Head/Drum hours?

[i-shoot]

I am looking at several Sony Beta SP D600's. One Camera has 1100 hours on the drums, is that to many? should i stay away? what should i be looking for in hours? thanks for past advise...i-Shoot.

[Run&Gun]

You're probably getting up in the replacement zone, if those are the original heads/drum. I've heard anything from 750 to 1500. Check out Roger Macie's website, he has good info on stuff like that. Also, if you're serious about making that type of purchase, see about sending the camera to him before you buy it and have it checked out.

Side note: My old camera had over 1000 hours on the original heads and she was still going strong when I bought my new one a few years ago.

[Baltimore Shooter]

Which clock were you looking at? There's an A clock, a B clock and a C clock. The C clock is total operating hours, meaning the total number of hours the camera was powered up, regardless of a tape being in there.

I forgot exactly what the A and the B clocks were.

Warren

[Graybeard]

The key issue in the number of drum hours (heads spinning) is head wear.
A few years ago Sony had a serious problem with head wear on replacement heads. If you call Roger Macie, he will tell you all about it. But basically, the Sony heads were wearing out very quickly. Roger found another source for head replacement.
He put these newer design replacement heads in an old 400A that I have, and they have held up incredibly well. To the extent that they still spec out as well as new Sony heads.
So, just looking at the number of tape or drum hours doesn't tell the whole story. Have Roger check it out, and he'll give you a good idea as to how much life is left in that camera.