Just entered the HV life!
Hi there, im fairly new to HD filming and filming altogether..
I just bought a HV30 second hand and should be receiving it this week..
I've looked at the tape side of things and all the different type's and brands...
I'm pretty certain im going to go with either Panasonic or Sony..
The thing im wondering is, should i use a tape cleaner before using it for the first time..Because i don't know what tapes they have used before hand?
Any feedback would be great, Thanks alot - Sam!
What tape they used doesn't matter. More important: Did they ever clean the drive? So, yes, run a cleaner through it before you use it.
"It is dark the other side. Very dark!" - "Oh, shut up and eat your toast!"
Also, immediately check that the FireWire port is operational. If not, return for refund.
And to keep the firewire port from getting "fried" have both camcorder and computer OFF before connecting or disconnecting firewire.
Do a search for "fried port" on this site to see how easy this can happen.
Alright, so ill get a tape cleaner in there straight away!
Okay 'Bif', i never knew that about firewire ports and what not...Seems i have a lot more to learn about mini dv and HD than i thought!
Most important imo is stay with one brand of tapes, i have always used sony
premiums and had no dropouts in 14 months with my HV30 its also never had a tape cleaner as i never use them for the sake of it,but the cam you are getting is second hand so you may not know what tapes its been using in which case a cleaner first is worth considering.
Yeah i've seen that everywhere i look with HV's, "STAY WITH ONE BRAND!".
I think im gonna go with Sony Premiums, as i've got three here i bought a while ago for a different camera i was going to buy. I've found a Sony tape cleaner, so that's sweet.
How long do i run the cleaner through, assuming it runs like a normal tape whilst cleaning the heads.
10 seconds , i have only used one on one of my sony hdv cams when it started having more than the usual 1 or 2 drops per tape that my sony cams had, as i said my HV is brilliant regarding drop outs so i leave well alone.Originally Posted by samridesbikes
Tape is tape is tape."STAY WITH ONE BRAND!"
"It is dark the other side. Very dark!" - "Oh, shut up and eat your toast!"
Possibly but i find the overwhelming take from HDV users including top pros is stick with one brand , i aint going to change for changes sake, having said that i have only use SPs since i started with hdv in 2005 so i cant prove it myself.
http://www.silverace.com/hdv/ this is old hat and may noy apply anymore
Last edited by jet; 2010 June 21st at 05:42.
ok cool! I just bought the Sony cleaner!
I'm so excited to get it and film. Plus hopefully everything will be fine!
We take whatever we can find if there's a need. The community most likely aims at the "wet/dry lube" myth. This is debunked for years.
"It is dark the other side. Very dark!" - "Oh, shut up and eat your toast!"
lucky i dont have to search for whatever i can find .
It has some disadvantages to live in the middle of the Pacific
"It is dark the other side. Very dark!" - "Oh, shut up and eat your toast!"
sorry mate i forgot but it must have its advantages.It has some disadvantages to live in the middle of the Pacific
I remember my first HV30....possibly the second best day of my life. First best day was buying it for half the price brand new.
Do not view me as a critic or a judge. I just tell it how I see it, valuable or not.
hahaha! Yeah im hoping i get the tape cleaner before friday so i can film ALL weekend. So keen!
Congratulations! Did you check up on the Firewire port?
Well i asked the seller if there was anything wrong with the camera at all and he said, it is in perfect condition! So hopefully it actually is...And i guess i'll have to wait until i have it in my hands on thursday to see if the firewire is alright.
I think turning the computer off is overkill - I've had my HV20/30 now for over 3 years and have never turned off my computer when hooking up the firewire, but I always, always make sure my camera is turned off. No problems so far.
What that means is you have had good luck. And so have the folks who left both on and connected/disconnected firewire for years with no problem.
Doesn't help the ones who got "fried" ports, does it? And there's no guarantee that the next time you connect there will be no problem either. One theory is these camera's firewire ports are sensitive to static discharge, apparently it takes just once.
One guy found both the firewire port on his HV20 AND on his computer got "fried".
Overkill it may be, but Canon told one guy in a letter that accompanied his repaired HV20 to turn 'em both off and the manual for my older Panasonic stated both should be off.
It's no longer an issue with me. I went tapeless as soon as Canon came out with a camcorder I could live with (the HF100)
I think the FW-getting-fried problems are more due to inserting the connectors at an angle, thus shorting or accidentally supplying power to the data pins...
If you connect the firewire cable on an external drive which is daisy chained with the computer, would it be enough to have only the external drive turned off and not the computer? So far, I also kept the camcorder only turned off. But Wouldn't like to take any risk in the future.
My Vimeo -K.
turn the pc offnever have on my dv/hdv cams as long as the power switch and electric connections are off when connecting to pcs is the main thing i have made sure of since 97,i dont consider myself lucky none of the people i lnow in video here switch pcs off before connecting to cams , perhaps things vary in different areas.
260 days/year with 12hrs. sunshine each
I have an external HD as buffer between cam and computers. The drive gets plugged in after the cam is connected to it.
"It is dark the other side. Very dark!" - "Oh, shut up and eat your toast!"
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