Best tape for GS100K

Aylwin Cal · August 19th, 2003, 06:25 PM

Fujis are actually cheaper? :) I wish they were easier to find though. Everywhere I look it's Sony. Yesterday, I'd already given up on finding either Fuji or Panasonic but then I found Panasonic at the Family Mart across the street where I live. :)

Anyway, it looks to me like not switching tapes is more important than the actual model or brand of the tape. I guess I'll just stick with this cheaper Panasonic tape for now.

By the way, Jeff mentioned dropouts in his post. What's a dropout? Does it visually look like a glitch, like a bad frame or something?

Frank Granovski · August 19th, 2003, 06:37 PM

Dropped frames (misses a frame or more), dropped or scrambly audio, blocks/noisy video. All bad!

Bogdan Vaglarov · August 19th, 2003, 07:30 PM

Thanks Frank, I've read quite a lot on the tape topic after I came to this forum. Before that I didn't care switching tapes but did had some block noise after long use which I thought is due to the LP mode.

Actually I didn't want to recomend TDK - it's just my opinion based on the analog tapes (digital or analog they are magnetic tapes after all).

I'll be checking Fuji too as they did had the best reputation for camcorder tapes (VHS-C). Panasonic has good reputation now for miniDV.

Both TDK and Fuji in Japan seem to have new production line - TDK comes in 3 colors and Fuji is cool white.
Many brands offer also playful transperent case tapes but looking more carefully I found they are of a bit lesse quality even from the standard tapes (specs given by makers).

Aylwin, you buy tapes from Family Mart? They should be quite more expencive there. Which is Nagoya's main electronics shop? For example for Oita it's Besto Denki (nobody in Tokyo probably have heard of that). Go and check in the main city of your prefecture. You could buy also via Internet - 10 Pana cost 3680 JPY without tax & delivery. On hat-in.com if you buy for more than 20000yen you have free shipment. They have large accessory list - go check it out.

Samuel Raj · August 19th, 2003, 07:55 PM

I also read what Jeff mentioned ;)

He also said, He used TDK "SEVERAL" years ago, that means, may be when Mini dv was first introduced, I dont know! And He also asserted, Now TDK may bring better tapes(manufacturers never tell their technology or lubricant;) )

What I understand from Frank's website dvfreak.com, TDK uses similar lubricant like panasonic.

And from my experiences with TDK, I never had any bad experiences with TDK.

I am also just telling my OPINION. like how Jeff expressed his OPINION and experiences.

If any one experienced problems with TDK with current technology, then we have to completely agree!

Since TDK is a full fledged Tape manufacturer like Bogdan said, I have no other reason to shift from what I am using now as long as i had no drop outs in the past.

I did record almost 5 times on the same TDK cassette, Still giving same quality..

Frank Granovski · August 19th, 2003, 08:31 PM

With my personal cams, I've only had problems with JVC tapes, and they were severe however that was many years ago. Recently, I had a brand new Panasonic dry miniDV head cleaner, and it didn't work---I mean, it would even turn, so the cam would just come up with a tape error message. Nice, huh? I should return it or exchange it for a Fuji "cleaner." :)

Now, in my early days of miniDV, when I worked almost every day shooting, I used all sorts of tape in all sorts of cams. I used what was givin to me to shoot with. The only tapes I recall which never gave us problems were Pana and Fuji. (Yes, we used TDK, Sony, Maxell, Canon, JVC---you name.) Finally the guy I was shooting for got smart and stuck with Pana. However, his 2 Pana cams were garbage, even though one of them cost a bundle (in those days).

Me? Today? I don't like taking chances. Fuji has always come through for me. Some of their pro 35mm SLR/Rangefinder colour film is also top notch---a little expensive though. VCR tapes? Yup. I tried them all. The Sony ones would break all the time. So I use Fuji Pro. Out of about 2000 or more Fuji Pro tapes, I only had 1 break on me. With the Fuji Master, I had only 1 break out of about 300.

Aylwin Cal · August 20th, 2003, 07:15 PM

Bogdan, thanks for the advice. I know Family Mart's not the best place to buy stuff but I had a brand new dv cam with no tape so I was desperate.

There's Besto Denki but not near where I live. There's also Eiden but they're closed this week.

