Best hd tapes for shooting low budget movie on panny hvx

[Anonymous]

Hey,

I’m shooting a 90 minute extremely low budget (read: no budget) movie with my buddy. We got a panicsonic hvx 200, and want to shoot the movie on hd tapes to get that nice picture quality.

Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Ryan,

Uh….you do understand that the HVX200 only records standard definition to tape, right? If you want to do high definition with that camcorder, you need to use the P2 memory cards (or a Firestore hard disk recorder).

So, if you do mean to shoot standard definition, I’d suggest the Panasonic professional tapes. But frankly, any well-known brand of miniDV tape should be OK.

One note of caution: I’ve read many horror stories of folks who have used several different brands of tape in the same camcorder, and had problems. Apparently, different brands of tape use different types of lubricant. Some lubricants don’t get along with other type… the result being a gummed-up tape transport or heads.

Ken Hull

[Author]

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