Called Panasonic Broadcast today....
 

Called Panasonic Broadcast today- after 30 minutes on hold I was finally able to talk to a technician. He was able to give me insite on a few things about the DVX we may or may not have known:

1. As far as my recent head clog problem using Sony tapes. He suggested putting a fresh tape in and fast-forwarding and rewinding it to help clear the head clog. He said to avoid using the more abrasive head cleaner that doing this with a normal tape might help. He explained that even normal tapes are minutely abrasive.
Then again if I'm gonna be switching to MQ tapes- using the a sony tape in that manor would defeat the whole purpose!

2. The DVX, unklike many of Panasonics broadcast cams, has only one head for both recording and playback. Apparently usually there are two- one for each action.

3. The DVC-80 IS the same exact camera as the DVX100 minus 24p. The DVX shares the same alloy body and tape transport. He said it's nothing more than a "stripped down DVX100". I just figured I'd mention it because there was a bit of speculation regarding how similar the two cams were.



So I guess I'll go ahead and swith to the highly recomended MQ tapes, beforehand I'll have to run the head cleaner. Does anyone know how long I should run it, beings I put like 20+ hours on it using the Sony Premium tapes that use the wet lube.

Max 6 to 10 sec.

Johnnie

Called on lunch hour. :(

DVC80 has neither 24p nor 30p, just 60i. Its case is black.

Otherwise it is the same. It is $500 less. B&H may have it $600 less. Otherwise it probably doesn't have the same level of availability at other retailers.

<< Otherwise it is the same >>

Not quite... the DVC80 doesn't have the DVX100's CineGamma menu, either. The price difference is fairly substantial and the 80 represents a good choice for the event videographer who doesn't need 24p.