I'm new to DV, and have a few questions. My first one deals with what type of MiniDV tapes I should buy.

Here's an example of what Amazon is offering:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=minidv%20tapes

The first question is which brands to trust. The most popular seem to be Sony, Panasonic, and JVC, with a touch of Canon and TDK thrown in. Are the name brands more or less the same? Should I try to pick a brand which matches my camcorder (Canon ZR40)?

The next variable is length. Most seem to be 60 minutes, but some are 63, 63/42, 80, 83, and 40]. Most or all of the 63 minute tapes seem to be HD; can I just ignore those?

There also seem to be flavors like premium, professional, and master quality. Do these mean anything, or are they just marketing?

My intended uses of the tapes are:

1) record from standard 8mm camcorder (about 2 hours each)
2) record new footage

None of the MiniDV tapes seem long enough to record 2 hours of standard 8mm. So I guess I'll be popping them in and out, right?

Anyway, thanks!