bulk mini dv tapes…..

[Doug Graham]

I use Tape Resources, https://www.taperesources.com

Tell ’em I sent you! That way I get a nice discount coupon from them to use on my next order (full disclosure here!) That’s not a special deal just for me, BTW, they give all their customers the same referral incentive.

Plus, they have good prices and GREAT service. I prefer to call them by phone and talk to the nice people, but you can order right off their website too.

Regards,
Doug Graham

[Kat Nofs]

Do you happen to know if they offer larger quantities then they show online? Becuase they only show up to 25 tapes, I was thinking more like 100 or so.

Also, do you have a better suggestion than using tapes? We are wedding videographers, using 2 Panasonic AG-DVX 100A cameras, and we are using up to 10 tapes per wedding. Obviously we recoup that expense in our fees, but if there is a better solution for the long run, I would love to hear about it. As far as wear on the camera goes, is using tapes going to greatly reduce the life of the cameras?

[Doug Graham]

Well, just order four of the 25 packs! 🙂
Anyway, Panasonic always packages their tapes in boxes of five, so you’ll wind up with twenty of the little cubes no matter what you do.

Ten tapes per wedding is a little more than most of the videographers I correspond with burn, but not all that much. If the expense is bothering you, you could re-use the tapes once or twice. I don’t myself, but many videographers feel the economy is worth the very slight extra risk.

Running tapes once through the camcorder while shooting is about the kindest thing you can do to your camcorder. Many videographers also use the camcorder to dump the footage to the computer, so that’s two passes per tape…still a very reasonable usage level. Camcorder heads are generally good for about 2000 hours of use (on average) before needing replacement. If you put that many hours on your DVC-100’s, they’ll probably be ready for retirement. (Assuming 5 tapes per camera per wedding, and two passes per tape, and a full hour of material on each tape, that comes to 200 weddings, or about five years of full-time wedding videography use.)

Of course, lots of us would like to get rid of tape entirely, with all its potential for dropouts, snarls, head clogs, etc. You can always get a Firestore or similar hard disk recorder…but you’ll probably still run a tape in the camera as a backup, just in case.

Regards,
Doug Graham

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

[Kat] “As far as wear on the camera goes, is using tapes going to greatly reduce the life of the cameras?”

Well, yes.
But if you “wear out” the tape transport section of the camcorder, you can still use the “camera” section with the FireWire connected to what you call a “better solution for the long run” which could be an external device of some kind like a “FireStore” (See the FireStore Forum here on the COW).

But consider a “better solution” might ONLY be “better” for a few reasons and NOT for others.

Large-capacity portable HD’s ($$) mean that you can record for much longer than 63 minutes in one setting, and you can edit directly from them without needing to capture the footage.
BUT, you’ll need MANY of these HD’s ($$$$$$) if you record several weddings in a short period (you’d need to fully edit and get approval on the projects before you could RECORD OVER and reuse the HDs.
And, ARCHIVAL back-up is a real concern if you use a portable HD for acquisition. With tape, you can simply KEEP the tapes (or SELL the masters to the client for THEM to keep as a backup against future need.)

So for the cost of a few tapes (and dub-time) you are saving a lot in “other” worries.

FWIW, I’ll bet that by the time you “wear out” your current camcorders, you’ll want to upgrade to newer technology anyway.

[Kat Nofs]

Just so you know, I found a place online, Pro-Tape.com, for 100 Panasonic Master Quality Mini DV 63MQ tapes, only $485 plus s&h!!

Thanks for the rest of the input, greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Kat
Video D’Amour

[Kat Nofs]

Like HD cameras!! Thanks for the input, it seems like the pros definitely outweigh the cons to using tape over some other device.

Regards,
Kat
Video D’Amour

[Bouncing Account needs new email address]

Just so you know, I found this listing on eBay.
This is nearly $1.00 per tape cheaper than your quote.
The listing says seller has 83 tapes avaliable (so you don’t even need to pay for 100 to get the low price.)
I see combined shipping is reduced for quantity orders.

NOTE: I know NOTHING about this seller but he has a very high feedback number and rating.
And, I have purchased HUNDREDS of Panasonic mini DV tapes (10 to 50 quanity at a time) on eBay and have never had a problem.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15073&item=7526944977&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[Kat Nofs]

Wow, thanks for the shopping help! But these were the professional quality, and we use the master quality. Not sure if there is a big difference, or what the difference is at all, other than price! Thanks again for all the help though, I will keep on eye on eBay now for our future tape needs!!

Regards,
Kat
Video D’Amour

[Charley King]

[Doug Graham] “Panasonic always packages their tapes in boxes of five”

Funny thing my Panasonic tapes come in boxes of ten, never had an order turned down because I ordered too many.

I use California Tape Products owned by a very nice lady and have had very good delivery and service from them.
https://www.caltape.com

Tell her Charlie King sent ya, doubt it will get either of us anything special but always good to let them know others are recommending them.

Charlie

[Doug Graham]

TEN?!
Man, I gotta talk to my supplier. Gotta get some of those bigger boxes! 🙂

Regards,
Doug Graham