Tuesday, August 02, 2005

A Question of Tape

Hey, is there a difference between a "DVCAM" tape and a "MiniDV" tape?

6 comments:

slipshod said...

my understanding is that 'dvcam' is a brand of tape (which i believe sony holds the patent for) and minidv is simply the type of tape. i think. all i know is i can buy dvcam tapes and put them in my camera.

jhaddock said...

Ok, so playing a DVCam tape in an XL-1 and having it look like someone smashed the tracking with a hammer is probably the fault of whomever made the tape to begin with, then?

slipshod said...

not necessarily. there are two types of tape lubricants (used by different brands): dry and wet. if you don't clean your tape heads and use different tapes, you run the risk of getting a muddy, filmy combination of, aw, hell, as i might as well, santorum.

my advise: clean your tape heads and play the thing again. it may not be the tape at all.

jhaddock said...

Well, the fact that this XL-1 has been stored out of a case, on the floor, in the corner of an unused office could lend weight to it being the camera...

slipshod said...

um, steal the lens please.

jhaddock said...

We're in luck, because the lense hasn't been attached to the camera, and has been properly stored in a case, on a shelf.