using an old camcorder to rewind tapes?
 

hi there
I am waiting for my Z1 to arrived (found one almost 0 hours) but I am wondering if I can keep using my old Canon just for mechanic duties (rewinding and stuff)

as I would be using HDV tapes and the Canon is NOT and HDV camcorder, will I be at risk of ruining the tapes?

In my opinion, you don't need to use a separate camcorder to rewind the tapes. There's not that much strain on the parts when you rewind (as in stop-rewind, not review.) Playing a tape recorded in HD on a non-HD camcorder shouldn't damage the tape (as long as it's the same kind of tape, ie MiniDV.) You just won't be able to see what's recorded on it.

Ed's right: you can, but you don't need to do this. It's not the rewinding that's the problem for the cam in using it as a capture device, it would be the constant shuttling back and forth if you are capturing only selected scenes with in and out points rather than just capturing the entire tape in one go. And even so, the Z1 is built like a tank and will easily handle whatever you can throw at it.

But it certainly won't damage the tape in any way. And note that you never have to use the special HDV tapes; any MiniDV tape will do, as has been much-discussed in the tape forum.

I'll join in and say it's better not to use 'an old camcorder' to rewind tapes. Why? because old camcorders have old decks in them, and old decks get out of alignment and the feed and take-up hub tensions change. Some older camcorders have rather 'sudden' starts and stops also, whereas the more expensive DV decks gently accelerate and decelerate the tape. This is good news for vulnerable and very thin tape. Use your Z1.

tom.