Ok, so you got your shiny new HD camcorder. Now its time to get some blank tapes, so many different selections. Which tape stock should you buy ??
I am not a chemical engineer, so I am going to share just the basic idea of how to buy/choose tape stock.
a) All manufactures has to lube their tape or film, in order to make it move through the camcorder head to capture your picture and audio.
b) There are generally 2 types of lubes in the market, Wet and Dry (note: nowadays, not many companies use wet lubes anymore).
So why should you care ?
c) Because the lubes leaves chemical/gunk that will accumulate on your camcorder's recording head. This along with friction of moving the tape/film are the main cause of wear and tear on your camcorder recording head. This is also the reason for using video head cleaners to "clean" those lubes or gunk out.
Ok, so now what ?
d) You cannot avoid wear and tear on your camcorder's head unless you go with an external solution like
www.firestore.come) To minimize wear and tear, most production houses only use with
ONE BRAND OF TAPE with each camcorder. This will avoid the mixture of different chemicals being left over from the tape/film on your camcorder's head.
So, which tape is the best ?
f) 10 people will have 11 different answer for this question. I can only share my experience, most production houses and indie shooters around my area /that I know of use Panasonic tapes.
Tip: Next time when you buy a used camcorder, ask the person what kind of tapes they used with their camcorder. People that know much about their camcorders are likely to take care of their equipments better.