I walked down the street sideways with my gl2 at hip level holding the top handle.

I got a good "streaming" sequence of terraced houses = good

I also got two glitches (aud+vid mosiac) during the (brisk) walk = bad

I never had this problem with my XL1s -- but I never did such a sequence with it either...

Does anyone have a comparison/idea of cameras and their limits before dropout occurs?

Is this just the nature of miniDV - NOW I see why some guys prefer DVCAM!

You'll have to provide more information for anyone to make an intelligent guess regarding what might have happened. But, off-hand, I feel safe saying that miniDV -vs- DVCam is completely irrelevent to the matter.

Nobody will be able to tell you what happened (if that's what you're seeking). But here are factors that come to my mind for starters.

Were you using a brand new (unused) tape?
What tape speed were you using (SP, LP)?
What recording mode were you using?
How many hours would you estimate the camera's been used since the last cleaning?

Also when did the glitch occur in the tape. If it occurred within 1.5 minutes of the beginnning of the tape I would not consider it out of the ordinary. Using a different brand for the first time can do it. If your tape setting was LP then it is a frequent occurrance with DV media. I only trust SP speed. More tests should be done to make sure this is not simply a bad tape.

The tape was new - it was the first thing shot with my new camera. I too always use SP. I was in fully manual mode.

Yes it definately was in the first minute --- then no problem after that...

That could be it --- why is this?

Thanks, Ken, Buddy...

http://www.dvfreak.com/tape.htm

I hope that helps.

I read the info there and some more too -- actually the tape i used had had about 6 min recorded previously in friend's a small digital sony handy cam.

Maybe it had picked up something from that? grime?

Maybe the camera's heads are just 'warming up'?

Anyone has similar problems with any cam?

Are you guys saying it is VERY unlikely to get glitches with other cams? Is the GL2 more likely to get such glitches by its design?

Enough questions...

As I said earlier, nobody will be able to tell you what happened. It's that simple. Just be aware of the factors that -can- cause such a problem (above) and let life move forward. If it re-occurs unexplainably send the camera in for service.