Hi Folks,

I have a PD170 thanks to the good folks here. What an amazing low light surveillance unit.
I also have a Panasonic PV-GS500.

Both camcorders use MiniDV tapes. I have been wondering if when on a detail using the Panasonic in good light and then needing the low light capabilities of the Sony if I could move the tape from one camcorder to the other and continue without rewinding or causing other unforeseen problems?

Thanks again to all who helped me funnel to the PD-170.

Althought I hate doing that there have been a few times in the past when I've pulled a partial tape from one of my 170s and dropped it into a little JVC 1 chipper. I've never gone the other way. There really wasn't any problem in loading the tape but of course you could see the difference in the quality of the footage.
I would guess you would have the same issue but should be fine as far as doing it. Other than a timecode thing is there any reason you would need to do that?

Thanks,

I am a PI and the work flow would be greatly streamlined keeping the events of the day on the same tape. It would also save me on tapes. Video quality is not that critical in this line of work if you know what I mean. The time stamps would be close enough.

Is the difference in the video quality the only thing you dislike about it?

yeah other than the fact that I have a mind meld about doing it but it's really the quality difference that does it.

Thanks,

It will be nice to XFR from a single tape to DVD. And if it goes to court where it has to be on the original media it will be a smoother operation to do the playback.
Now to decide which camera to XFR from. Being the PD170 burns the time stamp into the tape I'll most likely XFR with the Panasonic.

Thanks Again