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August 19th, 2003, 06:25 PM	#16
Aylwin Cal Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 38	Fujis are actually cheaper? :) I wish they were easier to find though. Everywhere I look it's Sony. Yesterday, I'd already given up on finding either Fuji or Panasonic but then I found Panasonic at the Family Mart across the street where I live. :) Anyway, it looks to me like not switching tapes is more important than the actual model or brand of the tape. I guess I'll just stick with this cheaper Panasonic tape for now. By the way, Jeff mentioned dropouts in his post. What's a dropout? Does it visually look like a glitch, like a bad frame or something?

August 19th, 2003, 06:37 PM	#17
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Dropped frames (misses a frame or more), dropped or scrambly audio, blocks/noisy video. All bad!

August 19th, 2003, 07:30 PM	#18
Bogdan Vaglarov Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 366	Thanks Frank, I've read quite a lot on the tape topic after I came to this forum. Before that I didn't care switching tapes but did had some block noise after long use which I thought is due to the LP mode. Actually I didn't want to recomend TDK - it's just my opinion based on the analog tapes (digital or analog they are magnetic tapes after all). I'll be checking Fuji too as they did had the best reputation for camcorder tapes (VHS-C). Panasonic has good reputation now for miniDV. Both TDK and Fuji in Japan seem to have new production line - TDK comes in 3 colors and Fuji is cool white. Many brands offer also playful transperent case tapes but looking more carefully I found they are of a bit lesse quality even from the standard tapes (specs given by makers). Aylwin, you buy tapes from Family Mart? They should be quite more expencive there. Which is Nagoya's main electronics shop? For example for Oita it's Besto Denki (nobody in Tokyo probably have heard of that). Go and check in the main city of your prefecture. You could buy also via Internet - 10 Pana cost 3680 JPY without tax & delivery. On hat-in.com if you buy for more than 20000yen you have free shipment. They have large accessory list - go check it out.

August 19th, 2003, 07:55 PM	#19
Samuel Raj Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 210	I also read what Jeff mentioned ;) He also said, He used TDK "SEVERAL" years ago, that means, may be when Mini dv was first introduced, I dont know! And He also asserted, Now TDK may bring better tapes(manufacturers never tell their technology or lubricant;) ) What I understand from Frank's website dvfreak.com, TDK uses similar lubricant like panasonic. And from my experiences with TDK, I never had any bad experiences with TDK. I am also just telling my OPINION. like how Jeff expressed his OPINION and experiences. If any one experienced problems with TDK with current technology, then we have to completely agree! Since TDK is a full fledged Tape manufacturer like Bogdan said, I have no other reason to shift from what I am using now as long as i had no drop outs in the past. I did record almost 5 times on the same TDK cassette, Still giving same quality..

August 19th, 2003, 08:31 PM	#20
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	With my personal cams, I've only had problems with JVC tapes, and they were severe however that was many years ago. Recently, I had a brand new Panasonic dry miniDV head cleaner, and it didn't work---I mean, it would even turn, so the cam would just come up with a tape error message. Nice, huh? I should return it or exchange it for a Fuji "cleaner." :) Now, in my early days of miniDV, when I worked almost every day shooting, I used all sorts of tape in all sorts of cams. I used what was givin to me to shoot with. The only tapes I recall which never gave us problems were Pana and Fuji. (Yes, we used TDK, Sony, Maxell, Canon, JVC---you name.) Finally the guy I was shooting for got smart and stuck with Pana. However, his 2 Pana cams were garbage, even though one of them cost a bundle (in those days). Me? Today? I don't like taking chances. Fuji has always come through for me. Some of their pro 35mm SLR/Rangefinder colour film is also top notch---a little expensive though. VCR tapes? Yup. I tried them all. The Sony ones would break all the time. So I use Fuji Pro. Out of about 2000 or more Fuji Pro tapes, I only had 1 break on me. With the Fuji Master, I had only 1 break out of about 300.

August 20th, 2003, 07:15 PM	#21
Aylwin Cal Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 38	Bogdan, thanks for the advice. I know Family Mart's not the best place to buy stuff but I had a brand new dv cam with no tape so I was desperate. There's Besto Denki but not near where I live. There's also Eiden but they're closed this week.