loss of quality using miniDV tapes?

Jeff Kolada · July 7th, 2008, 09:57 AM

I have been using sony premium mini-dv tapes (sony blues) since i bought the camera, and I feel like I might be losing some quality by not using HDV tapes. Now this is probably just me overestimating the camera, but the footage i'm capturing doesn't look as crisp as I would expect. I'm going to do a test this weekend, but in the meantime do any of you have any experience with this?

Sergio Barbosa · July 7th, 2008, 10:51 AM

Hello Jeff!

As I'm sure it's been debated over and over here at dvinfo,when it comes to digital camcorders, the medium you use has absolutely NO effect on the quality of your footage... the information is recorded to tape as digital data, and everytime you read it, it'll be exactly the same.
*Nevertheless*, my personal advice/opinion, based on my experience, is that with the Digital Master tapes, there's less chance of failure when recording the data. For any paid job, I'm now using, eexclusively, those tapes...not for quality, but for reliability. Of course you're gonna hear from hundreds of people saying they've never had any issues with the lower grade tapes, and that's great...but I did.

Colin McDonald · July 7th, 2008, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sergio Barbosa

Hello Jeff!

As I'm sure it's been debated over and over here at dvinfo,when it comes to digital camcorders, the medium you use has absolutely NO effect on the quality of your footage... the information is recorded to tape as digital data, and everytime you read it, it'll be exactly the same.
*Nevertheless*, my personal advice/opinion, based on my experience, is that with the Digital Master tapes, there's less chance of failure when recording the data. For any paid job, I'm now using, eexclusively, those tapes...not for quality, but for reliability. Of course you're gonna hear from hundreds of people saying they've never had any issues with the lower grade tapes, and that's great...but I did.

Funny you should say that...
http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=124468

Tom Hardwick · July 7th, 2008, 11:50 AM

That's right Jeff, the pictures and sounds are all the same, whether you record in SP, LP, DVCAM, HDV or CF. Digits are digits, and if you could record onto magnetic toilet paper the results would be just as good.

Posh tapes might give you fewer dropouts, they might last longer, they might look prettier. These are all mights.

tom.

Jeff Kolada · July 7th, 2008, 12:13 PM

thanks guys,
another thing, i know the whole thing about mixing and matching tapes ruins heads, but if i stay with sony brand but use different sony tapes, is this going to be an issue that anybody knows about? or is the lubrication the same for all sony brand tapes?

Tom Hardwick · July 7th, 2008, 05:00 PM

Yes, Premium, Excellence, HDV and so on - all with the Sony name are fine in your camcorder.

Leslie Wand · July 7th, 2008, 05:58 PM

oh, now there i was thinking hdv tapes (at their premium price point) not only gave me richer colours, but also sharper focus.

damn, does that mean i have to start worrying about exposure and focus?

leslie

Justin Zimmerman · July 7th, 2008, 08:34 PM

absolutely not. just put it all on AUTO...

heh.

Leslie Wand · July 7th, 2008, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin Zimmerman

absolutely not. just put it all on AUTO...

heh.

tried that, but it STILL doesn't look like 35mm film. Are there any MORE expensive tapes i can try?

oi vey

Joe Busch · July 23rd, 2008, 08:17 PM

Haha... yea.. the only thing with those more expensive tapes is that they are higher quality, less prone to drop-outs (supposedly)

But I've been buying the cheapest Sony tapes I can find, the only ones that got dropouts were when I was outdoors and dropped them (most likely getting dust in there)

That and the occasional dropout, but I'd say maybe ~25 dropouts for 75 hours of tapes... not bad... :)

July 7th, 2008, 09:57 AM	#1
Jeff Kolada Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens, OH Posts: 50	loss of quality using miniDV tapes? I have been using sony premium mini-dv tapes (sony blues) since i bought the camera, and I feel like I might be losing some quality by not using HDV tapes. Now this is probably just me overestimating the camera, but the footage i'm capturing doesn't look as crisp as I would expect. I'm going to do a test this weekend, but in the meantime do any of you have any experience with this? __________________ Jeff Kolada http://www.jeffkolada.com http://www.youtube.com/kmedia

July 7th, 2008, 12:13 PM	#5
Jeff Kolada Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens, OH Posts: 50	thanks guys, another thing, i know the whole thing about mixing and matching tapes ruins heads, but if i stay with sony brand but use different sony tapes, is this going to be an issue that anybody knows about? or is the lubrication the same for all sony brand tapes? __________________ Jeff Kolada http://www.jeffkolada.com http://www.youtube.com/kmedia

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July 7th, 2008, 10:51 AM	#2
Sergio Barbosa Regular Crew Join Date: May 2006 Location: Portugal Posts: 134	Hello Jeff! As I'm sure it's been debated over and over here at dvinfo,when it comes to digital camcorders, the medium you use has absolutely NO effect on the quality of your footage... the information is recorded to tape as digital data, and everytime you read it, it'll be exactly the same. Nevertheless, my personal advice/opinion, based on my experience, is that with the Digital Master tapes, there's less chance of failure when recording the data. For any paid job, I'm now using, eexclusively, those tapes...not for quality, but for reliability. Of course you're gonna hear from hundreds of people saying they've never had any issues with the lower grade tapes, and that's great...but I did.

July 7th, 2008, 11:50 AM	#4
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 2,922	That's right Jeff, the pictures and sounds are all the same, whether you record in SP, LP, DVCAM, HDV or CF. Digits are digits, and if you could record onto magnetic toilet paper the results would be just as good. Posh tapes might give you fewer dropouts, they might last longer, they might look prettier. These are all mights. tom.

July 7th, 2008, 05:00 PM	#6
Tom Hardwick Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Billericay, England UK Posts: 2,922	Yes, Premium, Excellence, HDV and so on - all with the Sony name are fine in your camcorder.

July 7th, 2008, 05:58 PM	#7
Leslie Wand Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: australia Posts: 228	oh, now there i was thinking hdv tapes (at their premium price point) not only gave me richer colours, but also sharper focus. damn, does that mean i have to start worrying about exposure and focus? leslie

July 7th, 2008, 08:34 PM	#8
Justin Zimmerman Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 73	absolutely not. just put it all on AUTO... heh.

July 23rd, 2008, 08:17 PM	#10
Joe Busch Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Sammamish, WA Posts: 304	Haha... yea.. the only thing with those more expensive tapes is that they are higher quality, less prone to drop-outs (supposedly) But I've been buying the cheapest Sony tapes I can find, the only ones that got dropouts were when I was outdoors and dropped them (most likely getting dust in there) That and the occasional dropout, but I'd say maybe ~25 dropouts for 75 hours of tapes... not bad... :)