DIGITAL8 OR MiniDV Camcorder

[ofdi]

Hi all,
I'm want to bay a new camcorder and i'm wondering what is the difrent bitwin the Digital8 from Sony to any MiniDV camcorder.
from info on the web ther is a digital8 camcorder thet have the same CCD picsel as the MiniDV and same ather function, they are all limit for 500 line h, and sam of them have te same stil picther resolotion and thay all have the IEEE 1394 firewire but Digital8 camcorder cost last then MiniDV camcorder.
so what is the diftert and what is beter.

thank's

ofir

[7Thunders]

Get the DCRTRV-30. Very nice. But buy it from me with a 5 Year warranty, I mean "Performance Guarantee" The Sony is nice I would get it if I had $1700 stuffed in my pocket.
But to seriously answer your question, I prefer Mini-DV due to the size. The D8's are big. And you can get 2 hours from Mini, only 1 hour from D8. The JVC GRDVL-815 (I think thats it) is nice at $800-900, comes with 16mb too.

[cmuller42]

Hi.

I got a D8 recently partly because I have a bunch of old 8 and hi8 tapes that I want to preserve digitally. Haven't done it yet, but the lit tells me that I can play back the old 8's and capture the DV output to my computer through the firewire ("iLink&quot port on the camcorder. Few of my old tapes have more than 1 hour that's worth keeping, so I hope to edit them down and put them back to D8 and/or to CD/DVD/etc.

I'm new to this and *hope* my reasoning is sound....

Chris

[Braindrain]

Yes, I got the miniDV primarily for its size. With my old tapes in 8mm format, I just borrowed someone else's D8 camcorder for transfer to PC.

[ktnwin]

Yes, if you have lots of old 8mm or Hi8 tapes, then the D8 is the one to get since it can play those older tapes too.
By the way, if you use Hi8 tape, you can record upto 90min on a single tape (Sony has a setting to allow expanding recording time from 60 to 90min, since it's digital, video quality is not compromised).

Yes, the D8 is a little bulky and not as convenient as the nimiDV to carry around but I always put it on a tripod to record video (for absolute stability).

I got a Hi8 camcorder and now a Sony Digital 8. I have converted almost all my Hi8 tapes to digital tapes and VCD or SVCD.

If you have no older 8mm tape then miniDV is a great choice.
By the way, there are miniDV that has megapixel resolution and the video looks much much better (IMHO). Of course they cost the lot more too.

[swampdog97]

ktnwin
If you don't mind me asking, what Hi8 camcorder did you have? Also, what Sony D8 have you purchased?

I have a Sony Hi8 (XR) TR-917 and I am considering what my next camcorder purchase will be (D8 or mini DV).

Does anyone know if a Hi8 can be modified to be a D8? Sounds like it's nothing more than an onboard encoder chip?

[Belboz]

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On 2001-07-03 10:11:29, ktnwin wrote:
By the way, if you use Hi8 tape, you can record upto 90min on a single tape (Sony has a setting to allow expanding recording time from 60 to 90min, since it's digital, video quality is not compromised).
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>

ktnwin,

Hmmm. I have a Sony DCR-TRV320. Where is this setting for 90 minutes? I've been only getting 60 minutes right now on my HI-8 tapes. I must have missed this setting.

Thanks in advance.

[cdr12468x]

Hi,
Belboz: The 90 min setting is not available on every Sony model (it happens to be built into my 720, and is accesible through the normal menu selection).

swampdog98: "Modifying" Hi8 to another format (D8, DV, etc)
will require that you capture it to your HD first via the Firewire port of a D8,and then record it back onto your D8 camera in D8 format. This will be a "no loss" conversion. Or, you can connect 2 cameras via SVHS, or the video ports and re-record the Hi8 tape onto the 2nd (Dcamera in D8 format. However, this way you'll degrade the quality somewhat.

[jsnkc]

I'd go with the Mini DV camera, works great with Vegas Video too.

[mustang581]

I also have a stack of 8mm tapes from my Sony camcorder but when it came time to upgrade I went with the MiniDV format.
my reasons why,
1. MiniDV is smaller, less weight.
2. I can use the digital passthrough on the DV cam to capture the old 8mm.
3. Sony went from serveral D8 models to only 2 this year. (maybe for next year there will be none).
I'm not saying that it is a bad investment or that digital8 is going away but I just felt more confortable with the MiniDV.

[jaeshin]

The question is whether you want to go out and buy a Sony or something else. Personally I think Sony is great, usually better than other brands. But when it comes to a format that only Sony carries, I stay away from it.

For example, MD format... I know it is a great way to carry your music but too expensive because Sony is the major brand. D8 and H8 are in this category.

So if you want Sony, go with D8. If not, go with mDV. There aren't much difference anyway other than size.

[Jester700]

The question is whether you want to go out and buy a Sony or something else. Personally I think Sony is great, usually better than other brands. But when it comes to a format that only Sony carries, I stay away from it.

For example, MD format... I know it is a great way to carry your music but too expensive because Sony is the major brand. D8 and H8 are in this category.

So if you want Sony, go with D8. If not, go with mDV. There aren't much difference anyway other than size.

I love my Sharp MD recorder. And it still smokes anything of its size in recording quality. DATs are bigger and MP3 units aren't good enough yet. (they COULD be - they just don't seem to care).