2 quick horror stories using Panasonic tape at DVinfo.net
DV Info Net

Go Back   DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > The Long Black Line

The Long Black Line
Tape, tape and more tape; and decks; HDV, DV, VHS and more.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old June 10th, 2008, 09:31 PM   #1
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Burbank CA
Posts: 466
2 quick horror stories using Panasonic tape

panasonic tape stock AY-DVM63PQ. Canon XH-A1 cameras.

The first straw:
2 camera shoot. Camera 1 footage of 1st act (1 hr long) almost totally unusable. All drop outs. Horror tape stock. Loaded tape 2 for second act and no drop outs. Not the camera's fault but the stock. Had to edit Act 1 from only 1 camera.

2nd straw- Loaded 83 minute tape, only to find that the tape stopped running in the middle of the shoot around 65 minutes! Imagine my suprise. Looked at the tape and it was at the end of the reel. A 63 minute tape mis-labeled as 83 minutes!! Luckily the other camera covered the show.

After this, I changed brands to Sony HDM series stock. No problems since. Before these two stories, I have experienced more than normal "hits" when using Panasonic tape.
David Morgan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 11th, 2008, 07:17 AM   #2
Major Player
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: MOSCOW
Posts: 860
David, I am in the same situation, same tape, same camera,
2 tapes from 2 different shoots unusable, trying to salvage the tapes : ((
Oleg Kalyan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 11th, 2008, 12:01 PM   #3
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Freeport, NY
Posts: 90
Just to be fair and balanced.
Two JVC dv500 cameras. Hundreds of video shoots over several years. Panasonic MQ 83 & 63 and 63 AMQ, all mixed together. All sucessful shoots. Never a problem.
Perhaps it was a bad batch in circulation. Would love to hear from others.
Allen W.
Allen Williams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 11th, 2008, 02:36 PM   #4
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 154
I quit using them. Had the same problems with just the regular Sony VX2100's. I use Sony tapes now and no problems.
Tom Sessions is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 12th, 2008, 08:07 AM   #5
Wrangler
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Mays Landing, NJ
Posts: 11,787
I know that Sony advises against using the 80 minute tapes on their pro cameras. Evidently the thinner tape is more likely to stretch and create problems.
Boyd Ostroff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 12th, 2008, 08:25 AM   #6
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 93
I use Panasonic's AMQ tapes and have never had a problem with my A1.

I was told to not use Sony tapes with the Canon Dry Tape System since the Sonys are Wet Tapes.
Ryan Postel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 12th, 2008, 08:54 AM   #7
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Rio de Janeiro, BR
Posts: 170
Did you hear that from their support?
Is it really true? Anyone else can confirm this?

My friend has a XH-A1 and wants to know what is the best tape for his camera.
Would Sony be bad then?
__________________
Pietro Impagliazzo
flickr.com/photos/impagliazzo
Pietro Impagliazzo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 12th, 2008, 09:15 AM   #8
Obstreperous Rex
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: San Marcos, TX
Posts: 27,366
Images: 513
I was under the distinct impression that Canon-branded HDV cassettes were actually OEM'ed by Sony.
__________________
CH

Search DV Info Net | 20 years of DVi | ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!
Chris Hurd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 13th, 2008, 09:56 AM   #9
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Augusta Georgia
Posts: 5,421
If you fast forward an 83 minute tape in a Canon XL H1, then rewind it, it will stop before you get to the start of the tape. You will need to press rewind again to get to the start of the tape.

I only tested this once, but these were my results. I assume that this is a safety mechanism to prevent the rewind from running too long.

I would be interested if you footage starts at the beginning of the tape, or in the middle. If so, then the tape was not fully rewound.
__________________
Dan Keaton
Augusta Georgia
Dan Keaton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 13th, 2008, 12:59 PM   #10
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 6,609
Interesting. I've been using Panny 63s and some 83s for years in Sony PD150-170 DSR250 and JVC5000 with only an occassional dropout. Very occassional.

Don
Don Bloom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old June 18th, 2008, 11:52 AM   #11
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 93
Chris,
I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, but when buying tapes, I was told that by several sources, including the guys over at B&H. Didn't really find a reason that they would give me the false information since it was between two identically priced tapes...but I'm not an expert on the subject, so I've followed that advice ever since.
Ryan Postel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 2nd, 2008, 04:20 AM   #12
Major Player
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Scotland, Ayr www.amour weddingvideos.co.uk
Posts: 305
Well I've just finished filming series of 6 shows with 2 xh-a1s and i used mixture of pana
AY-DVM83SQ and AY-DVM63AMQ and I must say results were very poor, with at least one drop out on each tape. 6 tapes per night used so im not very happy. some of the 63AMQ tapes had 3 drop outs on the tapes. all recorded in HDV.
Never again..head clean and over to sony tapes, perhaps they are more expensive for a reason? lesson learned.
John Estcourt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 8th, 2008, 07:44 AM   #13
Regular Crew
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: New York
Posts: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Hurd View Post
I was under the distinct impression that Canon-branded HDV cassettes were actually OEM'ed by Sony.
I believe this correct. I've was told by a Canon rep to use Sony tape. (This of course before Canon started branding their own.)
Dave Ambrose is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 8th, 2008, 07:50 AM   #14
Inner Circle
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: San Mateo, CA
Posts: 3,840
And I was told by Canon NOT to use Sony tape. But this was four or five years ago, so maybe it's changed. Again, this goes back to the 'wet/dry' issue, and the Canon rep in the service department in Irvine told me Sony was wet, and to use a 'dry' brand.

I shoot Panny exclusively.
Richard Alvarez is offline   Reply With Quote
Old July 8th, 2008, 12:41 PM   #15
Major Player
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 959
In all honesty, I believe that nobody, be it manufacturers, reps, users, etc. really knows a definitive proven answer to "which tape to use with X camera" or "the wet vs. dry" thing, or "clean heads before first use" questions, all of which have been beaten to death with a stick over the years. Everyone has their own opinions.

It all boils down to what works for one individual and stick with it. Some have good results with one manufacturers brand, while others may have horror stories.

I never liked to talk about politics or religion... they're just too argumentative and I think I'll add tape to that mix. :)
Bill Busby is offline   Reply
Reply

DV Info Net refers all where-to-buy and where-to-rent questions exclusively to these trusted full line dealers and rental houses...

B&H Photo Video
(866) 521-7381
New York, NY USA

Scan Computers Int. Ltd.
+44 0871-472-4747
Bolton, Lancashire UK


DV Info Net also encourages you to support local businesses and buy from an authorized dealer in your neighborhood.
  You are here: DV Info Net > The Tools of DV and HD Production > The Long Black Line

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

 



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:46 PM.


DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network