Have a Panasonic AG-DV1000 deck. Works great! Saves wear and tear on the GL2. Works great for capturing, printing to tape and used during the editing process to a television monitor. (I use it with Vegas 4.0 and it's capture software)

Ted

have panasonic ag dv 2000 deck ... handles mini and full size dv tapes.. it can also playback DVCAM tapes.

I also have a Panasonic AG-DV1000 deck. I purchased it because it costs less than many of the decks available and I really wanted a deck instead of a second camcorder. This was before the JVC one with dual MiniDV and VHS, otherwise it would have been between those two. The AG-DV1000 works fine so far through Avid Xpress DV 3.5.

Paul,

I;ve got a JVC SR-VS20 mini-dv and SVHS deck...its the best thing i've ever gotten to date, well atleast for my purposes.

only slight problem with it is premiere doesn't like to print to video to the deck sometimes, but once its on DV, copying to VHS for distribution is easy, or capturing from VHS is great, and it's much less expensive then the XL1s (1/4 price) so i don't mind wearing out the heads on it

just my 2 cents
~Mike

There currently is also another thread on this here!

The don't mix brands caution applies to any tape inserted in the camcorder for any reason - whether recording, playing back for viewing, or for firewire capture. It is all the same as far as the mechanical system is concerned.

So Don,

Are you saying don't mix brands of high quailty tapes in the canon XL-1?

You could also consider just buying a ZR40, since it has real-time analog pass through and it can be had for about $390 off the web,,, that is what I use for a deck in the field - it's a lot easier to pack than a deck. I have yet to experience any problems using a ZR40 in this way.

- don

I agree with Don. I have an elura 40mc that i use as my deck. Its better than wearing out my xl1s and suits my needs perfectly. Even has a little LCD screen on the side (not that i really need that but its fun to have haha)

The issue is that tapes with different characteristics (mechanical and chemical) will leave different deposits in any camcorder. If after a long standing diet of one tape youchange to another with different properties, it may cause deposits to shift, float aroudn, clog heads, etc. Some brands are just remarking of another well known brand, but who knows which is what? (E.g., Canon branded may be Panasonic in side. Panasonic and JVC tape might be from the same factory given that they have the same parent company.) Even within a brand there may be different formulations that could cause a somewhat similar effect. Thus, a generally safe practice is to stick with one brand/type of tape, and to plan on a head cleaning if you have to change brands/types.

You know that with the JVC SR-VS20 deck you can record directly to the S-VHS side from the computer? And capture to the computer via firewire from the S-VHS side too?

"a generally safe practice is to stick with one brand/type of tape, and to plan on a head cleaning if you have to change brands/types."

That mean one or two passes of a head cleaning tape or factory cleaning of the heads???

I use a Panasonic AG-DV1000 Mini DV deck as my source deck. I shoot using a XL-1 and a GL2. I use Panasonic tapes after having a poor experience several times with brand new JVC tapes. Having the source deck definately saves wear 7 tear on my cameras.

As a backup source deck, I recently purchased a Sony TRV 17 Mini Dv camera but the bottom loading feature is a pain in the neck once the camera is connected to my computer (the wires get in the way of loading & ejecting).

JVC MiniDV/SVHS Deck and Premiere
 

I saw that you stated the JVC Combo deck had problems "printing to video in Premiere". Is this when trying to preview with a monitor attached to the deck? I'm buying a deck in the next month and am having a hard time choosing and finding information on these decks. I hear the Panasonic DV1000 is a good deck, but also heard this guys heads ran out after 100hrs. Any info would be appreciated.

Michael

I also use a ZR40 as a deck. Cheap, small, portable, and hey, it's a video camera too! :)