DV Tape for XL1 or XL1S

[Frank Granovski]

They tell me the are only two manufacturers of mini DV tapes these being Panasonic and Sony.

This simply is not true. Fuji makes their own tape, as well as tape for Panasonic some of the time. Also, JVC and Pana tape are not the same quality, though Pana has different quality tape.

Here's some reading:

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

[Don Palomaki]

Fuji and Pana worked together to develop DVCPro tape. They may or may not share production lines for DV/MiniDV tape.

Pana's parent company (Matsushita) owns a ~50% share of JVC. IT would not be a surprise to find they use common production facilities for tape.

But who makes what for whom to lable for retail sale qualifies as trade secrets and is not obvious. And even if they make the tape for another company, it may be made to a slightly different specification.

Conventional wisdom in the late 1990s was that there were two basic type of MiniDV tape formulation until Pana introduced their dry lube tape; i.e., Sony and everyone else.

It was as rumored that when Sony had a tape factory fire in the 1990s and DV tape was scarce, Pana help Sony by running batches of tape for Sony. It was about this time that the initial MiniDV tape lub incompatability problem was solved.

I believe that Pana markets two types of tape, common MiniDV (with a "wet" lub) and a higher grade dry lube tape.

The conservative approach is to stick with a brand/type you like, and clean heads (which also cleans the tape guides and someother components) before changing brands/type.

[Peter Burton]

Thanks Guys,

This has been very helpful.

I think I will stick with the tapes I started with.

Once again thanks to all of you for the info.

[Nori Wentworth]

JVC HORROR STORY:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=6072

[Mike Koenig]

Does anyone have a favorite brand tape that works best in a XL1s? I read a message ages ago that stated the name of one brand of tape that had given the user consistent problems.

What is the most reliable tape to use in an XL1s and is there a brand that you would never use in any cam?

I have an event coming up that I want to be sure to minimize the weak links (I only wish I had that assurance for my part of the process!!).

Any help is appreciated!

Mike Koenig

[Adrian Douglas]

Sony, Panasonic, or Fuji seem to be the most popular. If it's critical get the highest grade you can afford. I use Sony Master Grade, others use Panasonic MQ/PQ. The biggest thing to tape reliability is choose a brand and stay with it as switching tapes can cause head problems due to different tape lubricants.

[Mike Koenig]

Adrian,

Thank you for the information about tapes. I wouldn't have ocnsidered the problem of using different tapes (with different lubricants) and the problems that would cause.

Thanks again!


Mike

[Adrian Douglas]

Sticking to one brand of tape is one of the golden rules of DV cameras. If you change tapes you can get problems like drop-outs, banding, poor picture quality just to mention a few.

[Jeff Donald]

This is probably the most often posted question on DV Info. A key word search, using the search button in the upper right corner of this window, will reveal many threads on this topic. Happy reading. One thing to keep in mind is that statistically the sampling of opinions in the various posts is too small to be relevant. But almost all users have good experience following Adrian's advice to not switch brands.

[Richard Alvarez]

For what it's worth, when we had a serious digital break-up problem with our xl1, we called the problem in. The FIRST question the tech asked:

"Are you using Sony tapes?"

As it happened, no... fuji, but the problem was a tape head alignment and was repaired by Canon. So, be advised that Canon Support thinks there MIGHT be a problem with SONY tapes.

[Mike Koenig]

Thanks to all who have responded. It seems that sticking with one brand is an absolute requirement. I will avoid Sony until I hear otherwise.

[Christoph J. Heinzel]

The other day I got my 10-month old XL1s to a Canon service center. In total I probably used my camera about 30 hours, maybe 35. I dropped it off at Canon for general check before starting a big production.
Coming back there a week later they charged me US$600 for replacing the video heads as well as the tape holding mechanism.
They told me that the damage was caused by using Sony tapes. They’re too soft and even the Sony Excellence tapes (the ones I was using) smear the video heads.
They recommended Panasonic tapes and told me that Canon mechanisms are all tested with Panasonic tapes.
Why don't they use their own brand???
A week later another Canon contact advised me not to use Panasonic. He recommended TDK.

Looks to me that nobody really knows what’s the best tape to use in order not to damage your camera. US$600 after 10 months of use?!?! Doesn’t seem right, does it?

Maybe somebody knows more about it or somebody got reliable test results?
Hope to hear from you, great site, wonderful reference, thanks!

[Teague Chrystie]

I SWEAR I will not make a joke about the smearing of lubricants on heads. :::Sits on hands, bite down on wooden spoon handle:::


That aside.


I use Panasonic AND Sony. I guess I need to stick to one, now.

[Jacko Bultinck]

I just love fuji.......

no probs, good image quality, and colours just fine too.

[Don Palomaki]

Canon does not make tape. At one time they were rebranding Panasonic tape with a Canon wrapper, at another time they were packing a Panasonic labeled tape. Not sure what the story is today.