Survey - how many of us still shooting on tape?

[Don Palomaki]

Have pretty much switched to AVCHD for acquisition. On occasion I might still shoot some HDV but rarely. Still have players for S-VHS/VHS, Hi8/8mm, DV, Digital-8, MiniDisc, HDV, and of course card readers (SD, SDHC, CF, etc.) for I don't know how many different formats. (Sadly I loaned my VHS-C adapter a while ago and never got it back - and I forget who borrowed it.)

Tapeless is a big time saver for me. Much of the stuff I shoot for others need not be archived for more than a year or so.

All computer storage is subject to loss (drive crash, disc dye aging, trashed FAT, physical abuse, accidential overwrite, etc.). Multiple backups on different media is abotu the best bet. The issue will be will youhaev a way to read it 20 or 30 years from now. How many folks still have a working 8-track player, or Beta, or can read data on a 5.25" floppy, or 20 MB ST225 MFM hard drive, or even their Zip discs from 10 years ago. Even commercial/industrial gear can have issues - e.g., my 1996 vintage AG1980 has failing electrolytic capacitors, it needs about $50 of repair parts and many hours of work (just waiting for me to have some free time).

Tape does have a long life. I have VHS tape shot 35+ years ago and audio tape from 50+ years ago that play OK.

[Mark Koha]

All of my shooting is done tapeless these days but for my line of work, we back everything up to DVCPro religiously at the end of every night. Archiving is a huge part of the sports world.

[Sam Renkin]

Events/production less than 30 minutes: DSLR (MOV files)
Events up to 60 minutes: AVCHD on SD cards (MRC1 recorder on my Sony Z5)
Events over 60 minutes: Tape with backup/tape change footage on MRC1.

AVCHD files over 4GB sometimes get wonky in my edit timeline, but that never happens with .m2ts files from digitized tape.

[Owen Dawe]

Yes! I not only shoot on tape but in SD to boot. Why? Because I've discovered that apart from camera manufactures, boffins, distributers and the odd corporate body, not many people give a rat's bottom about HD. The old XL2, XLH1 and I just press on regardless. I haven't bought into the hype that you must progress and keep up with it all, therefore not having to spend megabucks in the process. A great advantage is a newer dedicated computer with a fresh install of Windows XP, disconnected from the internet, no virus scanner or fire walls, no confounded updates. XP hums along at great speed.

Modern technologies are wonderful. But to be adicted to the latest, may not be in the best interest to all. I am pleased I live in a throw away society though as there is plenty of good gear at really low prices.

I have a large music collection as well. A reasonable part of it is on 78rpm records up to 90yrs old, and it still plays fine.

Anyone remember film? I shot plenty of that, stills and 8mm movie 55yrs ago. The cameras and projectors still work.

I wonder if DVD's and cards will.

[Dave Barnes]

Hi Owen... same as you I am still using my XL2 , (SD 16x9 shoots) and my XL-H1A for hdv shoots...
I still do a number of shows a year in SD.

Although I have just picked up a Canon XF-100 in mint shape , so have been experimenting with that...

[Sam Lee]

Once in a while I still use the good old Panasonic SDX-900 & DVCPRO 50 tape! I have been erasing that tape at least 15-20 times already and it's pretty clean (no drop outs). That camera produces wonderful 8-bit 4:2:2 images. And in low light, it beats my HPX3100 & other HD 2/3" cams by about 2 stops. That's huge thing when you are doing all-natural light docs. Unfortunately it's still 480i/p. Still have tape deck and haven't abandon it completely.

But for more advanced multi-cam productions with constant start/stop, tape is not good. The tape deck has to constantly seek and search to capture the proper TC. Capturing a DVCPRO tape w/ 33 min can take up to 90-100 min. This is where memory based format has a huge advantage. Another issue w/ tape is trying to get past customs in 3rd world country. I rather carry two 5 Tb hdds than 100-200 DVCPRO 66 m tapes. Oh boy. I recall the early 2000s w/ Sony HDCAM tapes. It was horrendous. Had to dedicate just a suite case just for those big 1/2" tapes. Now pretty much I have three-four 5 Tb hdds taking up significantly less than 2.5 HDCAM 40 min tapes.

[Mark Ahrens]

I just dumped 100s of DV/HDV tapes in the garbage last week. 10+ years of tape. Only saving personal recordings and those, i'm highly unlikely to ever delve into . . . onward and upward. Tape is a hassle. So is maintaining digital archives but you can't beat the instant access.

[Terry Wall]

Owen and Dave, you confirmed that I'm still OK shooting to tape, like some of the others. With two XH-A1s' around that take such beautiful footage, I just keep on using them and only recently said goodbye to my trusty XL2. I do have two GH2s for work that benefits from a bit more bokeh, but I'm just not willing to part with my "old" cameras. I recently shot a political forum with the Canons and noticed a dropped frame or two, but cleaned the tape heads and they're both fine now. And like Owen, I try to stay away from all the marketing enticements prompting all of us to buy the new "it" thing, camera or gadget. I'm semi-retired and just don't want to fork over that kind of dough just to say I do. As long as my clients are happy with my finished products, that's all that matters, and they don't care whether I record to tape, card, or spare tire!

FWIW.

TW

[Dave Barnes]

You have hit the nail on the head Terry...
all that matters at the end of the day is that you and/or the client are happy with the results... Tape will keep on rolling for me... :)

[Jeremiah Rickert]

I still have my XHA1 that I continue to use. Even when I'm using a digital recorder (such as a Firestore or Ninja or whatever) I still roll a tape as a backup. I was on a shoot once that was being digitally recorded from the switcher and the hard drive in the ninja crashed and all that was left was the tape I was rolling.

I have two Vixia's and now a C100, but I still roll a tape just in case.

[Alan Craven]

For the last two years, I have only used tape because my Sony V1E would not operate without it. All recording was done to SSD in a Ninja 1. My second camera has been tapeless for the past three years.

I have now abandoned tape altogether, having bought a rather nice second-hand Sony EX3 and some Nikon lenses.

[Chris Hurd]

Good heavens, I really need to transfer a ton of stuff from DV tape to drive but... don't... have... the time.

[Andrew Smith]

Why not set another capture going as you run out to your next job? The computer can always handle it for you whilst you are gone, especially if it is via Firewire.

Andrew

[Mark Watson]

If I'm doing a bunch then I get out multiple laptops and the three cameras and just try to keep the file and folder names straight. Things can go wrong, no need to elaborate, and now my rule is I never delete anything after the clock hits 2am.

Chris, you have to learn to delegate. Have the staff take care of it for you.

[Chris Hurd]

Staff?! Haw! If only I could clone myself. :-)