External tape players

[Big fish63]

Those of you using mini dv tapes do you use the playback function on your camera to view your footage once out of the water or do use a seperate external player to avoid wear to the heads and shortening the lifespan of the camera.
just wondering if its better to pay out for a seperate player in the long run or just use the camera function? i have no idea what the lifespan of the heads will be.

 

[nautilusvideo]

You should get a minimum of 1000 hrs of head wear from a DV camera or deck if you periodically clean your heads and use high quality tapes. Obviously using a separate deck cuts the wear and tear on your camera by half.

 

[muckdiver@mac.com]

I have both... a Sony deck and a spare camcorder. Considering what I paid for each I would rather have the spare camera. Rotate the cameras to even the wear. The tape deck does come in handy connected to my HDTV in playing tapes. It is also very handy as a monitor while shooting interviews. Would I buy it now if I could do it again? Value for the money... No, get a spare camcorder.

 

[Big fish63]

thanks for te info. yeah, crazy prices the one i was originally looking at didnt have a hdmi port. the ones that did were alot of money.. no deal.

 

[drbill]

Years ago I bought one of the Sony mini-DV players. It cost more than my camera did. I've used my cameras ever since, and have now gone tapeless with a Sony CX550V flash memory unit.