DV Tape for XL1 or XL1S
 

Good DV Tape for XL1S

I just bought a new XL1S and am using a Canon DVM-E80.
It is not easy to find a Canon tape locally.
I know I can buy 80 min tape from zgc.com.

Do you recommend any other brand's 60 min DV tape with same quality as Canon tape? Where to buy?

I heard I need to clean the head with a head cleaning tape
before I switch to the different brand to clean the lubricant from
the previous DV tape.

Canon tape is Panasonic tape in a canon wrapper, thanks for your dv200 reply to my dv capture question.

Jerry

Panasonic MQ Masters are great tapes -- they use a dry lube.

I'd avoid 80 minute tapes like the plague!

Vic

I've used Panasonic and Fuji tapes for years with no trouble. I've also used the 80 min Panasonic tapes (SP mode only) with no trouble. (Vic, what do you know that I should know? Plague is a really bad thing.).


There are several reputable online sites that sell tape. Here are a couple that I've used:

www.tapeonline.com
www.tapeguys.com

Ha! Maybe just a tiny plauge!

I've had an 80 min cassette get wound up in the mechanism before. It's a little thinner than the 60. Might have just been a coincidence, but it made me "goosey".

Taperesources.com is also a good place for tapes (even though it's not one of Chris' sponsors!)

I'm going to try one of the Firestore boxes to attempt to go "tapeless". Much longer record time.

Vic

I, too, am antsy to try a tape-less session. But I just have this cold-sweat vision of stopping the cam after shooting some irreplaceable footage only to turn around to see some nasty, flashing error light on my otherwise cold recorder.

Until Chris put me onto the Firestore, I was ready to spring for a DSR-11 so I could do l-o-n-g DVCAM tapes. I'm still considering it.

I share your concerns, but these days I get the same cold chill waiting to see what kind of disaster is residing on the internal tape (banding, drops, etc.) Shooting theater, I almost always shoot 2 performances to make sure I get useable footage.

Vic

The Sony "Excellence" are the best tape you can buy.

B&H will tell you the same.

Do I need to clean the head if I switch to Panasonic or Sony tape?
 

I am using Canon DV tape.
If I switch to Panasonic or Sony tape,
do I have to clean the head with a head cleaning tape
to avoid the mixing lubricants from two different tapes?

You'll get an amazing variety of opinions on this, and there have been several discussions on DV-L, etc.

The consensus seems to be that you should stick with one tape manufacturer. There have been various reports of mixing tapes causing problems, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore. I've heard that wet lubes, such as Sony, don't mix well with dry lubes, such as Panasonic (Canon). There's enough emperical evidence, though, that I don't mix tapes.

Bottom line, I'd find one you like and stick with it.

Vic

Tape stock
 

Can anyone tell me the best tape stock to use for the canon XL1? I am shooting a feature and would like to know your experiences. I have used Canon and the Panasonic pro tapes.

Tape
 

I use sony's only. I have found that with dv it is best to find one brand that you like and stick with it as switcing between tpae brands can cause head clogs.

I believe that Canon's tape -is- actually Panasonic, simply rebranded. I use the Panasonic brand myself. With respect to Aaron's remark concerning head clogs from mixing brands, this is largely anecdotal observation but seems to be valid. Panasonic uses a dry lubricant in their cassettes whereas I believe that Sony uses some type of light fluid. When switching brands it's generally recommended to use a cleaning cassette before inserting the 2nd brand of tape into the camera.

Panasonic
 

The way i see it- Canon has probably logged alot of time into testing various DV tapes and rebadges Panasonic tapes as their own...I'd say using any of the better Panasonic tapes would be the best and safest bet.

I've been using the Panasonic DVM60E tapes and have had ZERO problems.

Good luck.

Good to know. I do like the Panasonic Pro's. I was not aware Canon re-labeled panasonic as their own. Is there any specific cleaning cassette recommended?