Mini DV Tapes

[stalker11]

Is there any noticable picture quality difference between standard DV tapes and the more expensive ones labelled Pro. These panasonic ones I've been looking at claim to be made of some sort of Crystal Magnetic Material for outstanding picture quality.

By the way, I have a Canon GL2.

[MJA]

" the one main difference in tapes is the how they are lubricated. Sony uses a wet lubricant, while other brands use a dry lubricant. It's recommended not to mix these tapes because the different lubricants mixing can "gum up" the video camera head and other parts in the transport leading to eaten tapes."

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/t116270.html

[garryheather]

Nope, digits are digits. As long as the data can be read off the tape then the picture quality will be identical.

Where better quality tapes come into it is in rough handling or worse environment conditions and / or data longetivity when archiving. But for most people the difference here is negligable.

[edDV]

Not for "picture quality" but the pro tapes are much better built and intended for heavy duty editing without stretching. Sony and other pro tapes also include a memory chip that offers logging and setup memory features when used with pro camcorders.

If you are taping something important, like a wedding, consider using pro tape.

[garryheather]

... and another thing. Lubricant as such isn't on the tape itself. If it is, there's something wrong with it and yes, in that case, it can mess up the head (and anything else in the tape path). The backing material can make a difference - eg in how fast it sheds the magnetic coating - and as it touches the head this can get contaminated over time.

But if the lube mentioned in the link above is what I think it is, ie the lubricant applied to things like rollers inside the cassette, the last thing you want is a liquid based lube in hot conditions as it can partially evaporate / liquify and leak if heavily used and you don't want that muck in your camcorder. Most lubes are silicon based grease anyway, were not talking engine oil here.

Sounds like marketing ploy to me, manufacturers are (and probably always will be) big in promoting the use of their own products, thus increasing sales.

[nwo]

don't know if this is any help to you!