X-David_R_Israel
Imported Account
Nov 12, 2000, 5:01 AM
Post #5 of 6
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Another good source (for either online ordering or telephone ordering via toll-free number, 800-PRO-TAPE) is Total Media. I've had consistently good experience ordering from them over the past year. I'm appending a link to the miniDV tape page from the Total Media online catalog.
I happen to use Maxell miniDV tapes, and have been pretty happy with this brand. Current price, from Total Media, is $7.25 (plus a few bucks for shipping -- one orders in bulk batches of 5 tapes or multiples of 5). My overall impression is that Maxell, Sony, and Panasonic are all decent (there may be other good brands as well; I don't happen to know about Fuji or TDK). I've also followed the prevalent street wisdom (vis-a-vis things DV) that advises against MIXING various brands -- rather, choosing one and sticking to it. (This is because, allegedly, some manufacturers use differing lubricants for the tapes, and that a mixture of these compounds can, it is said, sometimes have the possible hazard of gumming up the works.)
Of course, I suppose another factor besides tape quality, may sometimes be cost and convenience. If I wanted to fool around -- not on a specific project, but just taking some footage here & there -- and if I were out of tape, in some cases I might run to a local place and get a discount deal rather than sending away and waiting for next-day delivery. But since I've been indoctrinated into the use-only-one-brand philosophy, that remains an issue.
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