LF: Sony MiniDV Tapes (the blue ones)

[hgl01]

Hello! Anyone know where I can purchase Sony MiniDV tapes (as in the blue "Premium" ones)? Do they go on sale at any time? Most places seem to have them for about $6.99 each (or much more!).

Thanks!

[The Digital Dolphin]

Hello! Anyone know where I can purchase Sony MiniDV tapes (as in the blue "Premium" ones)? Do they go on sale at any time? Most places seem to have them for about $6.99 each (or much more!).

Thanks!

Careful with these... lot's of places sell grey market MiniDV tapes with questionable quality control. Sony Canada charges a serious premium on the tapes, so most companies I know order through other sources. Outside of Bestbuy/Futureshop and similar stores, I'm not aware of any completely safe sources.

If you are really wanting a cheaper price, you should probably switch to a different brand with less grey marketing issues. I recommend Maxell personally.

[HappyGoLucky]

If you are really wanting a cheaper price, you should probably switch to a different brand with less grey marketing issues. I recommend Maxell personally.

It isn't so much the price of the Sonys per se, but the whole debacle about wet vs dry tapes -- I figure if I use only Sony in my Sony camcorder, I'll be safe. I like Maxell and TDK myself, though, but for this purpose I'm gonna stick with Sony -- now I just need to find genuine ones "cheap"! :D

Thanks for the warning though!

[akira1971]

I bought 25 Sony Premium miniDV tapes online from B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4121&A=details&Q=&sku=132812&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation). Unit cost is US$2.85 plus S&H of $20, unless you're looking to buy other camera accessories and stuff like we did to make it cheaper.

I wish I had a chance to visit the B&H super store in NYC - heard it's the size of the whole city block.

[HappyGoLucky]

I bought 25 Sony Premium miniDV tapes online from B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=4121&A=details&Q=&sku=132812&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation). Unit cost is US$2.85 plus S&H of $20, unless you're looking to buy other camera accessories and stuff like we did to make it cheaper.

I wish I had a chance to visit the B&H super store in NYC - heard it's the size of the whole city block.

Hmmmm, those look quite different than the blue-packaged ones sold here in Canada. I wonder if there is a difference?

Sorry, when you ordered, did you have them shipped from the US to Canada?

[The Digital Dolphin]

I think that's the new packaging style. I know Maxell recently changed their packaging as well. Hard to be sure if that media is US domestic, or Asian Gray market.

[HappyGoLucky]

Just an update to these tapes that I've been looking for...

Apparently, there are red packaged tapes, blue ones, and yellow/orange ones. From various websites, it appears only the blue ones are suitable for use in North America, which is why Sony Canada and US only sell those. The red ones are older batches and should be avoided, and the yellow/orange ones are made in France and supposedly not suitable for North American models.

Not sure if all this is true, but it seems to make a lot of sense, since the "gray-market" yellow/orange packaged tapes sell for much less than the blue.