Hey everyone, Im a long time reader, first time poster of dvinfo.net, and I gotta say this forum has answered an uncountable amount of my questions!!
I know this has most likely been asked before, but I could not really pinpoint the exact answer I was looking for.

I have th Canon GL2, and do not have consistant access to a tape deck. I 100% do not want to use my GL2 for importing footage onto my pc, so I was wondering...
Will I lose quality if I import from a lesser quality camcorder (Panasonic Pv-gs80, Amazon.com: Panasonic PV-GS80 MiniDV Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom: Electronics)

Things to possibly consider are...
Canon vs. Panasonic
3ccd vs 1ccd

If it makes a difference as well, I'm using panasonic ay-dvm63amq tapes

this topic has been discussed many times before but the short answer is no. You will not lose any quality by using a less camera as a deck.

thanks alot, sorry for my poor searching abilities!!

To add the only other missing thing to this conversation - as long as you aren't trying to capture DV w. LOCKED audio (such as DVCam or JVC's DV w. locked audio), it's as Don states. IF you are capturing a locked audio format using a camera that doesn't support locked audio, it will play back unlocked, which MAY cause editing headaches in the audio track at cut points that are "butt ended" together (momentary clipping or clicking AT the edit point).

Hi Nick. Welcome to DvInfo.net

I have a Canon Gl2, but I use my Panasonic PV GS150 as a capture deck. It works fine.

One caveat. Any MiniDV camcorder should provide a equal signal of capture via firewire (aka: iLink/IEEE 1394). However, if you recorded at slow speed (LP) there may be issue with reliable playback on another camcorder, Canon or other brand.

If for some reason you are trying to capture the analog output signal, all bets are off as to relative quality.