-new tape and a camera that never gave any type of warning. When I got my sony hvr-dr60 just after that to prevent that kind of disaster again it had been the best investment I made. With one battery I could film 4,5 hours continuously and still have battery power left and the recorder performed flawless in about 4 years. I sold the camera and recorder a few months ago but if it wasn't for it's poor low light performance I certainly would not have gotten rid of that combination.

Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

An aside, since this is audio tape; BBC News - Press rewind: The cassette tape returns

I'm not sure if the tape retro will apply to imaging, since film seems to have the retro corner.

Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

A few months ago I started the process of migrating away from tape when I bought a Canon XA10 and incorporated it into my camera package for wedding and event videography, along side my venerable pair of Sony V1U HDV cameras.

Still somewhat leery of using memory media every shoot I have had the XA10 in the mode where dual slot SD's are both recording simultaneously. However I have been using Canon approved media and have not ever had a single problem with a SD card.

This week I got in my first Atomos Ninja to use with the Sony V1U. After a quick test shooting with it and then editing on our Sony Vegas Pro 11 system I ordered a second one for the second V1.

I will still simultaneously record to tape as a safety, at least for a awhile!

Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

I have 3 tape-based video cameras and have owned the XF305 for six months now. I bought the Focus FS-CF Pro to make sure I could use my older cameras in case my laptop firewire quit working or I replaced it with one without firewire, as I've noticed they are getting scarce.

I don't mind the capture process. If I have a large number of tapes to capture, I use multiple laptops where possible.
My workflow with the XF305 is currently not saving me any time when it comes to handling the footage.

I can't just pop in a fresh tape once the media is full. In the field, I have to copy the CF cards to my Nexto portable HDD storage device, erase the cards and reinstall them in the camera. Once I get access to a laptop, I transfer the files off the Nexto to a portable HDD as an archive copy, then open the Canon XF Utility program and copy the files yet again (using the EXPORT AS .MXF files function) and these files are what I use for editing. In the future, I know I'll need to have a better archival scheme, such as "off-site" and more reliable media.

With tape, I slap a label on it, stuff a fresh one in the camera and ready to shoot. After capture, the tape goes in a safe place as my archive.

Bottom line is that my experience so far with a tapeless workflow is that it didn't make anything easier and in fact I find whenever I'm about to reformat one of my CF cards there's a bit of a pucker factor as I hope I didn't mix things up and end up erasing the only existing copy.

Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

You avoid that kind of mixup by having enough extra CF cards on hand. When you reach about 75% capacity on one (I avoid filling up media cards) simply remove it (after stopping the recording), pop in a fresh one and "roll on".

Using something like the Pelican media cases place unrecorded media cards in with brand label facing up, already recorded go in face down. You can have the media cards permanently numbered (I'd use a Sharpie marker) and an assistant can "log" the card number and what's on it in a small notebook).

I would never erase/reformat a used card on location.

I "archive" original files on a pair of 2TB external hard drives with a third standing by in case one of the pair exhibits the slightest indication of a problem.

Re: RIP Magnetic Tape.
 

I also make sure I have plenty of media to record on so that is not a problem. I also import the footage to two different hard drives in case one of the hard drives fails.

Now that Carbonite has the home premier plan that automatically backs up video files on the main hard drive and external hard drives that is going to be my next step for peace of mind.