ok, i have two questions

first off i was wondering what effects would using regular mini dv tapes have on using them in a camera like a sony pd 170?

second, i was wondering what the difference was between mini dv and dvcam...like the pd 170 is dvcam right? and an xl1s is mini dv.....i was wondering what are the good and bad of both were....

You can put any miniDV tape in PD170. If PD is in DVCAM mode it will record 40 min. on 60 min. tape. No problems at all cause DVCAM is same coding as DV, but runs tape at higher speed which means less possibility to have dropouts.