They're here! More Muvipix.com Guides by Steve Grisetti!
The Muvipix.com Guides to Premiere & Photoshop Elements 2024
As well as The Muvipix.com Guide to CyberLink PowerDirector 21
Because there are stories to tell
muvipix.com

Head cleaning cassette

MiniDV, DVD, Hard Drive, 8 mm, High Def, brands, import / capture techniques, settings ... talk about camcorders in here.

Head cleaning cassette

Postby Jayell » Tue Jul 05, 2011 4:06 pm

I'm looking to buy a head cleaning cassette. This is the one I tripped upon.
Canon DVM-CL DV. It says: 'Made exclusively for Canon's digital video units.' Assume this will work fine with my Canon HV40 .. and I don't need to know anything else?
HP Envy Desktop 795-0040xt / Win 10 Home/ Intel Core i7-8700 / 32GB memory / NVidia GeForce GTS 1060 3G
User avatar
Jayell
Premiere Member
Premiere Member
 
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 am
Location: near Tucson, Arizona

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Steve Grisetti » Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:14 pm

Only that you shouldn't use them too often.
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14439
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Jayell » Tue Jul 05, 2011 5:17 pm

But you're going to leave me guessing as to what that means .. :-8
HP Envy Desktop 795-0040xt / Win 10 Home/ Intel Core i7-8700 / 32GB memory / NVidia GeForce GTS 1060 3G
User avatar
Jayell
Premiere Member
Premiere Member
 
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 am
Location: near Tucson, Arizona

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Dave McElderry » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:34 pm

Jayell wrote:But you're going to leave me guessing as to what that means .. :-8


They can be hard on the heads. Some of them actually contain a mild abrasive. That's why they should be used sparingly.
Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Asus X570-E motherboard; AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz; 64GB DDR4; GeForce RTX 2060 6GB; 1TB Samsung 970 Pro M.2 SSD
User avatar
Dave McElderry
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4757
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Lost In Middle America

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Jayell » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:28 pm

Should they be used at all?
HP Envy Desktop 795-0040xt / Win 10 Home/ Intel Core i7-8700 / 32GB memory / NVidia GeForce GTS 1060 3G
User avatar
Jayell
Premiere Member
Premiere Member
 
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 am
Location: near Tucson, Arizona

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Dave McElderry » Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:43 pm

Look for the product to say "non abrasive." If it doesn't say so, then limit your use to once or twice a year, or if you have evidence that the heads are really in need of it. I don't see any such notation on the Canon DVM-CL DV. I've had my camcorder for over 5 years and have only used a cleaning tape once. Compared to many people I'm a light user though.
Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Asus X570-E motherboard; AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz; 64GB DDR4; GeForce RTX 2060 6GB; 1TB Samsung 970 Pro M.2 SSD
User avatar
Dave McElderry
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4757
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Lost In Middle America

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Jayell » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:26 pm

Thanks for the info Dave.
HP Envy Desktop 795-0040xt / Win 10 Home/ Intel Core i7-8700 / 32GB memory / NVidia GeForce GTS 1060 3G
User avatar
Jayell
Premiere Member
Premiere Member
 
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 am
Location: near Tucson, Arizona

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Dave McElderry » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:38 pm

Didn't mean to hijack this thread away from Steve. He seems to be otherwise occupied this evening. Maybe he'll chime in again yet.
Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Asus X570-E motherboard; AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz; 64GB DDR4; GeForce RTX 2060 6GB; 1TB Samsung 970 Pro M.2 SSD
User avatar
Dave McElderry
Moderator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4757
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:18 am
Location: Lost In Middle America

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby jackfalbey » Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:06 am

Head cleaning tapes are really just for cleaning the gunk that can build up from tape lubricants and particulate. Mixing different brands and models of tape can and will make this worse. If you use the exact same brand and model of tape every time (I have had flawless results with the Sony DVM-60PR tapes for both SD and HD in Sony and Canon cams), you really only need to run a head cleaner once every 20-30 tapes, and then only for 10 seconds. Running longer or more frequently can damage the cam's record head.

I have heard that the brand of head cleaner should match the brand of tape you use, though.
ASRock Z77 Pro4, Xeon E3-1230 V2, Windows 7 64-bit, 32GB RAM, 3GB GTX 660 ti, 240GB SSD for OS/programs, 3x640GB in RAID0 for projects
Panasonic GH2; Adobe Creative Cloud
http://www.CMDStar.com
http://www.FamilyTreePhotography.co
User avatar
jackfalbey
Super Contributor
Super Contributor
 
Posts: 1185
Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2007 10:48 pm
Location: Cleveland, TN

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Jul 06, 2011 7:19 am

To all of that I might add that, if you can find a camera shop or electronics store that does service, it's best to let them clean your camcorder once every year or two (depending on how much you use your cam and how often you take it to dusty places, like the beach or desert) rather than use a head cleaner cassette.

They'll get the dust out, clean the heads, capstan and whatever other mechanics are in the camera and overall de-gunkify it -- usually for about $30.
HP Envy with 2.9/4.4 ghz i7-10700 and 16 gig of RAM running Windows 11 Pro
User avatar
Steve Grisetti
Super Moderator
Super Moderator
 
Posts: 14439
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:11 pm
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Re: Head cleaning cassette

Postby Jayell » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:15 am

Steve Grisetti wrote: ..depending on how much you use your cam and how often you take it to dusty places, like the .. desert ..

I live in the desert Steve .. and the place I use it 90% of the time is out hiking. :lol:

Steve Grisetti wrote:They'll get the dust out, clean the heads, capstan and whatever other mechanics are in the camera and overall de-gunkify it -- usually for about $30.

.. which isn't much more than the cost of the head cleaner.

jackfalbey wrote:I have heard that the brand of head cleaner should match the brand of tape you use, though.

Interesting .. I also have only used Sony tapes, but was thinking I should match the brand of the Camcorder.

I think I like the idea of taking it to a shop.
Lots of good info, as I knew nothing about this subject. Thanks Steve, and Jack.
HP Envy Desktop 795-0040xt / Win 10 Home/ Intel Core i7-8700 / 32GB memory / NVidia GeForce GTS 1060 3G
User avatar
Jayell
Premiere Member
Premiere Member
 
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 11:05 am
Location: near Tucson, Arizona


Return to Camcorders 


Similar topics


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests

cron