Suppose the dropout problem reappears after two weeks. Will B&H still accept the camera back in return? That would be the second time. They happen to be a good seller, but there has to be a limit.

The rest of us who bought from Buydig are wondering how good their return policy is. This seems like a good time to look up Panasonic's factory repair center phone # and address.

In the manual it says that the heads have to be replaced after 1000 hours. Well, what does this mean to the end user? Are some destined to fail at 500 hrs, or 250 hrs? That would be dreadful.

You sorta get suspicious when the manufacturer gives you a free cleaning tape as an accessory, but doesn't give you an MQ tape. What are we to read between the lines?

Marc you bring up some very good points. All worth looking into- this is the time to be an informed buyer and be aware of issues that may occur.

As for B&H here's how it goes: they allow returns on video equipment but only within 7 days of purchase and you must have ALL original papers and packaging as well as blank warranty cards- they inspect returns very carefully and anything that is not in pristine condition is subject to a hefty restocking fee or denial of return alltogether- nothing unacceptable but do remember this is an aspect of business they likely don't care for!!!! So you have 7 days to abuse your camcorder and make sure it's a top performing piece of equipment as to bring out any flaws if there are any- sounds bad but with only 7 days to return- there's limited time to find out about any problems....if you're a NYC native or within driving distance- they're the best bet in town. If you're gonna mail order I'd suggest checking into the site's sponsors and check for the better return policies- this might be the biggest aspect of purchasing merchandise of unknown quality.

I myself think this new DVC80 will be fine as i have purposely done everything that has caused issues with other people's DVX/DVC cameras to misbehave- everything from using consumer grade mini-DV tapes to using tapes that are not tightly wound and recording in LP mode and letterbox- yet this particular DVC has come through perfectly 100%- so I finally feel I have a perfect working DVC80- but only time will tell how good it really is- but all indicators point to a relaible unit. I will likely get the 2/4 year MACK warranty as it's probably worth it's weight in gold with these Panasonics.

I really hope Panasonic doesn't continue to have problems with the DV C/X series of camcorders as they truly are excellent pieces of video equipment worthy of the praise and accolades they have received.......I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my unit! Hope you guys get good results with yours.

1 More thing i'd like to ad. These forums are a great source for networking of information- but you have to keep in mind that most of the forum particiants have perfectly working DV camcorders but will vocally make note of improper working camcorders of which others will chime in about problems as well- it will come across as a plaque of problems but in reality it's a small slice of sold units of which likely 95%+ work perfectly......it's the small 5% of us that have problems that everyone reads about......so I'd hate to think I was personally bashing the DVC80 or DVX line, but more pointing out flaws which seem somewhat prevalent but to what extent is unknown....the fact that my current DVC works well is testament that not every DVC/DVX is affected with poor heads.....but that there are a number of units which do appear to have problems.

Nuff said!

Steve - I just watched your .mov of the problem. That is not typical tape drop out. I had that problem with my DVX when it was brand new. The pixelation was random. Yours was not. There was definitely a mechanical/electrical problem with your camera. I think this is a different issue than we've all been having with our heads getting clogged after a few minutes of use.

I'm glad you got a new camera and hope it serves you well.

Peter,

well I can only speak of the issues I had with my personal DVC and what you saw in that .mov was what I was experiencing, if that was not typical of the complaints here re: drop-outs etc- all the more reason to suspect head problems with these Panasonics....maybe there was/is some sort of quality control issue over at Pan that let a bunch of these models out with suspect heads- I just hope there are only a handful of them out there.

Can someone post a short clip with the drop-outs they've experienced?

Here's a short 1 minute video showcasing the new DVC80 and how well it's working for me- so far I am very pleased with this new DVC....much impressed!

http://stevenunez.com/video/dvc80sample.mov

Steve.. How did you acheive Film look with your DVC 80 film you showed??? Post Production i assume... I have a DVC 80 I got back in Early September It works great.. No Problems yet.. knock on wood. I am using Fuji DV film.. It works great!

Film Look
 

Hi Scott,

I duplicated the clip directly over itself- removed the upper filed on the top clip and removed the lower field on the lower clip- I also used a gaussian blur at 20% and a reduced opacity of about 40% and changed the top clip's composite mode to "soft light"....this works really well in FCP and works really well in producing a film-look.

Steve:

Why did you not get a DVX100 if you are film looking your DVC80 footage?

Actually most of my work is nature videography which calls for the sharpest video image possible- I find the DVC80's 60i footage to be fantastic.....I merely film-looked the end portion to that posted clip as a way of showing the "film look" possibilty with a DVC80...

...I am now going to use the DVC80 as a way to compile DVD's of my custom motorcycle work for viewing at shows (In addition to the nature work)

here's my newest endeavor with the DVC80.....

http://bronxpowersports.com/cycles/Edscustomcruiser/edscustom.html