Mini-DV Tapes « Videomaker Community Forums

realdeal
Member

What is generally considered to be the best Mini-DV tapes?
It's been a while since I've purchased any.

Thanks

Posted 5 years ago #
On a Roll
Member

Well, for quality, Sony makes some real slick Tapes.

Personally, I buy mine at Sam's Club. They sell an 8-pack of Maxell tapes for $20. Anywhere else, the same exact tapes would cost me $35-40.

The only time I've ever had a problem with a tape was when I bought some super saver generic brand tapes online for something like $1.75 each. It looked like a savings, but it was the biggest waste of cash ever.

Honestly, if you're using virgin stock for your projects, about any tape will do. It's only in recording over existing footage where you can hurt yourself with cheap tape. In my opinion, avoid generic brands, and you'll be okay.

Posted 5 years ago #
compusolver
Member

I stick with the same brand that made the camera, but probably more important not to mix brands because chemicals in the tape that adhere to rollers and heads may not react well together.

Also each brand has several quality levels, "pro", "master", etc. The higher the quality, the less chance of debris that could cause glitches. I use a lot of tape and I'd say this happens 1 - 2% of the time with the "pro" level tapes and more often (maybe 4%) with the cheapest levels.

Posted 5 years ago #
birdcat
Moderator

When I started with my camcorder (about a year and a half ago), I purchased some "inexpensive" (can't call them cheap) tapes on eBay - They turned out to be knockoffs (counterfeits) and have caused all sorts of trouble for my camcorder.

Since that learning experience, I only buy name brand tapes and try to stay with one brand (that's been recommended to me). I have used Sony but they can be a bit pricey, so I get 8-packs of TDK at Costco for about $22 per pack. Since I have gone exclusively to the TDK (real ones) I haven't had too many problems (eBay tapes really did a job on my heads and I'm still having occasional problems - nothing a head cleaning doesn't solve however).
Bruce Paul
7Squared Productions
http://www.7squared.com

Posted 5 years ago #