Posted by mv on 04/24/06 18:38

>
>Thought I would add my $0.25.
>
>I've been using Panasonic tape in my PD 150. Panasonic is by far the
>most used tape by professionals here in Seattle.
>
>I recently took my camera to the repair shop to replace the heads. (My
>"partner" had put 750 hours on the drum and 4500 thread count by using
>the camera as a deck.)
>
>Anyway, the repair guy said that Sony tapes were best for Sony
>cameras. Kinda makes sense to me. He said the camera was set up to use
>Sony tapes and will work best with them. Certainly makes sense to me.
>I used Sony tape in the beginning but since everyone used Panasonic I
>started using it too.


I don't buy that Mr. Ford. I have over 2,000 recorded miniDV tapes since
1996 that have been particularly shot on four cameras, a VX1000, a
PD150, a PD170 and a Z1, which equates to a lot more drum hours than
that. 99% of it on basic consumer grade Panasonic tape and perhaps half
of that in 'challenging' environments. Never had a single issue caused
by either tape or head wear. In fact the 750 hours you mention should be
well within the service life of PD150 heads. Early faults are usually
due to some other issue than simple wear caused by tape abrasion, such
as the ingress of foreign particles, moisture or misalignment due to
knocks and bumps. Head wear is so much more tolerant with digital
formats than it was for analogue. Some early miniDV cameras have
literally thousands of drum hours without failing.

There used to be an issue caused by differing tape lubricants, but all
the tape manufactures have long since resolved that one, however
archived tapes form the mid 90's should be treated with caution. All
this gumph about Sony tapes being specially suited to Sony equipment is
rubbish. It's just more marketing hype of the kind that asserts that
spending 1,000% more on 'pro' branded tape will prevent drop outs, make
the tapes last longer, increase ones I.Q. or make one especially
attractive to women. It's DV or miniDV, a formally agreed multi brand
standard defined by contractual intercompatability. I've heard some
pretty daft assertions about why for example a Sony tape is better for a
Sony camera, such as the camber on the tape is minutely different to fit
a minutely differently cambered shaped head or the metal used on the
head is especially formulated to maximise some subtly unique tape
formulation.

This is an industry where more faux expert misdirection exits than
almost any other I've come across, nearly all of it traceable to
misdirectors own investments or a compelling need to be top nerd. Which
of course is me.
--
John Lubran

Bullshit Baffles Brains

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