What is the best brand Mini DV tape for the DVX100a?

[Noah Kadner]

Panasonic 63MQ. I get mine at edgewise media. They will match any price you can find:

https://shop.store.yahoo.com/edgewisemedia/panmindv60mi4.html

Noah

[Tom Adams]

The manual says to yuse 60 (63)…but my question is …is it ok …do others have experience using the 83min Panasonic tapes (AY-DVM83PQ). I’ve been using them in my good ole Panasonic EZ-1 minidv camera for years without any problems whatsoever.

I just used (2) 83min tapes last week in my new dvx100a without any troubles.

I’m just hoping that the reason the manual says to use 63min tapes is because they’re more “reliable” and that they’re not going to cause any actual harm to the cmaera.

good to hear your thoughts. thanks

Regards,
Tom Adams – Director/Owner
Reelife Documentary Productions
“cool digital video stuff…not boring or dumb”
info@reelifeproductions.com http://www.reelifeproductions.com
Williamsburg, MA, USA
1.4Ghz DP mirrordoor G4
OS10.3.9, FCP 4.5 HD

[Noah Kadner]

The 83 minute tapes aren’t going to harm your cam but they are more prone to failure so they could harm your ability to reliably shoot.

Noah

[Tom Adams]

well, that’s good news, since, like i said, I’ve been using the 83min for a long time (5 years or more) and have had very little problem with dropouts etc. Just fyi. thanks

[Elusivectw]

So is it safe to use the MQ’s for when quality is a must, then switch to something like this:
https://www.tapestockonline.com/pan60minmin.html
or maybe this:
https://www.tapestockonline.com/pan63minprof.html
whenever you’re just testing footage and don’t want to burn expensive tapes?

Basically, once you pick a tape, can you migrate between tapes if you keep the same brand in there?

Also, I’m seeing a lot of stuff about the MQ’s being discontinued. So if I pick this tape, then 4 months from now I can’t find them, what do I do?

jc