I read on an old thread that it was advisable to stick to the same make of tapes (though one doesn't have to use the same make as the camcorder).
Apparently this was because some make of tapes are dry and some are wet.
What effect does this difference have?
Which makes are wet and which dry?
Which do you think are best?
I need to film just things at home but also on trek at high altitude sometimes. Which sort of tape do you think will perform best while on trek?
As always - thank you
Joy

This was a very early dv problem, sony used different coatings than everybody else, if you used all sony you were fine, if you used all anyotherbrand then you were fine, if you mixed the two then trouble, it was resolved years ago, until sony launched their new hd master tapes, some forums have reported head clogging problems, basically I use maxell, as they are fairly cheap & maxell offer a data recovery service should the tape fail.

[senu]

The Mini DV tape manufacturers especially Sony are not very open in that they generally will not let it be known if the tapes are "wet or dry."
The Wet or Dry description refers to the tape ( coating) lubricant and does not affect where or how it is specifically used.
As such any decent make can be used either at home or on trek it shouldnt matter.
Sony apparently stopped using the wet lubricant after a furore of malfuntioning camcorder tape heads which needed to be professionally cleaned when different tape types were used after using its tapes( the mix is quite unkind to tape heads)
I think they still have rogue batches or may have furtively gone back to using the "wet" coating on occasion after the bad publicity had died down. Not too long ago , the newly released FX1 HD camcorder heads have proved sensitive to using different tapes. In Response, Sony relased a batch of tapes "optimised " for HD recording and appropriately more expensive : That is a typical Sony response
To reiterate Roys Advice, In short, where possible, stick to a particular tape from one manufacturer and you will avoid the hassle of mixing .

OK Thanks very much. Thank God for these forums. As a complete beginner (haven't bought the camcorder yet) one gets very limited advice from Jessops or Comet.
It's interesting trawling this forum. One gets a sort of overall impression and I feel I should stay away from Canon camcorders and sony tapes! I was appalled at how people were treated by Canon with the particular malfunctioning model - can't remember the model number right now.

[vonhosen]

Originally Posted by joyous

OK Thanks very much. Thank God for these forums. As a complete beginner (haven't bought the camcorder yet) one gets very limited advice from Jessops or Comet.
It's interesting trawling this forum. One gets a sort of overall impression and I feel I should stay away from Canon camcorders and sony tapes! I was appalled at how people were treated by Canon with the particular malfunctioning model - can't remember the model number right now.

To be fair to Canon they appear to be doing alright by the customers now (if these forums are anything to go by).

[evans]

I have a fairly new sony camcorder (only 10 tapes made). I started to use jvc tapes supplied free when i bought it. Then switched to Sony and then panasonic. Unfortunately I didnt know about the problems of mixing tape brands. So some of my tapes have sound problems, it is like a screech sound. and sometimes visual distortion. I have since checked the tapes and nearly all have got the tape crinkle.

I dont know if the problems are from using different tapes but i think so, to remedy the problem i cleaned the head with a cleaning tape (tdk) and cleaned the capstan with alcohol. The capstan, type guides etc were not dirty at all. I found that the tape crinkle problems on sony trv 900 machines was solved by mainly cleaning the capstan. I think now the head is also contributing to the problems due to the mixing of the tape solutions.

I will stick to panasonic tapes i think as they are the dry type and of what I have heard they are better for the heads than the wet type of sony?

[senu]

Originally Posted by evans

.....panasonic tapes i think as they are the dry type and of what I have heard they are better for the heads than the wet type of sony?

..............You heard right! To be fair though, Sony tape are ok as long as you dont change your mind later or run out of Sony tapes and then need another type

[MarkE19]

I've run 20 to 30 tapes through my TRV-900e over the years. So far I've not had any problems, but do make sure that I only ever use the same Sony tapes, simply because I got 5 of these supplied free when I bought the cam and at that time miniDV tapes were £10+ each.

Mark.

[evans]

mark

this is what i intent to do just use one brand of tapes, i had no idea about how brand tape mixing can cause problems until i had them. apparently tape crinkle problems are common for the trv 900, but since you didnt mix tapes then this could be the reason for the tape crinkle

[MarkE19]

Hopefully I can avoid tape crinkle etc - well I have so far. I think I got the cam in spring 1999 and have had no problems with it.

You watch - next time I go to use it.............

Mark.