Can anyone tell me where I can buy any mini dv (and Canon in particular) tapes in sets of 5, 10 or more which would be more cost effective?

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

Gilbert

Look no further than my sponsor, Pro-Tape in Austin, Texas. I've been buying media from them ever since I was in film school. Go to my Sponsors page at www.dvinfo.net or directly to their site at www.pro-tape.com

Canon does not make DV cassettes. They only put their wrapper around Panasonic tape and charge a bit more for it. You can use either Sony or Pansonic DV cassettes for your XL1; it makes no difference.

Give Pro-Tape a shout. Hope this helps,

I've heard that Sony videotapes are more abrasive and wear out your tape heads quicker. Part of the whole "planned obsolescence" scheme. It's really no wonder that most Sony products with moving parts break down sooner than they should, and that they invent a new format every other week. I don't know if this applies to their MiniDV tapes, though.

Thanks - I'll go to protape!

Gilbert

Chris or anyone who's tried different MiniDV tapes - what are your recommendations for a tape that's drop out free (as much as that's possible) and comes in a cassette that will handle shuttling without "derailing" the tape?

I've been using Sony DVM60RM and buying in boxes of 5. The RM is a bit expensive due to the IC built into the tape. Having a tape with a memory can come in handy but I'm not sure it's worth the extra dollars if it's as good as or the same as the regular DVM60.

I know Fuji is well respected in most formats. Any thoughts on Fuji? I haven't tried it in the MiniDV format.

for the sony line of mini-dv and dv tapes in bulk you can also check out filmtools.com.

Everyone has their favorite -- mine is taperesources.com. They have been amazingly responsive. I typically use the Panasonic DVM63MQ Master (white cassette). You probably can't go wrong with any of the premium tapes, although it's not advisable to mix-and-match, so the general advice goes....

Cheers, Vic

Is here a German user who knows a store like pro-tape in Germany ? I don't know were to buy PQ or MQ quality tapes here in Germany and shipping to Germany is expensive...

Thanks Chris - just ordered from Pro-tape. Got the premium sony for less than I used to get the std sonts for thru my previous supplier.

I order from tapeandmedia.com - they are really sweet and deliver overnight to NYC. And they have *everything* you could possibly ever need. Great people.

Why are the imported tapes at "www.pro-tape.com" for the Fuji cheaper than the domestic labeled one? I think it's $4.XX for the domestic and $2.XX for the import one.

They are grey market tapes, labeled for sale in a different market (non-US). They cost less because (presumably) they do not have the advertising, marketing, sales cost, etc. that Fuji USA puts on their officially imported tapes.

Jeff

The grey market tapes (and cameras!) are cheaper because the companies that manufacture them can sell them in certain places in the world ONLY if they offer them at a much lower price than they can get in the richy-rich USA. So that's exactly what they do: They sell their things cheaper there, making, presumably less profit per item. Or perhaps the item is not quite as good (batteries are a good example of that). Grey market vendors go to those countries, buy those things wholesale at cheap prices and ship them into the US, where they sell them to American buyers for far less than identical (or apparently identical) product offerings in the US market.

The downside is that the warranties on all such goods tend to be completely void -- the manufacturer warranties that product *only* if it was ultimately retailed in the targeted country. Also a lot (not all) of the companies that do this kind of thing are shady-type characters, who may also indulge in bait-and-switch tactics, or sell some poor unsuspecting American a PAL camcorder when they thought they were buying NTSC -- that kind of thing. But that's what the 'gray market' is all about. It plays with tax rates, duties, customs variations, corporate pricing strategies, and bulk purchasing to deliver products at remarkable prices...but 'buyer beware!'

Sooo...has anyone had any experience in these Fuji "grey market" tapes? Are they of the same quality, and other such questions.....?

A company, such as Fuji, reflects the costs of its operations in the US, in it's products. When Fuji sponsor an event, has a blimp, employees with health care benefits etc. those costs are recovered in the sale of it's goods.

Fuji in South America probably does not have a blimp, and the standard of living and costs for employees are lower. Therefore the products cost less. There are companies that wholesale in grey market items and resellers can purchase direct from them. If the reseller is purchasing large enough quantities they can sometimes purchase direct, eliminating a wholesaler.

Jeff

Jim, good DV tape is already so inexpensive, why bother with the cheap stuff. Pro-Tape supplies it because unfortunately there's a demand and all of their competitors offer it too.

But DV tape is already the least expensive component in the production chain... why risk your production over a couple of bucks. Myself, I would never spend *less* than four or five bucks per tape. In my opinion just about anybody can afford *not* too trifle with the dirt-cheap stuff; do yourself a favor and leave it alone.

Pro-Tape is still the best place to buy from, not to mention (again) that they sponsor our DV Info Net Community here. Hope this helps,

You know how they make the tape, right? A big wide band that they cut into strips. The best stuff comes from the middle of the strip, the tape that is of lower quality comes from the edges. I think there is little doubt that the tape sold at lower prices -- anywhere -- is going to be the lowest quality tape produced by that maker. So it's a good bet that the grey market tape, while 'real Fuji', is probably the weakest stuff they make.

Think about the international shipping. Is the gray marketeer being careful about the temperature control in the container they use when they are shipping your tape in from Korea or Brazil? Not if their goal is to sell at the absolutely lowest price: They're taking the absolute cheapest route to moving the tape from there to here. That can mean boxes stacked too high, pressures, temperature fluctuations, all kinds of things that Fuji, Sony, and other reputable companies would never allow in their shipping.

and then there's the problem of tape that looks like Fuji, but it's not. Someone has stolen the Fuji brand and look and has stuck some other tape in that package, so you're not even getting what you think you are. This type of product is sold as if it is 'gray market,' but it's really a brand-theft. Those cassettes will often contain less tape than is indicated on the package, and of course at very very low quality. That's the kind of thing that can happen to you when you purchase grey market (or what you think is gray market) stuff.

I agree with Chris and Jeff. Think of what you are doing when you are buying gray market tape: You are demonstrating a fierce determination to be absolutely certain that you -- YOU! -- are that videographer among all the videographers in the world who is working hardest and showing the most determination to be certain that they are buying absolutely the cheapest, crappiest tape on the face of the Earth.

Whyy....??

This a little off topic but will bring home the point about grey market goods. This advisory (http://www.olympusamerica.com/innards/productadvisory.htm) was just put out my Olympus Cameras America.

Jeff