80-min mini-dv tapes

[David Crump]

>> A couple questions.
>>
>> 1.  If Fuji a good brand?  Comparable to Sony?
>>
> I haven't tried their miniDV tapes (get a great price on TDK at 
> Costco),
> but would expect fine quality. Their DVD-Rs, VHS, and Beta tapes have
> all been top-notch products. They also make very good 35mm film.
> Generally, I prefer Fuji to Sony, sight unseen

I've been using all Fuji MiniDV tapes with my Canon ZR10 since I got it 
(except for the single Canon MiniDV tape that they included with the 
camera).  No complaints.  I've stuck with the single brand because I 
read here a while back not to switch brands due to different lubricants 
wreaking havoc on your camera (don't know if that is really an issue).

>> But, to finally get to my second question:  will recording in LP 
>> mode=20
>> mean loss in  quality?  (Again, in case it makes a difference, I'll=20
>> just be recording onto these tapes once.  Just to archive the stuff).
>>
> It shouldn't cause a quality loss, so long as you play back on the same
> device with which you recorded. My experience with LP has been that
> taking the tape to a different camcorder causes problems, but that a
> closed environment is fine.
>
To me this means that LP mode is NOT a good idea for archiving 
purposes.  I have heard before of problems playing back a tape recorded 
in LP mode on a camera different from the one that recorded it.  I 
wouldn't want to risk it for archiving my tapes.  Who knows if your 
current camera is still going to be working years down the road, and if 
it's the only one that will play your tapes properly, you might be out 
of luck.
Dave.