Tape slack? Photos inside.....
 

I was looking at some of my tapes recently after rewinding them and I noticed an inconsistancy in the way the tape spools. You can litterally see up to the point at which I taped because all the tape after that point looks spooled tight and even. *see attached picture links*

This may be normal but I just figured I'd ask. Btw, I don't ff and rewind before recording to them...and I do use a dv tape rewinder.

http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/Laze...5/dsc00357.jpg

http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/Laze...5/dsc00358.jpg

*doesn't the F717 do some pretty nice macro shots

I'm not an expert and nor do I claim to be, but *that* looks terrible!

Just got my 'cam in the mail today from B&H.....wish I could test the tapes out but part of the package got stuck somewhere in Pennsylvania as a result of the holiday stampede.

I FF and REW blank tapes in the camera that will record on the tape. The tape then is optimized (how it lays in relationship to the tape path alignment) to record on that camera. During shipping and handling of the blank tape, spikes or peaks in the tape will form. In theory, the camera will be able to align the tape for proper recording by the time the tape reaches the upper drum assembly (heads) and video is recorded by the heads. In practice, irregularities in various tape path alignments and misalignment of the tapes, can cause tapes recorded on one camera to have problems playing back on another camera.

The problems can be minor dropouts or at the other extreme the inability of the tape to even playback.