In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

A couple of weeks ago I bought a Canon A1s HDV camcorder and want to preserve the heads.

What mini dv rewinders would you recommend that will not eat up the tape and are reliable?

Thank you.

Run, don't walk, to this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-xl...rame-mode.html

Written for the XL H series but equally applies to XH series. Hope this helps,

Chris,

That's way out of my budget.

I'm just volunteer to film church video broadcast on local access cable with all of the money coming out of my own pocket for equipment and production such as it is.

No one is helping me buy all the best stuff.

I'm just an amateur trying do do the best I can with limited means.

Kind Regards

The price of the HV series camcorders has fallen far below
$900 -- I suppose I should edit the title of that thread. You
can buy a refurbed HV40 for ~$500 or so.

If that's still too much, and if all you want is a rewinder,
then *any* DV camcorder will serve that purpose even
though they can't be used for playback.

You'll want to avoid an actual "rewinder" as there are
too many reports of those devices breaking tapes. A
camcorder's tape transport mechanism is easier on
the cassettes.

That said, you should also know that there's no way
you can "wear out" the heads or the motor on the
XH A1S just from re-winding or capturing tapes.
That's just a bad internet myth and there's no
truth to it whatsoever. As long as you're diligent
about sending the camcorder in for its yearly
factory service checks, you won't ever cause
any damage to the tape transport mechanism,
which is built specifically to handle rewinding
and playback.

The advantage of using a separate camcorder
for that function isn't to "save wear" on the main
camcorder. Instead it keeps the main camcorder
free to continue shooting without tying it up in the
edit bay. Hope this helps,

Re: In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

I would take Chris' advice. Years ago I bought a Sima mini DV tape rewinder and after using it twice I decided that the damage it seemed like it would cause to the tape (because of poor construction) wasn't worth it.

John

Re: In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

Chris is right. We used to sell the Sima Mini DV Tape rewinder and a similar rewinder made by Maxell. Both were poorly constructed and were prone to eat tape. We stopped selling them and ultimately Maxell and Sima stopped producing them.

Re: In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

Got a Maxell sitting on my shelf next to two tapes it ate--a reminder not to use it.

Re: In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

I have a Sima two-way tape rewinder for mini DV that I have used for years with no problems whatsoever. It's my tape deck that eats tapes.

Sima DV Rewinder Works for Me
 

I've had a Sima SRW-62 rewinder for almost 8 years and it's performed flawlessly. It's easy on batteries and has never damaged a tape. I'm sorry they no longer make them. I have no knowledge about any other brands.

Re: In search of a mini dv tape rewinder
 

get a consumer camcorder for under $100. not only can you rewind with it you can capture and take it on vacation.